What is a DAO for Web3 Developers?

A DAO or decentralized autonomous organization is a community-led structure with no centralized authority where individuals with voting rights can shape the direction of the underlying organization. The term “DAO” has joined the everyday lexicon used by the broader crypto community as the number of DAOs and their balance sheets have surged dramatically in the past 24 months. 

Developers create DAOs on many different blockchains, with the Ethereum blockchain network proving to be popular. A DAO’s financial and operational outcomes are typically dictated by a governance token, which is issued at the genesis of the DAOs creation and grants holders access to voting power and exclusivity. In its truest sense, decision-making power is placed in the hands of end-nodes within an automated system and crowdsourced processes. 

While there are many pros and cons of creating a DAO, they have endless use cases and because of this have become an increasingly popular vehicle for launching all kinds of Web3 applications and businesses. For instance, DAOs could serve as a pool of capital to purchase an expensive item such as the US constitution. Or they could establish a members-only gated community where prospective members have to purchase a particular NFT to gain access. 

In general, there are several types of DAOs, and each of them serves a different purpose.

The Top DAOs for Web3 Developers

Here are some of the best DAOs for web3 developers:

1. Developer DAO
2. LearnWeb3DAO
3. DXdao
4. Odyssey DAO
5. Women Build Web3
6. VectorDAO
7. SuperteamDAO
8. MolochDAO
9. Buidl Guidl

1. Developer DAO

The Developer DAO is a community-oriented organization for developers interested in participating, learning, and contributing to the future of Web3. The organization’s mission is to accelerate the education and impact of a new wave of Web3 developers, and its foundations lie on top of four core values: transparency, diversity and inclusion, responsibility and kindness, and empathy. 

Developer DAO boasts a membership of 5,000 unique members and to join, interested individuals need to purchase a genesis NFT on the open market or from another member. For those interested but unable to afford or acquire a token on the open market, Developer DAO provides free memberships in the form of scholarships.

2. LearnWeb3DAO

Similar to Developer DAO in its ambition to onboard as many developers into Web3 as possible, LearnWeb3DAO is a community-oriented DAO that addresses current knowledge gaps to learn Web3. With structured tracks and free content, the decentralized community is laser-focused on teaching the fundamental building blocks of this new wave of technological development. 

To bring diversity to those who benefit from Web3, the grassroots organization intends to create a fully-fledged Web3 ecosystem and advocates for women, people of color, and other underrepresented minorities in the technology sector. 

The DAO offers 4 learning tracks, from freshman to senior, each dedicated to uncovering a specific topic such as gas optimizations and smart contract security. The DAO has over 50,000 members, and interested developers can easily join through LearnWeb3DAO’s official Discord.

The team is composed of co-founders Haardik, a protocol engineer at Ceramic Network, Sneh, a software engineer at Coinbase, and Kacie, a technical writer at Hashnode and blockchain developer at the Musicoin Foundation. 

3. DXdao

Established in May 2019, DXdao is a scalable collective focused on developing, governing, and growing DeFi projects. The 2,830+ member strong DAO leverages reputation-based governance and holographic consensus to coordinate and manage funds, meaning no one can buy their way into influencing its future. 

Developers who are looking to make an impact in the decentralized finance ecosystem can learn more about the DAO through its manifesto and potentially consider contributing to the project. In addition, DXdao operates six unique products:

1. Swapr - A multi-chain AMM with a suite of unique features including LP governance, DIY farming, and more
2. Carrot - A community-driven programmable incentives platform to distribute rewards alongside set criteria
3. Omen - A fully decentralized multi-chain prediction market platform
4. Mesa - A permissionless DEX that enables ring trades to maximize liquidity

4. Odyssey DAO

Producing quality Web3 educational articles and courses, Odyssey DAO’s long-term objective is to onboard 1 million people into the Web3 ecosystem. Today, the community boasts 6,750+ members, many of whom have made the grand leap into full-time employment in Web3. The DAO is sponsored by firms such as Polygon, Thirdweb, Phantom, and Aave. 

