Bachelor Thesis, Master Thesis, Project Study
š Key facts
Contents
- š” Background
- š¦¾Who We Are
- šÆ Goals
- š§ Topics of Interest
- š Profile
- š Further Reading
- Definitions; conceptual foundations, evolutions
- Overviews & guides
- DAO applications: communities, creators, future of work, cities, more
- ā¦plus DAO stories
- How-toās & getting started with DAOs
- Building & participating in DAOs: mechanics, incentives, governance, legal, more
- š Requirements to any Work
- š¬ How to Apply
š” Background
DAOs - the end of management structures as we know them? DAOs are very new: Launched in 2016, "The DAO" was the first decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) intended to act as an investor-directed venture capital firm. Lauded as a revolutionary project, The DAO raised $150 million USD worth of ether (ETH) and was one of the earliest crowdfunding efforts and high-profile projects built on the Ethereum blockchain - which at the time was only one year old (find more information here). But the new technology is not yet fully sophisticated. The very first project was hacked and $60 million in Ether was stolen. Nevertheless, DAOs offer incredible opportunities in different areas!
Therefore, one should take a closer look at the extent to which these possibilities are already being explored. To be precise, you should analyze the literature on DAOs, find and evaluate startups that are VC-funded, and analyze use cases for DAOs, especially with respect to DAOs for communities.
š¦¾Who We Are
The Chair for Strategy and Organization is focused on research with impact. This means we do not want to repeat old ideas and base our research solely on the research people did 10 years ago. Instead, we currently research topics that will shape the future. Topics such as Agile Organizations and Digital Disruption, Blockchain Technology, Creativity and Innovation, Digital Transformation and Business Model Innovation, Diversity, Education: Education Technology and Performance Management, HRTech, Leadership, and Teams. We are always early in noticing trends, technologies, strategies, and organizations that shape the future, which has its ups and downs.
šÆ Goals
- Do extensive desk and internet research analyzing the DAO ecosystem
- Analyze literature on DAOs
- Compile a list of all DAOs
- Analyze every DAO regarding its setup and success
- Through your research, you may also be able to generate new business models and business ideas for DAOs
š§ Topics of Interest
- DAOs
- Science in all-new areas
- Blockchain technology
- Disruptive business model innovations
š Profile
- Reliable and self-driven
- Enthusiasm for DAOs / entrepreneurship / venture capital / science / Blockchain
- Ability to do sophisticated internet, desk research, and connect with practitioners
- Passionate to learn more about the future and do research with impact
š Further Reading
https://future.a16z.com/dao-canon/
Definitions; conceptual foundations, evolutions
Why decentralization mattersĀ ā decentralized networks arenāt a silver bullet, but they offer a much better approach than centralized systemsby Chris Dixonhttps://cdixon.org/2018/02/18/why-decentralization-matters
The meaning of decentralizationĀ ā one of the most frequently yet most poorly defined words; reasons for; three types ofby Vitalik Buterinhttps://medium.com/@VitalikButerin/the-meaning-of-decentralization-a0c92b76a274
A glossary definitionĀ ā defining the ādecentralizedā, the āautonomousā, and āorganizationā, all enabled by blockchainsby Alex Pruden and Sonal Chokshihttps://a16z.com/2019/11/08/crypto-glossary/
Defining D, A, OĀ ā organizations and DAOs as tools for coordinating human activity; going beyond organization to organismby Philippe Honigmanhttps://hackernoon.com/what-is-a-dao-c7e84aa1bd69
D is forā¦, A is forā¦, O is forā¦Ā ā what is a DAO?by Aragonhttps://blog.aragon.org/what-is-a-dao/
DAOs defined: the big pictureĀ ā from traditional organization to internet-native organizationsby Aragonhttps://blog.aragon.org/a-dao-defined-the-big-picture/
āScissor labelsāĀ ā on narratives, incentives, and how terms can be divisiveby John Palmerhttps://j.mirror.xyz/RUeJfZEZxr-hkuzUCakQyUuf2kOJVMPPiAWBaQFhhqc
Terminology guideĀ ā smart contracts, autonomous agents; decentralized applications, decentralized organizations, decentralized corporationsby Vitalik Buterinhttps://blog.ethereum.org/2014/05/06/daos-dacs-das-and-more-an-incomplete-terminology-guide/
Who will control the software that powers the internet?Ā ā toward an internet governed by open, community-controlled servicesby Chris Dixonhttps://www.wired.com/story/how-blockchain-can-wrest-the-internet-from-corporations/
