The Doodlebank Amendment

[Austin]

Last Updated: 04/04/2023

🔨 Increase proposal efficiency, transparency, impact by removing red tape, appointing the expertise of a council, and defining strategic pillars for funding.

With a refreshed Doodlebank, the primary goals are to quickly fund initiatives that strengthen and empower the community and increase holder rewards.

TL;DR

• Appointing a founding community council and commit to establishing council governance
  • Improve oversight of Doodlebank
  • Responsible for community budget planning and proposal vetting.
  • Responsible for communication with the community on Doodlebank progress.
  • Accountable for rewards program roadmap planning
  • Informed on the product roadmap
• Nomination of the Doodle Watch
  • Attend Community Council meetings
  • Monitor the council’s activities and ensure alignment with Doodles goals and values
  • Provide feedback and recommendations to Doodle’s team based on observations
  • Support community outreach and communication from council
• Removing the $100k commercial license cap for revenues derived from projects executed under the approved Doodlebank proposals.
• Replace snapshot proposal voting with community council and Doodles team approval
  • Align incentives between holders and the Doodles core team to distribute Doodlebank funds strategically
• Remove quorum requirements

The Doodlebank Amendment

A year and a half ago, three friends launched Doodles on Ethereum as an NFT project. Together we’ve reached hundreds of millions of people, deployed our technology on multiple blockchains, and made Doodles one of the most colorful and joyful brands in the world.

The original Doodlebank objectives were to fund both the growth of the Doodles team and the growth of the Doodles brand via community experiments. As a small team without outside investments, this was incredibly helpful.

We initially deposited 420 ETH into the Doodlebank and to date, half of royalties paid from secondary sales of the OG Doodles collection on Opensea have been deposited in the Doodlebank. Today, the Doodlebank holds Ether with a present value of ~$5 million USD, that awaits deployment!

As Doodles has evolved since we embarked on this journey together, so must the Doodlebank. We are incredibly excited about the changes outlined here for the Doodlebank. Together, these new and refreshed Doodlebank practices look to meet the needs of our collectors and the broader Doodles community and facilitate our ambitious long-term vision.

The Evolved Doodlebank Proposal

The pillars of this evolved Doodlebank proposal are community empowerment and holder rewards.

Community Empowerment

Events

The Doodlebank will deploy capital to further our ability to connect as a community in real life. From local collector meetups to Doodles branded experiential events at culture and web3 conferences, Doodlebank funds may be distributed to help the Doodles community experience Doodles joy in person, deepen relationships and make more meaningful connections that you can take into your everyday lives.

Entrepreneurs

Like a Y Combinator or Disney Accelerator Program, the Doodlebank will become a funding resource to support collectors working to build meaningful products, stories and services for our community and the world. With an eye to ensuring that these new projects bring incremental value to collectors, where it’s appropriate, these grants may be subject to collectors receiving specialized access, pricing or other unique benefits.
We cannot wait to see members of our community use access to our Doodles-only funding platform to take their ideas to new heights.

Community Creators

Doodles is filled with skilled content creators who drive awareness of our brand, from organized teams like JKB and TGID to artists like NFT Sushi, Cyclo, and ArtDood. The Doodlebank will become a resource to support these creators who grow our reach.
To maintain value for the whole community and stay on course with our long-term goals, we want to ensure that any content that’s Doodles-branded or centered around are community are consistently considered best-in-class in terms of quality and professionalism. To help our community content creators maintain that standard and to encourage such creation, the Doodlebank will be a resource to help fund top-tier content production. This could include funding equipment to be used for content creation, or engagement of services necessary to create or promote content, like post-production engineers, social media agencies, or event planning coordinators.
Beyond ensuring that content created by the Doodles community is best-in-class, we also feel this presents a unique opportunity for community creators to grow their creative skill sets with support from the Doodles community.

