Simona Pop I Lessons Learned on DAO Governance | Pragma Lisbon 2023

Mon, Oct 2, 2023, 12:00 AM

Simona Pop shares hard-earned lessons from years of active DAO participation, offering a candid look into what works—and what doesn't—in decentralized governance. In this fireside conversation at Pragma Lisbon 2023, Simona reflects on her recent departure from Gitcoin’s Steward Council, explores the evolution of DAO culture since the 2020 boom, and discusses the need for new governance structures, values alignment, and decision-making clarity. She emphasizes the importance of intentional design, standardized proposal flows, and the shift from extractive mindsets to collaborative contributions. Whether you're starting a DAO or contributing to one, this talk offers invaluable insights into how DAOs can evolve to fulfill their promise of pluralistic value creation and effective coordination. 00:00 Intro to Simona Pop and DAO governance 01:19 Stepping down from Gitcoin Steward Council 02:52 Role in Gitcoin governance and Shelling Point 05:25 DAO boom of 2020 and early experimentation 07:19 Why Simona still believes in the promise of DAOs 10:01 Challenges and exhaustion in building new systems 11:15 DAO impact beyond finance: public goods and education 13:11 Funding use cases from scholarships to security 14:44 Repeating old patterns with new DAO facades 16:20 The problem with tooling without clear processes 17:43 Rubber-stamp voting and loss of clarity 19:38 Decision-making transparency vs shadow processes 21:03 Delegate power, vote timing, and influence issues 22:09 Working with DAOs vs working for them 23:36 DAO facades and power imbalances 25:41 What successful DAOs could look like in 2023 27:38 Standardized proposal formats and flow design 30:17 Cadence, clarity, and interoperability of talent 33:11 Value alignment and knowing when to walk away 34:56 Token clout vs true intention in DAO participation 36:21 Unlearning extraction: toward genuine collaboration 37:37 Change, loss, and emotional realities of DAO work _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇵🇹 *Pragma Lisbon* Pragma Lisbon 2023 took place at Casa do Alentejo on May 11, 2023, and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. Watch the full Pragma Lisbon 2023 playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh7nuyBq4GojkgAhqoRtsi9K&si=pYS-TR5BOQSZ3YGi ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Ever since we first introduced our new event series, Pragma, in Tokyo in the spring of 2023, we have been fostering a curated, global community of individuals who deeply care about web3. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow Simona Pop* X: https://x.com/Sim_Pop ✅ *Follow Kartik Talwar* X: https://x.com/therealkartik Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/kartik ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _