# Proposal Structure - Finance and Strategy Pod
- Executive summary
- Recap on the journey and learnings
- FiSt Pod mandate and focus areas
- Composition
- Budget
- Voting
- Guiding principles
- Reporting
- Submission and next steps
# (1) Executive summary:
This proposal is for Gro DAO to fund the continuation of the Finance and Strategy (FiSt) Pod, following its successful completion of an initial term.
The Pod achieved OKRs of the first cycle (>80% achievement for remaining workstreams), managed to work successfully with an external contributor (@Levi - experienced in on-chain Finance and Risk) to substitute two offboarded contributors, and subsequently achieved 100% of OKRs of the second cycle.
The FiSt Pod now seeks a total of 60k USDC + 40k $GRO for the next 6-month term, during which weâll continue bolstering Gro DAOâs strategy and finance functions. The current term will end with a surplus of 33k USDC, i.e., a transfer of 27k USDC from the DAO treasury is asked.
There will be two voting options:
- extending the FiSt Podâs term for another six months
- rejecting the proposal
After a 6-day window for comments, weâll open the proposal to voting for 5 days. We believe our streamlined Pod is now more than ready to help drive the future of Gro DAO.
# (2) Re-cap on the journey and learnings:
Entering the Pod structure of Gro DAO was an exploratory journey for us and we quickly iterated to identify effective and ineffective practices. Our collective learning over the past 6 months has significantly enhanced the efficacy of the FiSt Pod.
Re-cap:
- Beginning with three co-facilitators, each independently leading their workstreams in Finance, Strategy, and Risk.
- Addressing the fallout from two contributors leaving the Pod due to different reasons (capacity constraints & different work delivery expectations) and quickly filling the gaps in their wake.
- Achieving >80% of OKRs of remaining workstreams in cycle 1 and creating a highly effective Pod setup for the next 6 months.
- Achieving 100% of OKRs in cycle 2.
Achievements:
We are proud of the milestones weâve accomplished across the three workstreams, despite the challenges we encountered. Find highlight deliverables below and more details in the monthly reports here.
# Transparency:
- Transparency Report of Gro DAO
# Product Strategy:
- Product Ideation Support and Customer interviews with 19 different stakeholders
- Research Support in Market, Competitor and Product Analyses
- Specific Analytical tasks, e.g., monetization model, market sizing, ideation scorecard, problem-solution trees, etc.
# Risk Management:
- Launch Readiness Checks for G^2
- Formalization of Risk and Rebalancing Framework for G^2
- Operational Security Recommendations
- Emergency Situation Support, e.g., USDC de-peg
# Strategic Finance:
- Treasury Management Framework, incl. Principles & Objectives, Risk management*
- Treasury Operating Model, incl. Governance*
- Cash Flow Analysis and Financial Flow Mapping*
- Financial Report*
*marked for deliverables in final stage.
Offboarding of 2 contributors:
- The Pod navigated the challenge of the offboarding of two of its three initial contributors (Exa and pvl in Strategic Finance and Risk, respectively).
- We managed to fulfill all OKRs of the remaining workstream and efficiently replaced the departing contributors with taking over the most essential tasks in Finance and Risk to maintain the robustness of the Pod.
- To achieve this, we onboarded a new external contributor within 1 month - who has fast become an integral part of the DAO - and shifted out-of-capacity tasks over to Panda/ Groda with the help of the People Pod.
Learnings:
- Importance of work styles and timezone alignment: Different work preferences and limited overlap in online hours initially hindered coordination in the beginning. Weâve since worked together with an external contributor (Levi) who shared the same timezone and work style, easing this problem.
- Need for clear responsibilities: Independent facilitation of workstreams caused confusion, especially for cross-Pod interactions. We found that assigning a single lead per Pod (now Bernard) to handle these interactions is a more efficient approach.
- Significance of cross-Pod collaboration: Our experience in collaborating with the Groda Pod and People Pod - where we have work packages that we steer together - emphasized the need for clear ownership and delegated tasks. The improved setup has Groda define a clear product lead, with the FiSt Pod assisting with execution and product exploration.
# (3) FiSt Pod mandate and focus areas:
Our proposal outlines the continuation of the FiSt Pod with an emphasis on Finance and Product Strategy. Our ultimate goal is to secure the long-term survival of the Gro DAO by setting up a sustainable finance function, supporting the implementation of new business units, and providing clear communication to our members.
Clear focus for this term is on:
- Lean Treasury Management
- Supporting the Groda Pod in Product Strategy, esp. discovery
- Lean operational coverage of Ad-hoc Rebalancing tasks in Risk and Treasury
Therefore the FiSt Podâs mission lies in its four distinct focus areas:
1. Treasury Management
We are responsible for managing treasury allocations and aim to provide transparency and financial decision support to the DAO members.
- Treasury Allocation Recommendations: Selecting a diversified range of assets that prioritise capital preservation, satisfy liquidity needs, and align with the objectives of the GroDAO Treasury.
- Treasury Management Rebalancing: Being the first touchpoint to execute rebalancing actions related to Groâs Treasury
- Strategy Whitelist Sourcing: Researching protocols, evaluating risk parameters, monitoring GroDAOâs whitelisted strategies, and executing rebalancing actions within the Treasury management framework on a quarterly basis.
2. Product Strategy
Our goal is to evaluate product ideas and provide strategic business building support to ensure the long-term viability of Gro DAO. This includes assisting the Groda Pod in product strategy, supporting analytical-heavy tasks, and research work.
