HIRING Proposal: Ecosystem & DAO Contributor

Intention

I intend to apply as the first ‘hired’ member of the DAO, with a mandate of Ecosystem, DAO development, and Marketing.

Motivation

SSV will be the true Layer Zero of the largest L1 (Ethereum), and will likely capture all of the 2.0 staking TVL like the monster it is. For me, this is clearly one of the top 15 projects that will emerge over the coming next 2 years.

When SSV’s DAO round came into my telegram, I re-read the deck multiple times over and realised that this is something different.

Something that I could see myself being a missionary for and dedicating 80%+ of my working time to, over the medium term future. Unlike P2E games on Avax or whatever, SSV has a clear value proposition to the ecosystem, and is already executing on it.

After speaking to the core team, I realised this is a place that I can call home, and a DAO that I’m more than happy to be truly dedicated too.

The DAO, and protocol, is missing one thing: non-technical expertise.

The unfortunate truth in crypto is that no matter how good the project is, no matter how much TVL you hold (Just look at $CREAM), the only thing that matters, is the market’s perception.

Therefore, based on my experience and area of expertise (DAO ops and Marketing), I believe I can be a huge value add at this pivotal and important time.

Moreover, this gives me a direct opportunity to contribute value to what I consider to be a fundamental building block of our future decentralised world. I write that without hyperbole or exaggeration, and if you’re reading this, you’re likely already in agreement that SSV will be integral to ETH 2.0, the future of blockchain, and the democratisation of validating our network.

To me, there is nothing more exciting.

Why I’m fit for this role

  • Crypto native since 2016
  • Ran one of the largest marketing agencies in crypto from '16-'19 (The 8760), raising $240,000,000 and marketing for the likes of RSK, Consensys, Fenbushi and more. Here I built a team of 40 marketers, working in virtually every major geography.
  • Builder of the Ukrainian crypto ecosystem - https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/14/business/crypto-ukraine.html
  • LinkedIN :sweat_smile: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shadipaterson/
  • Helping tier 1 projects such as ZKsync, PancakeSwap, Zerion, the web3 Foundation and Astar find incredible talent (Cryptographers, rust engineers, distributed system engineers) at https://tr3butor.com/
  • Winning the ETH Lisbon Hackathon and building DAO tooling w/ https://twitter.com/madladshad/status/1452339684441534468 / contrib.at (Also winning grants from metacartel and tally)
  • Great network of tier 1 VCs, marketing partners, and protocols such as Balancer, 1Inch, and more.
  • Current sole focus off researching DAOs, their operations and their tooling. Very deep in the ecosystem.
  • Always on the move, very extroverted, always at conferences and events.

Rough plan of action for the next 3 months

Please note, this plan of action is a live document and will change. This was developed in < 10 hours based on my initial first pass and talks with the core team and ambassadors. There’s already many more objectives for us to cover.

To read, please visit: HERE

Core Responsibilities

  1. Furthering DAO tooling and streamlining operations
  2. Creating onboarding processes and attracting partners (Operators and Ecosystem integrations)
  3. Representing SSV at events with our target partners
  4. Managing and executing with our awesome Ambassadors
  5. Helping Eran and the marketing team absolutely crush it
    1. Building a network of KOLs
    2. Creating an awesome social presence
    3. Creating and pushing a killer narrative for SSV into the world

Metrics I would suggest the DAO holds me accountable to:

  1. Trading Volume
  2. Total N token Holders
  3. Protocol TVL
  4. Number (and quality) of operators
  5. Ecosystem partners

Travel Plan (Thus far)

  • ETH Denver
  • DAOist Mexico
  • ETH Barcelona
  • Consensys Austin
  • ETH Amsterdam / Devconnect
  • ETHCC Paris
  • Permissionless

EDITED:

Grant & Commitment proposal

$225,000 denominated entirely in SSV based on a 90-day trailing average, calculated on the calendar 1st of each month (Binance).

Transfers shall be executed monthly at the beginning of each calendar month for services rendered in the previous month. The transfers may be made using a smart contract or any other form as the D-marketing team deem most appropriate and convenient.