Rewards Program

We are building a timeless media franchise with our community at the center. Our vision requires taking a long-term approach, one where we build with our holders over time. As part of this experience, we want to make being a part of the Doodles community more valuable. With the Community Council, we will deploy Doodlebank funds to establish a roadmap for an enhanced rewards program which aim not only to create additional benefits available to Doodles holders (e.g., specialized access and discounts) but also reward Doodles holders who have held their Doodles the longest.

Waiver of $100k Commercial License Cap

Whether it’s the creation of physical products, content or other endeavors that our community members may want to pursue, we understand that the strength and appeal of these projects may rely on community members’ abilities to exploit their own (or other community members’) Doodles. For this reason, in connection with projects borne out of approved Doodlebank proposals, the $100,000 USD cap on revenue our community members may generate from exploiting their Doodles will be waived. Our goal with waiving the revenue cap is to incentivize community members to think creatively in how to monetize their own (and potentially other Doodles’) characters and IP and empower the community to pursue opportunities which the Doodles team feels complement or strengthen its own efforts.

Installation of a Community Council

With the installation of a Community Council, our objectives are:

1. To make funds easier to deploy
2. Reduce the time needed for proposals to get approved
3. Empower leaders in the community to steer the use of funds (i.e., creation of the Community Council)

At the outset, we envision the Community Council and its role within the Doodles community as follows:

Members

5 positions; however, we may add to the council over time.

Positions

1. Council Chair
   • Serve as a liaison between the Doodles team and the Community Council
   • Schedule bi-weekly meetings with the Doodlebank Community Council
   • Collaborate with the community to refine proposals and share progress
2. Treasurer
   • Manage Doodlebank quarterly budget and reporting
   • Oversee delivery of Doodlebank funds to proposals
   • Report on Doodlebank royalties from funded projects
3. Events Lead
   • Manage the allocation of Doodlebank funds to community events
   • Source event and program partners
   • Develop proposals for events and programs to be reviewed by the Community Council
4. Grants Lead
   • Collaborate on Doodlebank grants program with the Doodles team
   • Manage the allocation of Doodlebank funds to entrepreneurs and creators
   • Work alongside Doodles team to develop Requests For Proposals (RFPs)
5. Rewards Lead
   • Collaborate on rewards program roadmap with the Doodles team
   • Source partnership opportunities (i.e., rewards partners)

Responsibilities

As a council member, your responsibilities and tools will include the following:

• Bi-weekly meetings with the Doodlebank Review Council
• Dedicated slack channel with the chair of the Doodlebank Review Council and other Doodles team members
• Oversight on Doodlebank allocation
• Insight into our product roadmap
• Collaborate with the community to refine proposals and share progress
• Meet with and gather feedback from the community
• Provide feedback on work in progress product, creative, and live experiences
• Source partnership opportunities (i.e., rewards partners)

Qualifications

We’re looking for a mash-up of excellent Doodlers with:

• Strong belief in the strength of the community
• Business and operational acumen
• Industry-specific experience (e.g., media, entertainment, gaming, commerce, and fashion)
• Ability to spend ~10 hours per week on your responsibilities

Term

6 months

Pay

ETH equivalent of $24,000 USD per term, paid monthly at the end of each month

Community Council Application Process

Upon approval of this proposal, the Doodles team will open a request for Community Council submissions in https://forum.doodles.app/ 31. Interested holders will have 7 days to submit their applications for their desired role(s). The application period will be followed by a 7-day campaign period during which we will work with the community to host spaces for candidates to campaign for their nomination. At the end of the campaign period, members of the Doodles executive team will deliberate for no more than 4 days before selecting the 5 council members. We will consider community support/championing along with each candidate’s application submission and qualifications. The success of the Community Council relies on this process being a meritocracy rather than a popularity contest and it is imperative that the campaign period does not devolve into smear campaigns. We will consider decentralizing this process in the future.

Doodles Team Council

To work with the Community Council, we are creating a Doodles Team Council. The Chair of the Doodles Team Council will be Austin Hurwitz. For those proposals which require Doodles Team Council approval, Austin will assemble members of the Doodles team, based on roles and subject matter expertise appropriate for the particular proposal and together with Austin, those Doodles team members will comprise the Doodles Team Council for that particular proposal.