- Support of Groda Pod in product strategy and ideation: Continued support in product explorations, e.g., customer interviews, user journeys, problem-solutions trees
- Support of execution of analytical-heavy tasks: Continued support in data-driven analyses, e.g., monetization models, business case modelling, etc.
- Support of execution of research work: Continued support in strategy related research tasks, e.g., exploration of new verticals, preparation of decision meetings
3. Strategic Finance
This area focuses ensuring the financial health and sustainability of Gro DAO.
- Financial Reporting: Generating regular reports and analysis to provide accurate and up-to-date financial information for decision-making and transparency.
- Cash Flow optimisation: Providing a sounding board in on-going cash flow considerations, e.g., budget decisions, forecasting, and identifying opportunities to optimise cash flow efficiency and liquidity.
4. Operational Coverage of Protocol Rebalancing
This area focuses on managing the financial strategies to ensure the sustainability of Gro DAO.
- Protocol Strategy Rebalancing: Being first touchpoint to execute rebalancing actions related to Groâs Protocol strategies.
# (4) Composition
- The Pod will consist of Bernard as part-time contributor covering deliverables for the 4 focus areas and dedicated support resources from the w3s team
- The facilitator role is owned by Bernard who holds the overarching responsibility for core topics of the Pod, steering it, and âputting the pieces togetherâ.
### Background of the facilitator
Bernard
- part of FiSt Pod since inception â took over faciliator role with offboarding of Exa and Pvl
- prior working for McKinseyâs Digital Practice
- part of w3s - a team of DeFi/TradFi contributors (ex-Blackstone, JP Morgan, DeFi) to support crypto companies and DAOs in strategic finance topics (M&A, Fundraising, Strategy and Finance Management)
- supports strategic advisory (growth, monetization, operations) and financial reporting topics within w3s
- steering committee at McKinsey-DAO (global community of former McKinsey employees incl. several top web3 founders).
# (5) Budget:
Our proposed budget aligns with the Podâs prior financial plan - i.e., we reduced headcount by 2 contributors, so the Pods contributor budget for this term is reduced by 66%. Moreover, we aim to reserve an additional 30k USDC for topic-specific support from external resources or emergent high-value tasks that may arise beyond our capacity.
The current term will end with an approximate budget surplus of ~33k USDC, which will be kept in the FiSt Podâs wallet if this proposal is approved. If the extension for the second term is approved, the FiSt Pod will request a total amount of 27k USDC from the Gro DAO Treasury to the FiSt Pod operational wallet.
Detailed Breakdown:
- Contributor payments: 30k USDC + 40k $GRO Tokens over 6 months
- This accounts for the named contributor (Bernard) and includes resources from w3s for specific on-demand tasks (e.g., Research capabilities), along with facilitator role compensation.
- Like last term the contributor will cover a third of a FTE equivalent role
- Contingency budget for additional contribution: 30k USDC over 6 months
- This budget serves as an additional bucket for an additional contributor that may be coming onboard within the next 6 months or to use extra capacity from internal resources.
- The expenditure of this additional budget will always be synchronized with People Podâs prior spending.
- Creation of this resulted from a similar situation in term 1, where we had the flexibility to tap into 2.5k USDC of the remaining Risk budget to execute on a high-value Risk task.
# (6) Voting:
The proposal will be open for comments over the next 6 days. If no substantial changes are required, it will then be open for voting for another 5 days.
There will be two voting options:
- Extend FiSt Podâs term for 6 more months
- Rejection of the proposal
# (7) Guiding principles:
The FiSt Pod aims to uphold Gro DAOâs ideals of transparency and collaboration in all its interactions. Adjustments to our focus areas and deliverables may be necessary to account for developments in governance, legal, or regulatory matters. This proposal should not serve as a basis for investment decisions.
The FiSt Pod is enthusiastic about receiving community feedback. We invite active community participation in shaping our future endeavors, which we believe will foster a collaborative environment essential for the success of Gro DAOâs mission.
# (8) Reporting
The FiSt Pod will update the DAO on its progress regularly through the community channels such as Community Forum and Discord including a monthly report on the Notion Board here.
Big thank you for the last 6m to everyone involved and hoping to continue the journey!
Looking forward to hearing everyoneâs thoughts - thanks to @graadient, @SAS, @raambo, @Levi for iteration on this!
#(9) Submission date and next steps
- Date of Submission: 2023-06-22T00:00:00Z
- Move proposal to Snapshot if RFC feedback is implemented and there is sufficient support: 2023-06-28T00:00:00Z(at the earliest)
Signalling Vote
Please indicate below whether you are FOR, AGAINST; or have no opinion (ABSTAIN); on this proposal.
- FOR: approve the proposal
- ABSTAIN: no opinion on this proposal
- AGAINST: do not approve the proposal
0 voters
This RFC will be open for comments over at least the next [6 days]. If no substantial changes are required, it will then be open for voting for another [5 days].
itâs for the better!
(just to provide more clarity to the average reader):
Iâm confident to be able to deliver on the tasks outlined over the coming 6 months. As discussed before, ideally I can find an additional part-time contributor to support deliverables in TM and Strategic Finance so I can spend more time on Product Strategy. If I canât find a suitable person, Iâll do it myself and spread myself more thinly across the different streams. If ever workload peaks, I have the option to bring in additional resources from w3s, as weâve discussed before.