Grants program v1.5 community grantor position

Grants
3

Hello @FelixLts and dYdX community,

I’m excited to throw my hat into the ring for the Community Grantor role alongside RoboMcGobo in the Community Initiatives bucket. The opportunity to contribute to the dYdX ecosystem as a community grantor matches my skillset and passion for helping blockchain communities thrive. Here is a bit about me and my responses to the questions:

1. What’s your background? What previous work have you done, especially within crypto communities?

I am a business student based in Boston and have actively participated in crypto since 2016, getting started as a trader. Over the years, I’ve led a university blockchain club, cultivating a global network within the crypto industry. In 2022, I joined dYdX as an analytics ambassador lead to enhance the protocol through metrics-driven approaches, developing insightful dashboards and reports. On a day-to-day basis, I am a core team member at the Blockchain Acceleration Foundation, a non-profit 501c3 dedicated to catalyzing web3 adoption, primarily by extending support to student blockchain clubs. Our foundation boasts more than 2,000 members and has collaborations with blockchain clubs across every continent. I’ve been hands-on in grant raising and management, fostering educational partnerships, and running university blockchain clubs worldwide.

:link: Ambassador Work: dYdX Profile

:link: Non-profit Work: Blockchain Acceleration

2. Why are you an ideal fit for the role?

Having been deeply engaged in the blockchain industry and with my background in trading, I’ve amassed valuable experience contributing to governance and understanding intricate community dynamics. In my past roles, I’ve successfully procured grants from leading blockchain protocols and managed funding programs within the space. My comprehension of the web3 community is complemented by a robust network. Leveraging these strengths, I believe I can significantly contribute to dYdX in the capacity of a community grantor.

I will bring the following approach to the Community Initiatives program:

  • Accountability: Reporting, Communication
    • Example: Available for community calls or fast responses, working cross-functionally with the grants team
  • Due Diligence: Deep analysis of prospective grantee backgrounds, skillsets, and motivations
    • Example: Engagement analysis via conversion and demographics
  • Holistic Management: Be a steward for successful grants while maintaining disciplined execution
    • Example: Apply a social and analytical management process “helpful with rigor”
  • Measurement:
    • Calculation of individual project ROI
    • Process optimization based on feedback from the community and grantee specific outcomes
  • Sourcing:
    • I am active at top blockchain conferences
    • I am part of multiple industry networks with credible prospective contributors
    • Global student community
      • Aligns with the dYdX community member base: active traders, passionate about the space, top talent
  • Triage: (Common Issues)
    • Avoiding grant shoppers
      • Verifying strong previous body of qualifications
      • Clear demonstration of interest in dYdX
    • Avoiding COIs
      • Conducting an open source intelligence process to verify that there are no conflicts of interest (includes: social media analysis, account connections, following demographics, contribution history).
    • Slowness/Performance decay
      • Ensuring a balance of speed and quality
    • Poor quality
      • Ensuring brand alignment and details match the perceived dYdX standard of quality and branding

:link: LinkedIn: MackayGrant

3. What should the DGP prioritize as part of this extension?

For visibility, the goals stated in the post from DGP v1.5 Extension:

Funding targets:

  • Events and workshops
  • Promotional and educational content
  • Tooling and technical resources
  • Analytics

Objectives:

  • Onboarding and incentivizing active contributors to the ecosystem
  • Fostering community engagement
  • Promoting the dYdX brand and ecosystem
  • Building useful tools and resources for protocol participants

Now, how can we achieve this?

The DGP should emphasize:

  1. Funding projects that align with dYdX protocol objectives from a holistic perspective.
  2. Avoiding redundancy by ensuring new projects do not overlap with previous or existing ones.
  3. Aligning projects with the varied needs of dYdX stakeholders; including grantees, token holders, community members, and users.
  4. Adopting a multi-pronged community approach that both serves current stakeholders and encourages network effects to help in onboarding and educating new members.
  5. Activities such as workshops, IRL events, and content creation should align with community-set objectives and focus on regions and languages for maximum impact.

What is the role of the Community and Ecosystem in the growth of dYdX?

The community and ecosystem form the heart and soul of dYdX’s growth strategy. The bottleneck in web3 DApp usage is in the onboarding process, and the community approach can make or break this aspect. By enhancing the community-steered funding structure at DGP, we can amplify both user engagement and community involvement. This, in turn, not only augments dYdX’s user base but also enriches the experience of current users.

Additional Points

  • Drama-Free Space: My approach is community-centric and drama-free, focusing on what benefits the community most. I will avoid “forum politics” and separate myself from the discourse so as not to distract from my role
  • Openness: I am a public individual. My online presence is easily found and I often speak at events and talks. I feel that this will bring a unique factor to the dYdX Community, reinforcing the objective of transparency.

Let’s gooo Hedgies! :slight_smile:

Best,
Mackay

4 Likes