DAOs: a new organizational and governance paradigmĀ ā a conceptual introductionby Louis Grxhttps://medium.com/@LuigiGrx/2-2-daos-a-new-organizational-and-governance-paradigm-93e889df1b39
The successor of the āorganization manā? The āblockchain manāĀ ā on cooperation, a world without transaction costs, and āprotocolismāby Taylor Pearsonhttps://www.ribbonfarm.com/2017/10/10/the-blockchain-man/
On cryptocurrency communitiesĀ ā how company building and cryptocurrency building are differentby Nick Tomainohttps://thecontrol.co/on-cryptocurrency-communities-f592b5ce6b0b
The slow death of the firmĀ ā why do firms exist; making decentralized organizations more broadly adoptedby Nick Tomainohttps://thecontrol.co/the-slow-death-of-the-firm-1bd6cc81286b
Bootstrapping a decentralized autonomous corporationĀ ā encoding a corporate mission statement into codeby Vitalik Buterinhttps://bitcoinmagazine.com/technical/bootstrapping-a-decentralized-autonomous-corporation-part-i-1379644274
Companies, networks, crowdsĀ [a16z podcast] ā āThe DAOā vs. a DAO; automation, contingencies, smart contracts; will the firm go away?with Erik Brynjolfsson, Andrew McAfee, Frank Chen, Sonal Chokshihttps://future.a16z.com/podcasts/machine-platform-crowd/
Past, present, future: From co-ops to cryptonetworksĀ ā how cooperative governance can be both efficient yet representativeby Jesse Waldenhttps://a16z.com/2019/03/02/cooperatives-cryptonetworks/
On web3 and participatory governanceĀ ā policy frameworks for the third generation of the internetby a16z Cryptohttps://a16z.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/How-to-Win-the-Future-1.pdf
DAOs and legal questionsĀ ā on legitimacy, legal ramifications, and morewith Priyanka Desai and Aaron Wrighthttps://modern.finance/episode/flamingo-dao/
The rise of āLex CryptographiaāĀ ā a new subset of law for rules administered through self-executing smart contracts and DAOsby Aaron Wright and Primavera de Filippihttps://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2580664
Overviews & guides
A prehistory of DAOsĀ ā defining a chimeric term; layers of; cooperatives, gaming guilds, and the networks to comeby Kei Kreutlerhttps://gnosisguild.mirror.xyz/t4F5rItMw4-mlpLZf5JQhElbDfQ2JRVKAzEpanyxW1Q
A beginnerās guide to DAOsĀ ā definitions, mindsets, tools, examplesby Linda Xiehttps://linda.mirror.xyz/Vh8K4leCGEO06_qSGx-vS5lvgUqhqkCz9ut81WwCP2o
The Dao of DAOsĀ ā NFTs and DAOs; why DAO, how DAOs can be a source of competitive advantage; types of DAOs today and tomorrow; DAO lego kitsby Packy McCormickhttps://www.notboring.co/p/the-dao-of-daos
DAOs, NFTs, and the new creator economyĀ ā a DAO allows its creators, its support, its contributors, and its audience to be owners in the collectiveby Jarrod Dicker, Brian Flynn, Patrick Riverahttps://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/03/04/nfts-daos-and-the-new-creator-economy/
The ABCs of DAOsĀ ā internet-native constitutions; how DAOs are automating the corporation, moreby Theodor Marcuhttps://1729.com/daos
DAOs and the future of organizations onlineĀ ā public goods on the internet; governing and funding projectswith Chris Dixon interviewed by Steven Johnsonhttps://adjacentpossible.substack.com/p/lets-run-the-experiment-a-conversation
DAO landscapeĀ ā different types and use cases of DAOs; how DAOs evolveby Cooper Turleyhttps://coopahtroopa.mirror.xyz/_EDyn4cs9tDoOxNGZLfKL7JjLo5rGkkEfRa_a-6VEWw
Everything you need to know about DAOsĀ ā a primer on how DAOs are working to collectively shape the new creative economyby Foundationhttps://foundation.app/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-daos
DAO applications: communities, creators, future of work, cities, more
15 ways the world is being transformed by DAOsĀ ā doing for organizations what the internet did for communicationby Aragonhttps://blog.aragon.org/15-ways-the-world-is-being-transformed-by-daos/
Community DAOsĀ ā what makes a DAO a DAO; going from group chats to real businessesby Patrick Riverahttps://p.mirror.xyz/cVN3KOss0uqpZwxHQKtC4Syvn1RfXaxofFKHJuKLWS4
Giving communities the power to bidĀ ā pooling capital, fractional ownership, morewith John Palmer interviewed by Cooper Turleyhttps://zine.zora.co/party-dao-interview
āFantasy Hollywoodā: Crypto and community-owned charactersĀ ā enabling communities to bring new characters and culture to the worldby Cuy Sheffieldhttps://future.a16z.com/fantasy-hollywood-crypto-and-community-owned-characters/
DAOs and the promise of utopia in the music industryĀ ā changing the way music and art move through its usual life cyclesby Resident Advisorhttps://ra.co/features/3914
Why DAOs are essential to DeFiĀ ā almost all major DeFi applications are now governed by DAOsby James Beck, Mattison Asherhttps://consensys.net/blog/codefi/daos/