Community Council & Rewards Program Efforts

The Community Council will serve as an extension of the business development team to identify partnership opportunities (and field inbound partnership opportunities from the Doodles community) that will create additional benefits available to Doodles holders (e.g., specialized access and discounts) and/or reward Doodles holders who have held their Doodles the longest. For example, council members could secure partnership opportunities for discounts on analytic tools, creative software, or allowlist opportunities for upcoming projects. Once received or identified, the Community Council will then present these partnership opportunities to the Doodles Team Council for review and approval.

Proposal Submission, Budgeting and Approval Process

Proposal Submission

Doodle holders may submit proposals to the Doodlebank discourse forum under one of our strategic pillars (Events, Entrepreneurs, Creators, Rewards).

Quarterly Budget Planning

At the beginning of each calendar quarter, the Community Council submit to the Doodles Team Council for approval a proposal which includes the overall strategy and proposed budget of Doodlebank funds which may be deployed for such quarter.

Approvals & Reporting on Progress

The Community Council will have autonomy to approve proposals (and remit funds) for all events that do not utilize the Doodles brand beyond the name and limited signage/materials (e.g., a local Doodles meet-up). For all other proposals, the Community Council will present the same to the Doodles Team Council for review and approval.

Once approved, the Doodles team will communicate approved proposals via official channels and shortly thereafter reach out to the community member proposers about remittance of funds. Additionally, the Community Council will hold monthly status updates for the community to discuss approved and pending proposals.

Community Council Proposal Review

The Community Council review incoming proposals and take one of the following paths:

1. Approve and release funds (for specific community events)
2. Submit the proposal to the Doodles Review Council
3. Work with the proposer to refine the proposal before submitting to the Doodles Review Council
4. Reject proposals that are not aligned with our strategic pillars of community empowerment and holder rewards.

Doodles Team Review

The Community Council will meet with the Doodles Team Council to review pending and recently approved proposals, rewards program opportunities, and community feedback bi-weekly. The Doodles Team Council will also establish a dedicated communication channel with the council for asynchronous communication. In the event the Doodles Team Council wishes to revoke any approval given by the Community Council for a particular event, the Doodles Team Council will have 5 business days to do revoke such approval and the Doodles Team Council will provide the Community Council with feedback as to why the proposal approval is being revoked.

Election of Doodle Watch

With the election of the Doodle Watch, our objectives are:

1. Establish the community oversight over the community council
2. Develop a feeder program for future community council positions
3. Ensure the community’s voice is heard in council meetings

Members

2 positions; however, we may add to the watch over time.

Doodle Watch Responsibilities

• Attend Community Council meetings and take notes
• Ensure the mission and values of Doodles are being upheld
• Communicate council’s progress to broader Doodles community

These 2 elected community members will observe Community Council meetings, take notes, and ensure the mission and values of Doodles are being upheld. Doodle Watch members will also take an active role in sharing with the community the council’s progress. Doodle Watch members do not vote in Community Council votes; however, they are expected to participate in the discourse actively. Successful Doodle Watch members will increase their likelihood of being selected for the Community Council.

Term

3 months

Pay

$6,000 per term

Doodle Watch Election Process

Immediately after selecting the Community Council, nominations will open for the Doodle Watch. Community voting will take place by snapshot after a 7-day submission window.

Timeline

• Amendment Vote: 4/5 - 4/8
• Community Council Submissions: 4/10 - 4/17
• Community Council Campaign & Interview Window: 4/18 - 4/25
• Announce Selected Community Council Members: 5/1
• Define quarterly budget and proposal approval process: 5/1 - 5/31
• Doodle Watch Submissions: 5/2 - 5/5
• Doodle Watch Voting: 5/8 - 5/20
• Announce Doodle Watch Elected Members: 5/21

[Poopie]

We are excited to propose a better Doodlebank and eager to hear your feedback!

[sh0]

Congrats team. Excited by this fresh direction.

I’ll compile some additional thoughts shortly but in the meantime, well done frens

––

Edit: Here’s a brain dump of my notes for your consideration:

The bulk of my notes relate to using the accelerator framework. Consider this an educated brain dump. Length warning

Please take and leave whatever you like, I’m just offering my perspective on three main things:

(A) Using the Y combinator model (properly)
(B) Setting the purpose of the DB to increase the value prop of OG doodles in a way that naturally increases buy pressure and decreases circulating supply and sell pressure
(C) Meaningfully rewarding the council to maximize ability to score strong candidates

I will number my points so they can be easily referenced in future replies

(A) On using the Y Combinator model:

1. Credentials: Tech founder, venture funded and bootstrapped, growth advisor to fast growing SaaS brands in between, serial entrepreneur. I’ve been through a few accelerators, including YC, and have been a mentor and investor through them for 7+ yrs
2. accelerators were created by VCs to solve three things: inbound dealflow, quality of investment/entrepreneur and ability to invest at the earliest possible moment (preseed) so they can really double down on winners through pro rata rights or otherwise.
3. The point is to invest in things you care about early and to mentor/accelerate investments to reach PMF quickly so a follow on investment (derisking the first) is possible before running out if funds — this milestone needs clarity as it relates to the relationship between DB funded projects and Doodles so symbiosis is possible.
4. Doodles would only really benefit from using this model if the type of deals it writes cheques for have a direct impact on the brand equity if those deals work out early — the expectation to build really big really fast has to be addressed and supported if it matters. Funded ideas should fill in gaps either in value proposition or in market penetration for the main brand while aligning entrepreneurs working on those ideas, as far as opportunity cost goes
5. For the same reasons that VCs train their founders to focus on the right things and aim for the right milestones (during their time in the accelerators), there is likely a vested interest in mentoring and accelerating any team that gets funded; which assumes a structured, cohort-based approach that favors network effects and creates a collection of tools/resources to accelerate ideas
6. Similarly, ideal growth and exit strategy should be clear from the start for all parties. Anyone starting a new product via DB should have an idea of how and when they will exit that idea. VCs tend to have an investment horizon between 7-10 years — doodles will not benefit from such a long horizon. So there is a real element of connecting the right resources and people to new Doodlebank projects, much like YC network effects opening doors for founders. But the time horizon is a real factor, and a core goal of the DB should be to solve this so as to become an attractive destination for builders looking to bridge the web2 and web3 worlds
7. The right framework will create alignment between the brand, doodlebank and entrepreneurs - ideas must benefit the brand, must have a clear exit strategy (either to doodles or otherwise), must have a strong revenue model. Entrepreneurs should be given an unfair advantage in founding and going to market via DB vs independently that goes beyond royalty cap. Access to partners and agencies and any tools or methods to rapidly accelerate PMF or the main hypothesis. In YC that meant getting a warm intro to Dropbox, Airbnb and other big boys relevant to your use case.
8. For that reason, a cohort based approach would be my recommendation. It will add a structure and cadence and a clear milestone to attain by the end of the program to be in a position to either raise follow-on capital from DB, be acquired by doodles or continue bootstrapped. The goal post-term should be very clear (prove a hypothesis, go to revenue, raise money with additional partners, etc)
9. A cohort based approach also makes it easier for DB production to stay aligned with the current core team roadmap and its objectives since those things can be in flux on a quarterly basis. The DB could eventually be tapped to coproduce things with the brand or claim bounties which would contribute to the greater roadmap
10. This requires building an ecosystem of people, connections and tools to be made at the disposal of the founders — agencies, commercialization consultants, access to design and marketing resources, a Rolodex of partners who can be early customers or open doors, and so on. It can start small and slowly grow over time as the needs of the founders become clearer.
11. It also requires an RFP based approach that clearly outlines the strategic goals the DB is looking to solve and fund
12. Council should thus be able to produce value for the cohorts on its own plus administrate while operating the accelerator/studio/incubator — and they should be able to tap their networks to create connections for founders that will meaningfully accelerate their search for PMF
13. Perhaps most importantly, ownership should be clear from the start. The fund could simply act as a lender for its approved projects (with the express understanding those could be write offs). That way anyone building on Doodlebank will know they are building their own company, retaining all of the future benefits implied, minus Doodlebank royalties, debt repayments and some interest. That would give all holders a REAL way to build alongside doodles and benefit tangibly from the upside of those invested efforts while getting amplified by the greater doodles wave.

(2) In terms of strategic goals for DB as a tide to lift OG boats:

1. I’d emphasize RFPs to tangibly increase OG holder value so there can be natural decrease in sell pressure
2. Staking is an interesting model as it removes supply from circulation; and building a loyalty program to reward stakers over time is an obvious win that would be improved by the introduction of products built by the DB
3. DB should thus increase the reasons for buying and holding a Doodle for the various NFT personas, be it the financial return-minded, those interested in commercializing their Doodles, the builders, the community pillars and artists, and so on.
4. For each persona, there should be a clear next step after buying a Doodle which initiates the loyalty program across time.

(C) Council rewards
Don’t want to be misunderstood when I say the above framework cannot be executed with the proposed council rewards.

I would likely charge 10x the proposed term payment as an independent advisor to implement an effort of this caliber.

Additionally, I would most certainly want to be aligned with an option grant to vest over time, such that I can reap a benefit for those efforts in a manner commensurate with the impact it will have now and in the future.

Lastly, improving the proposed rewards will have a positive impact on the caliber of the council, whose vested interest would extend beyond their term; creating a compounding force of internal champions inbetween the brand and the community.

————————————

Overall the approach is miles better, I would just recommend taking it to the finish line. It needs a little more baking so the council isn’t left up to its own devices.

Of course, if the goal of the council is to design and implement a system to efficiently allocate and multiply the DB funds, then I would recommend the council to seriously consider this approach

[JJcool]

Love all the ideas, especially removing the quorum requirement, exciting for the next step of doodles

[jims.eth]

great to see the work here; can see its really something the team are passionate about… my only input… perhaps 5 council members and 2 -3 honorary (unpaid) members based on experience skill set etc

[Conquad]

Love this pivot. Excited to submit my application!

[Nesanel6152]

u werent lying wen u said we only drop bangers. great work by Kai and Poopie this proposal “slaps” as the kid say

[nirkouris]

This is leadership. Today I feel good and I will run for the team Council.

[nirkouris]

Great way!! I am very happy to see this and to be involved in shaping and taking Doodles global!!

[ayhth]

Finally!

Lots to unpack there, but excited about what’s to come. Great proposal @Austin !

Looking forward to supporting this.

[Jeremy_Nation]

This proposal to revamp the Community Bank and set up a Council managed by community experts is a good idea.

Will we get any insights into the process you will undergo in terms of selection once you have candidates in mind? Any transparency into that would go a long way I think.

[TwentyAfterIV]

I’m excited about this. Doodles has a lot of great community faces and leaders, I’m sure a lot of numbers and technical members as well! Let’s go!

[byhardy]

remember when this project was supposed to be called Doodle DAO lol

i’m sure this will get more community-led stuff done (cool), but i think there is a more decentralized way of doing that than letting 5 appointed members decide who gets funded. really tough to see.

someone please buy my wizard. it’s listed on opensea.

[M.X]

Regarding selection of the Community Council, I would like to see involvement from the actual Doodles community. It makes perfect sense why the team want to select from the applicants themselves, as they can make an informed decision based on their qualities and capabilities and leave nothing open to favouritism or manipulation and also make sure they are getting a high quality member.

Having said that, this is perfectly normal and expected when selecting actual team members/employees, but a community council is comprised of members who are not only professionally proficient they are also integral parts of the community they represent. As a community centric project/business, it would be good to see community members have a say.

As a solution, perhaps the community can vote for a preliminary 20-30 candidates and have them whittled down via the teams choosing. I’m sure the community can also offer some great alternatives to the team having sole authority in the selection.

[DaveToronto]

Love this is fresh thinking about the doodle bank. I am 100% behind the approach and trust the Doodle team to select the best council members. The reality is the council will be select led from the community and having the doodle team ensure they are have the right mix of what this role requires now makes complete sense. Ultimately we will have a qualified and well represented council from our community. Excited to see the impact this will have.

[lord_of_vapes]

What I suggest/like for the nominations of Council members is the following process.

• candidate do his campaign (not clear how);
• community member backs up his favourite candidate (not clear how) from an overall list (we should have an official list with all the candidates and their campaign, this is essential);
• team selects best 5 based on skills but also on community members signatures.

This way everyone should feel included in the final decision. What do you think?

P.S. “We will consider community support/championing along with each candidate’s application submission and qualifications.” How will community support be expressed? A vote, a signature, sentiment? We need a clearer process for this part tbh

[GopherTJ]

Thanks for submitting this proposal, Austin. Overall, it should be a net positive for effectively passing Doodlebank amendments. However here are a couple additions I want considered to provide clarity to process.

1. Every Doodlebank proposal submitted wither it is accepted by the council or not, should be showcased publicly. Without this written into the amendment, it will be impossible for Doodle holders to know what exactly the council is voting on and what was submitted.

2. Every single community council member should have to cast a vote related to proposals and those votes should be made public. The community should know exactly how their community council members are voting and if their votes align with team objectives or not. This is standard with any democratically elected form of representation and will help Doodle holders know how their council members are voting.

3. Pay. Please explain why Community council members are being paid ~$92 an hour for their work which would equate to a $191,360 annual salary if they were full time. Please clarify where the funds are coming from to fund their positions. Wither it be from official team accounts or coming directly out of the Doodlebank funds. I would like to propose this hourly rate be cut in half, especially since this is for a non-technical role with no standardized hiring objectives.

[Nesanel6152]

Loads of good stuff in your feedback, I think 1. and 2. make a lot of sense. Although some of it was covered under “Additionally, the Community Council will hold monthly status updates for the community to discuss approved and pending proposals.”

I think we should have a better built out interface for:

1. people to create proposals (proposal work flow where it helps people build out what they are proposing and prompts them through the various aspects of what they will need for a successful proposal)
2. for the community to view in real time and have constructive discourse around the proposal
3. for the council to evaluate the proposal and vote publicly

regarding 3. while to me personally the money isnt a real factor in why i would like to join council we need to be realistic about a few things.

1. similar DAOs/Councils are paying far more for leadership (Ape Coin/Proof)
2. to attract high quality applicants and council members the money needs to make sense. 24k after taxes is in most cases about 17k for a 6 month term. Doesn’t seem crazy on the surface. Especially considering the applicants ive seen so far likely bill or get paid at much higher rates at their irl job.
3. the council should be something people want to do and take part in.

Ultimately like any first version of anything i imagine as things progress we can adjust as needed for subsequent councils.

[GopherTJ]

Thanks Nesanel! I really appreciate your feedback and after doing a bit more research I agree with your pay argument for staying at the ~$92 an hour amount. After taxes the amount drops significantly and is enough to be competitive with other projects.

Going off of this, I still believe in providing transparency regarding the work being done. Especially making sure that those in the council position are fulfilling the requirements of the role and the community has a way to track progress and advocate their voice. Maybe that means a mandatory weekly breakdown of work done, or a larger summary in writing at the end of the month.

What do you think?

[Nesanel6152]

I think theres a balance to be struck between being transparent and being bogged down with reporting etc.

Bi-Weekly meetings with Doodles Team, monthly status updates on the surface seems adequate for more detailed reporting.

Like i mentioned earlier i would like to see much of the UI revamped which would allow for “automatic” transparency. As the community would be able to track and react to proposals in real time and follow along with the voting and updates.