Unless terminated earlier by the DAO or the D-marketing team, this arrangement shall cease within one (1) year as of the approval of this proposal.

SSV DAO Commitment Memorandum

During the term of my engagement with the DAO and while receiving compensation from it, I shall not become involved in any manner, directly or indirectly, with any business, protocol, or DAO which is reasonably likely to interfere or compete with SSV.Network. This does not include work that may be conducted directly with the Ethereum Foundation.

For clarity

I hereby clarify that this is not an employment agreement, and it does not create an employment relationship. Accordingly, I shall not be entitled to any benefits (pension, health insurance/medical coverage, etc.) associated with an employment relationship.

I warrant that my skills in the context mentioned in this proposal shall be put to the service of the DAO and the SSV.Network and not to any of its members to whom I have no direct relationship or obligation.

I do not have the power to commit on behalf of the DAO and I shall not present myself as having such power.

Operations consideration

All compensation in SSV should be made through the D-marketing multi-sig, which I am not and shall not be a key-holder of. If at any time either the DAO or the D-marketing team decides, by way of the vote [ to insert a link to the DAO’s snapshot and the dMarketing’s platform of decision making ], my services rendered are no longer needed, the prorated monthly grant shall be transferred based on the seventh (7th) day following the day of the decision seen as the termination date. The seven (7) days shall be dedicated to the transfer to a designated member(s) of the team.

The funding of the D-marketing multi-sig shall be done by the DAO’s multi-sig on a quarterly basis, in a sum sufficient to cover the next three (3) months of operations. If services were terminated, any remaining SSV tokens shall be transferred back from the D-marketing multi-sig back to the DAO’s multi-sig.

5 Likes

I think the team should have done due diligence on you. Welcome to ssv.

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Sure, my twitter is @madladshad

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Awesome proposal, @shadi!:muscle: You have my full support, and I can’t wait to see you in action.

I might have missed it, but is this a one-year assignment? In other words: How long will the total compensation keep you on the project? You mentioned 140-180 hours a month, but for how long?
Plus, what will happen after that? Another proposal? The latter is just out of curiosity.

Since you would have such a strong exposure to SSV (given the token amount), I would love to see this open-ended and in your own interests. DAO partners have vesting for 2 years, and I think this is the minimum most of us committed to the project (formally). Does my question make sense at all?

Again, thank you for this great proposal!
—Ben

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I think that vesting would be a little hard since I assume Shad will need to cover living expenses etc. using the SSV he receives

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Edited for clarity

Regarding SSV:

If it was on the exact same terms as the partner batches, then yes, I would want to take that, with the 2-year lockup. In Discord, there was more favorable support for a trailing average. I think the moving avg and no lockup makes more sense if you consider that a) This is a job, I’m investing time b) I can be terminated from the job, and c) The DAO has never made a hire through the proposal process before. Therefore we may want to take the ‘less risky’ approach on both sides. However, yeah, I’d obviously prefer locking in a lower price, even with 2-year vesting, but I still suggest we stick to what’s in the proposal.

Is this compensation inclusive of all travel expenses and other expenses?

Would you track time and publish time records?

What deliverables could be built in? Reporting requirements?

What metrics would be used to measure your performance?

Who would provide the two weeks notice? Would it require a DAO vote?

Generally, if the DAO is your boss, how will the DAO manage you without having to do constant snapshot votes?

1 Like

Is this compensation inclusive of all travel expenses and other expenses?

No, it is not.

Would you track time and publish time records?

No, I will not.

What deliverables could be built in? Reporting requirements?

I suggest monthly reporting, which would be delivered via a document + community sync on what has been done. This is not an agency relationship, it is a job, so I haven’t created a scope of work with exacting deliverables. In my first 3 month plan, you can get a good grasp of what I plan to execute.

What metrics would be used to measure your performance?

I suggest:

  1. Trading Volume
  2. Total N token Holders
  3. Protocol TVL
  4. Number (and quality) of operators
  5. Ecosystem partners

This can definitely be improved and I’m sure we will as time goes on.

Who would provide the two weeks notice? Would it require a DAO vote?

I would follow other DAO’s examples here and go with 1) Temp check in gov forum following decorum (Led either by the community or Dmarketing team) then 2) Vote.

