We are stoked to announce the launch of our DAO Operator Residency program.
This program brings together DAO leaders from across the ecosystem for a one week intensive IRL experience. Participants work together at Cabin's Node Zero location outside Austin, sharing in the triumphs, pains, and learnings from building their own DAOs.
This program is for people that work part-time or full-time as core contributors in DAOs. We’re talking top community managers, guild leaders, product leaders and builders. This is for people who are knees deep in the DAO muck... and could use a little “Group Therapy” with others on the same adventure.
There are still a few spots left in our next two residencies :
March 7 - March 13, 2022
April 25 - May 1, 2022
More dates TBD for 2022
If you don’t want to read all the way and are ready to sign up, read no further. You can apply here. Otherwise ...
Excited to learn more? Read on.
Who are DAO Operators?
A DAO Operator is a leader within a DAO. We are looking for people who put in at least 20 hours per week on behalf of a DAO. Depending on the DAO, these operators may hold contributor, co-contributor, or cofounder roles and are often guild or squad leaders. They manage the community, build products, write code, design, and do whatever else is required to bring a decentralized organization to life.
As cohort 1 resident and Cabin’s very own Community Guild co-leader, Jackson says, This program was the ideal blend of learning, networking, time in nature, and space for creative work. I highly recommend it for anyone looking to clear their head, get out into nature, make some new friends, and learn a ton along the way.”
This is a high-touch experience and we limit each cohort to 5-7 participants at a time..
Application process
First, fill out our short application form (~5 mins).
After that, someone from Cabin will reach out. They’ll conduct a brief interview to see if you are a fit for the residency and understand the biggest challenges you are facing in your work.
We don’t accept everyone, but if you are a serious contributor in a DAO it’s likely we’ll find a place for you in a future cohort.
The Residency
You’ll travel to Cabin’s Node Zero in the Texas Hill Country outside of Austin. Your host at Cabin will pick you up at the airport. Then, you arrive for the Opening Ceremony where goals and intentions are set for the week.
You’ll spend the next week in our custom-design shipping container residency space with 5-7 other DAO operators facing similar challenges.
The Residency is a mix of solo working time and group collaboration and learning.
You’ll work alone on your project for 4-6 hours every day (we know the work doesn’t stop) and gather with the group for workshops, meals and possibly some trail building at the Cabin in the morning and evening.
This is not a break from work. It’s a place to work alongside other DAO Operators.
For example, 0xStation cofounder Tina He shipped the first version of Station during the residency. She says, “Imagine meeting your best friends for the very first time. This is what gathering with like-minded, values-aligned humans feel like when virtual relationships go offline. Thoughtfully curated and intentionally programmed, Cabin makes brain-melting across the DAO ecosystem effortless.”
We’ll invite DAO experts to deliver presentations and workshops on topics such as tokenomics, governance structures, motivational techniques in decentralized organizations, and contributor onboarding and compensation. We’ve even improvised on the fly as other needs arise out of our conversations.
Throughout the week, there is a light program of morning and evening sessions with pros from all around the DAO world. In cohort 1 we had a stellar lineup of workshop leaders and session speakers:
Julia Lipton on building networks
Zach Anderson on compensation and culture
Jon Hillis on Zen and the art of trail blazing
Rafa on community
Phil Levin on the virtues of “do-ocracy” and other lessons from intentional communities
Future cohorts may not have the same line up, but will cater to the specific needs of the group. Eli from Krause House says,
“This is a truly special space for getting grounded in the fact that it's the people that make this so special and exciting. A masterclass in space-crafting that will help you engineer emergence in your community.”
Cost
We do need to cover our costs, but we want to approach this a bit differently.
First, we are happy to accept payment in the native token of your DAO. WAGMI, rising tide raises all boats, etc. If you don’t have a native token, ETH or USDC works too.
Second, this is a pay-it-forward system. What you contribute will be applied to supporting someone in the next cohort. If you pay more than the baseline, we’ll be able to support more people through scholarships and other means.
This said, it costs 0.5 ETH to cover the baseline costs of the program (food, housing, cleaning, etc). We’ll ask for a minimum baseline contribution from your DAO (either in your native token, ETH, or USD) to cover this and reserve your spot.
After the event, we’ll send a virtual tip jar so you can contribute on top of this if you feel the program was worth more. If cost is an issue, scholarships are available for those that need it.
Sign up for the next cohort
We currently have several more cohorts planned for the rest of the year.
If you are interested in joining, apply now.
Once you apply, we will contact you for an interview. We hope to see you at the Cabins soon!
“The program helped me rediscover where my energy wants to go - and how critical this type of communal connection is to my existence. Ops and governance stuff — yeah, it's useful. But the collective juice was the magic.”
— John, Seed Club
