Important Update:
It’s important to me that the community feels genuinely aligned behind this proposal and the mission - this process isn’t just a box to tick for me. So despite the Phase 2 vote ending in favour of the original proposal, I felt it was right to step back and rethink it in light of the critical feedback from all of you, and I’ve spent the last few days reflecting on and acting on it. The points around the high valuation, the upfront risk, team size and more were all really valuable signals.
So I’m proposing to change the terms - reducing both the funding amount and the valuation by a significant margin.
Updated terms below:
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Instrument | SAFE |
| GnosisDAO cash investment | $1.5 M |
| Product & IP contribution / incubation equity | $1M |
| Total DAO SAFE position | $2.5 M |
| Valuation cap | $10M post-money |
| Discount on future priced round | None |
| Resulting DAO ownership | Minimum of 25% |
Tl:dr
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The funding amount, and with it the DAO’s financial risk is reduced to half, i.e $1.5M.
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The valuation cap is reduced by a third to $10M.
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The team has been restructured from 9 people to 3 over the last couple of days. Feedback from @lefterisjp here was spot on. It’s the right size for the stage we’re in - nimble, fast, low burn, and able to aggressively iterate to hunt PMF.
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The DAO gets a minimum of 25% for a $1.5M cheque - above a normal seed investor’s typical 15-20%, reflecting & honouring its incubation of the product.
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The DAO’s IP value remains the same.
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The SAFE gives the DAO preferred shares at the time of conversion during the next priced round.
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The mission, to empower people failed by existing systems and institutions with more sovereignty, hasn’t changed one bit.
I believe these terms are a lot more aligned for both parties than the original ones — they reflect the reality of where we are much better, they’re fairer, and I think they set us up for success in the right way. They meaningfully reduce the DAO’s risk, still give it real upside, preferred protection, honour its incubation work, and leave enough room for future investors and the team to stay motivated to make this succeed.
Will be moving it to a Phase 3 vote on Snapshot now. Will post the link in a separate comment.
P.S. It has been genuinely great to see so many constructive comments that made this proposal stronger, raising money in public from a DAO has this uncanny way of bringing you closer to the truth as you move through the process. I believe this capital, if the proposal passes, is meant to lay the foundations of a mission driven company that truly empowers people who need sovereignty the most, at scale, and my gut says there’s a reason the first cheque comes from a DAO and not a VC. This mission keeps the team up at night, and I’ll make sure we do everything in our power to bring it to life.
Thanks all for contributing, and I hope you’ll vote on Snapshot 