Generally, if the DAO is your boss, how will the DAO manage you without having to do constant snapshot votes?

I will not need to be project managed by the DAO, that would be insanely inefficient. I should be the one to create the strategy, my own tasks/priorities, and ultimately act with initiative.

1 Like

Is this compensation inclusive of all travel expenses and other expenses?

No, it is not.

So how does this work? Is there a budget? Is it unlimited?

This is not an agency relationship

Not sure exactly what you mean by an ‘agency relationship’, but maybe it should be? Otherwise it kind of sounds like you would be paid a very high salary plus all-expenses travel to do some relatively amorphous “stuff” with none of the day-to-day supervision and direct accountability that normally comes with having a ‘job.’ I know it’s a very “2.0” thing to say, but maybe someone should be saying it. I truly admire the initiative but this makes no sense to me.

So how does this work? Is there a budget? Is it unlimited?

I believe we have 2 options, dependent on the event activation.

  1. We want to sponsor/hold side events

In this scenario, I believe the budget would be derived through a DAO proposal, based on the activation.

  1. I identify an event that I believe we should attend

We can either a) Create a budget that is audited with receipts b) Retroactively cover based on receipts c) Create a proposal on an event-by-event basis.

Not sure exactly what you mean by an ‘agency relationship’, but maybe it should be?

An agency relationship is where you have a defined ‘Scope of work’ with deliverables attached to payment milestones/retainers. In this relationship, the agency can deliver on and only on the scope of work, with a predefined level of quality and expectation. This limits the upside effort of the agency, and therefore the value contribution, but ensures a less risky, more defined approach for the party that is retaining the agency’s services. Both the DAO and I will get more out of this if it is not limited to a predefined scope of work. It is better to make asymmetrical bets with people who are ‘all-in’ such that they are incentivized to go above and beyond.

Otherwise it kind of sounds like you would be paid a very high salary plus all-expenses travel

Actually, the salary is relatively low. Senior ops jobs pay $200-350k base + token signing bonus + expenses. In my current work, I can make on the order of 5-20X more than the $ denominated amount w/o too much risk. I am taking a huge ‘life pay cut’ in order to pursue working on Layer 0.

Moreover, if you evaluate the cost of a single trip ($3000-5000 on average, let’s say), then the ROI is ridiculously high. A protocol such as SSV that is 100% dependent on developer ecosystem awareness and acquisition, should be present everywhere, otherwise you lose. You absolutely must have representatives evangelising and pulling in new ecosystem partners, whether that be Validators or ETH Treasury utilisers, always.

to do some relatively amorphous “stuff” with

:frowning: We will have to agree to disagree on this one. The pain points of SSV are very clear to me and I believe my initial pass-through, linked in OP, is in the direction we need to go. If you see any other Marketing/Ecosystem/DAO avenues I should be focussing on if this vote were to pass, then please do drop it in here or DM me on Discord.

none of the day-to-day supervision and direct accountability that normally comes with having a ‘job.’

I’m sure the core team and Dmarketing team will be observing me on a routine basis, especially at the start. Alongside that, I will have clear reporting based on KPIs, so that it’s a matter of fact what has been executed upon, for the DAO.

Further, you really don’t want someone in this position that you have to ‘tell what to do’. If the core team has to hold my hand, if I have to constantly ask for help, if I have to be supervised/managed on a daily basis by someone else (Who are all crazy busy, already), then I simply wouldn’t be the right person for the role.

looks very nice proposal, marketing is a pain points of ssv .

1 Like

Shad great to see this up in the air for the community to comment on!
It’s a very brave move, most will find it very hard to discuss such sensitive things in public.

I think this is a point everyone is at a consensus on, thinking out side the box is important here. A crypto community is not just the sum of its developers, there is a huge verity of people in every community and no one group can make it on its own.

I think it’s very hard to link your future work to those KPIs as they are influenced by a 100 different things. A simpler approach might work better here with much softer goals like setting the areas of focus and letting the dMarketing group evaluate and provide feedback.
A few months down the road we might have more experience to setup numeric goals.

