29. Samantha Marin: The Do’s and Dont’s of DAOs

EARLY - The Business of web3 from Bankless Consulting

Welcome to EARLY, the podcast about web3 business from Bankless Consulting.

DSide's guest today is Samantha Marin, a content writer and editor at Aragon and owner/operator of Quorum's newsletter. Samantha is an experienced creative writer and spends her time empathetically breaking down the complexities of Web3 and DAOs through her role at Aragon. She specializes in introductory guides on DAO creation and maintenance and recently contributed to version one of the Aragon DAO creation manual for the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation. In addition to her work at Aragon, Samantha curated an anthology of some of the preeminent thinkers in the DAO space through Meta Label.

In the episode, Samantha and DSide explore Aragon's modular approach, with its OS and plugins, and how it allows users to build and customize DAOs like building blocks. The distinction between token and wallet voting is explored, and Samantha explains how multi-sig voting is the common starting point for many DAOs due to its authorization features. She explains that token-based voting has also emerged as a powerful tool for governance, while innovative concepts like "soul-bound NFTs" and dual-token voting layers further enhance the decision-making process.

The conversation delves into the broader ecosystem around Aragon, highlighting the decentralized nature of the plugins and the potential for an ecosystem database. Samantha explains how she envisions DAOs as vehicles for inclusive engagement across various industries, including fundraising communities, HOAs, and PTAs.

The episode ends with the two discussing the evolution and impact of DAOs, emphasizing their role in reshaping decision-making, governance, and community collaboration in the digital age. With examples from the collaboration for the DAO anthology, insights into Aragon's capabilities, and Samantha's own journey, the conversation underscores the significance of DAOs and their potential to revolutionize traditional organizational structures.

***Timestamps***

0:00 - Guest introduction - Samantha Marin

4:26 Anthology Collaboration

8:24 What does Aragon do?

12:25 Governance Formation - token vs. wallet voting

18:05 Ecosystem being built around Aragon

21:00 Samantha's Entry into Web3

35:00 Industries that can benefit from DAOs.

37:05 Aragon working with IRL organizations

42:28 Samantha’s current work at Aragon

44:38 How badly can you screw up DAO creation

47:40 Aragon Education

53:40 Regional differences for DAOs

***Additional Resources***

• Aragon - https://aragon.org/

• Twitter - @samanthajmarin

• Quorum - DAO Anthology

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***Links***

• Bankless Consulting Twitter

• Bankless Consulting LinkedIn

• Bankless Consulting Newsletter

• Early Podcast on YouTube