The DAO is centered around three important principles, namely, quality over quantity, delightful onboarding, and paying it forward. Developers can subscribe to their free newsletter to receive the best of Web3 insights in their mailbox. Moreover, the community provides six free learning paths including an introduction to NFTs, breaking into Web3, and learning the building blocks of DeFi. 

5. Women Build Web3

A global collective of women and non-binary developers learning and building in Web3, Women Build Web3 boasts 215+ active members. The community could also be perceived as an accelerator for women-led engineering projects, helping developers unlock their potential through the provision of education, opportunities, funding, and a network of like-minded peers. The community spans eight countries, sixteen cities, and nine time zones. 

According to the group’s official whitepaper, the community works closely with Developer DAO as a “sister” DAO and works cross-steam on all initiatives. If you happen to be eligible for membership with interests in smart contracts, NFTs, DAOs, DeFi, and more, then go ahead and introduce yourself to the community. 

This year, Women Build Web3 has an ambitious goal to onboard 1,000 developers, ship 100 projects, complete 10 hackathons, and form 1 DAO. This might just be the time to join and kickstart the community’s DAO creation efforts. 

6. VectorDAO

According to its official blog entry, VectorDAO is a decentralized collective of designers, brand experts, and creatives pioneering a new way of working that tilts the scales back towards builders. The DAO’s unique organizational structure makes it easy for contributors to earn equity and tokens for their work.

VectorDAO is focused on combating three primary challenges: ownership, diversification, and flexibility.

1. Ownership, not cash

VectorDAO only accepts equity or tokens as compensation in exchange for services provided with the DAO handling all paperwork and legal undertakings required for members.

2. Diversification

Provision of a wide-ranging portfolio of projects for members through its seasons model.

3. Scheduled flexibility

Members can sign up for the level of commitment they deem appropriate for themselves. Unlike traditional startups, there is no cliff with VectorDAO. 

Aspiring Web3 designers, visual artists, and other creatives can apply for membership online or if people are interested in collaborating with the collective, that’s also a possibility. 

7. SuperteamDAO

Superteam DAO’s mission is to help promising Solana-based projects in emerging economies launch and grow. The organization is organized as a co-operative of creatives, developers, and operators who have previously launched and developed technology businesses. 

The DAO’s Discord channel has over 3,800 members and those looking to get involved can complete bounties to earn crypto and obtain membership. You can check out roles on Superteam DAO’s jobs board.

8. MolochDAO

Branded as the original grant-giving DAO, MolochDAO is a DAO deployed on the Ethereum mainnet in early 2019. Members contribute capital with the sole purpose of donating it to fund Ethereum infrastructure as an essential public good. Since its inception, Moloch has awarded roughly $700,000 in grants to multiple projects and research initiatives. 

It’s simple to get started: 

• Read through the DAO’s mission statement and values, their vision of Web3, and underlying beliefs 
• Familiarize yourself with the 1,100+ members on Discord 
• Tell the group how you would like to get involved. There are three major ways: 

1. Pledge 10 - 100 wETH 

2. Share your proposal and request sponsorship 

3. Do work for the DAO to earn your way in 

9. BuidlGuidl

Buidlguidl is a curated group of Ethereum builders creating products, prototypes, and tutorials to enrich the scaffold-eth and broader Ethereum ecosystem. The DAO is member-managed and utilizes a Gnosis Safe smart contract to make important decisions. In total, there are over 700 builders and each DAO member has equal voting rights.

Conclusion

With the rise of DAOs in Web3, getting involved in one of these projects is one of the best things a Web3 developer can do if they want to understand how DAOs function and what to do to implement a DAO project successfully.

For more inspiration, find out how Stake DAO partners with Alchemy to power DeFi applications and how Pentonium uses Alchemy to build and operate their freelancer DAO. With DAOs, the possibilities are endless and just beginning to take shape.