I think this point is probably the most important one. The DAO delegates the dMarketing group the oversight over Shad’s payments (as it comes from the dMarketing multisig wallet) which means that they are ultimately gonna evaluate the work and progress. I like this because it’s “for the community, by the community” kind of setup.

@shadi I think many are excited about this proposal and have great expectations from you (no pressure :)).
It’s vital that community feels comfortable and has strong support so I encourage people to express their thoughts.

EDIT from feedback:

Original

Compensation & Commitment proposal
$225,000 denominated entirely in SSV based on a 90-day trailing average, calculated on the calendar 1st of each month (Binance).
Expected time commitment: 140-180 hours a month
Proposed contract period: 1 Calendar year
Operations consideration
All payments should be made through the D-marketing multisig, which I am not and shall not be a key-holder of. If at any time the DAO decides my services rendered are no longer needed, 2 weeks notice shall be given and full knowledge and process transfer shall be executed to a designated member(s) of the team.

EDITED:

Grant & Commitment proposal

$225,000 denominated entirely in SSV based on a 90-day trailing average, calculated on the calendar 1st of each month (Binance).

Transfers shall be executed monthly at the beginning of each calendar month for services rendered in the previous month. The transfers may be made using a smart contract or any other form as the D-marketing team deem most appropriate and convenient.

Unless terminated earlier by the DAO or the D-marketing team, this arrangement shall cease within one (1) year as of the approval of this proposal.

SSV DAO Commitment Memorandum

During the term of my engagement with the DAO and while receiving compensation from it, I shall not become involved in any manner, directly or indirectly, with any business, protocol, or DAO which is reasonably likely to interfere or compete with SSV.Network. This does not include work that may be conducted directly with the Ethereum Foundation.

For clarity

I hereby clarify that this is not an employment agreement, and it does not create an employment relationship. Accordingly, I shall not be entitled to any benefits (pension, health insurance/medical coverage, etc.) associated with an employment relationship.

I warrant that my skills in the context mentioned in this proposal shall be put to the service of the DAO and the SSV.Network and not to any of its members to whom I have no direct relationship or obligation.

I do not have the power to commit on behalf of the DAO and I shall not present myself as having such power.

Operations consideration

All compensation in SSV should be made through the D-marketing multi-sig, which I am not and shall not be a key-holder of. If at any time either the DAO or the D-marketing team decides, by way of the vote [to insert a link to the DAO’s snapshot and the dMarketing’s platform of decision making], my services rendered are no longer needed, the prorated monthly grant shall be transferred based on the seventh (7th) day following the day of the decision seen as the termination date. The seven (7) days shall be dedicated to the transfer to a designated member(s) of the team.

The funding of the D-marketing multi-sig shall be done by the DAO’s multi-sig on a quarterly basis, in a sum sufficient to cover the next three (3) months of operations. If services were terminated, any remaining SSV tokens shall be transferred back from the D-marketing multi-sig back to the DAO’s,

3 Likes

Hey everyone,

I’ve incorporated all feedback during this temp check stage and will be moving it to Snapshot for a vote.

Thank you all for the help.

2 Likes

:vertical_traffic_light: The vote is open now.

https://snapshot.org/#/mainnet.ssvnetwork.eth/proposal/0x530133413f75d3b43b5fa6fcbe913bf225cbddcf578218a18d06b163213e850f

1 Like

is it possible to add 2 point ?

1, how much the ssv token price rise , high price or average price per month / 2 weeks ??

2, payment terms, every month ssv group evaluate the provide feedback, then pay for monthly salary. is it ok ?

  1. avg price for the last 3 months
  2. should be OK, the ambassadors are will monitor and they will eventually determine how/if to continue

There has been a lot of debate in the community over this topic in the past few days. I suggest an AMA with Shad so the community will be able to get to know him and have a better visibility when casting their vote. We will announce soon

4 Likes

Seems a bit unnecessary now that 0x8768424b84128A6daea7cdEc88Dd0aBeea5ec58D has decided the outcome. (Is that a Blox team member address?)

:date: The AMA will be held this Thursday live on discord:

:thought_balloon: Please ask all your questions on Reddit:

4 Likes