Minimum viable participation in cryptoĀ ā spectrum of participation from capital to earning oneās place at the table to participating in cryptoby Elena Burgerhttps://future.a16z.com/minimum-viable-participation-in-crypto-games-costs-accessibility/
Squad wealthĀ ā informal peer-to-peer institutions, role of trust in squad logic; theory of the squad; a new model of group coordination; can squads scale?by Sam Hart, Toby Shorin, Laura Lottihttps://otherinter.net/research/squad-wealth/
The future of workĀ ā āyou will probably work for a protocol somedayā; from create-to-earn to judge-to-earn to participate-to-earnby Stephen McKeonhttps://medium.com/collab-currency/the-future-of-work-5d7b47cff308
ā¦plus DAO stories
From contemptuous to indifferent to curious to pretty damn excited: my journey to web3Ā ā what if NPR Planet Money could have been reinvented with DAOs?by Adam Davidsonhttps://adamd.mirror.xyz/ef3BZjrJGk7bb1ElhVdz5AMWxEAN7GIOQhsXMKTmOWY
ConstitutionDAOĀ ā the great decentralized blockchain experimentby Kate Irwinhttps://decrypt.co/86359/constitutiondao-hits-30m-ethereum-raised-one-day-before-sothebys-auction
Examples of DAOs for economic empowermentĀ ā more easily organizing human and financial capital to invest in projects and people, enabled at scaleby SyndicateDAOhttps://syndicate.mirror.xyz/xeRR8PJUnGr-mUlwLJppFHe65WPpyyULFBiz89K1qfI
What is it like to join a DAO?Ā ā experiences of the first four weeks of joining a DAOby Shawn Cubbedgehttps://blog.aragon.org/what-is-it-like-to-join-a-dao/
Life of a āprotocol politicianāĀ ā overseeing governance, making proposals, voting, moreby Cooper Turleyhttps://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/the-life-of-a-protocol-politician
How-toās & getting started with DAOs
DAOs and creatorsĀ ā resources to get started today from 101 to much moreby Kinjal Shahhttps://kinjal.mirror.xyz/eD3-Sgv2h50j-kwjHQCOnwqMKqSLTfnrqrtNypU-P5k
How to DAOĀ ā basics & answers for beginnersfrom Aragonhttps://blog.aragon.org/how-to-dao-answers-for-beginners/
How to join a DAOĀ ā why join, identifying goals, getting startedby William Peasterhttps://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/how-to-join-a-dao
How to build a DAO in three daysĀ ā the DAO stack and components, case study of ConstitutionDAOby Packy McCormickhttps://www.notboring.co/p/lets-buy-the-us-constitution
How to DAO from day one to deeper levelsĀ ā from vibe check to creating value to making a commitment to doing it full-timeby Jack Fancyhttps://forefront.market/learn/guides-tutorials/how-to-dao
Building & participating in DAOs: mechanics, incentives, governance, legal, more
Progressive decentralization: A playbook for buildingĀ ā product-market fit, community participation, ownership; how to avoid getting stuckby Jesse Waldenhttps://a16z.com/2020/01/09/progressive-decentralization-crypto-product-management/
Come for the creator, stay for the economyĀ ā go to market strategy and the three phases of creator mode, org mode, protocol economyby Patrick Riverahttps://p.mirror.xyz/1EpvJwUpx_KlRcHOKLNqADEkwHL_Z1ZYKobF2uLwgBg
How to get paid by DAOsĀ ā different ways to contribute to DAOsby Lucas Campbellhttps://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/how-to-get-paid-by-daos
Creator DAOs, web3, and incentivesĀ ā intertwining social and financial, intrinsic and extrinsic motivations,Ā from badging to tokensby Jarrod Dicker, Jonathan Glick, Tal Sacharhttps://darkstar.mirror.xyz/Tf9IS6yNxtPXwC5mmfi_UISe8v6BOfef2bDmQSxoJao
Building and running a DAO: Why governance mattersĀ ā development of financial incentives, how the mechanics matter, practical challengesby Tarun Chitrahttps://future.a16z.com/building-and-running-a-dao-why-governance-matters/
Moving beyond coin governanceĀ ā from Defi to āDeGovā, exploring the design space for governance; solutions to keeping voting and DAOs safeby Vitalik Buterinhttps://vitalik.ca/general/2021/08/16/voting3.html
How DAOs could approach treasury managementĀ ā functions to manage treasuries from spending and asset allocation to borrowing and reportingby Shreyas Hariharanhttps://newsletter.banklesshq.com/p/how-daos-should-approach-treasury
Organization legos: The state of DAO toolingĀ ā DeFiās āmoney legosā have seen a Cambrian explosion, but āorganization legosā are still in their infancybyĀ Nichanan Kesonpathttps://medium.com/1kxnetwork/organization-legos-the-state-of-dao-tooling-866b6879e93e
How to grow decentralized communities: community building for token networksĀ ā funnels that lead discoverers to being participatorsby Peter Yuan Pan (pet3rpan)https://medium.com/1kxnetwork/how-to-grow-decentralized-communities-1bf1044924f8
How to assess new community building hires for token networksĀ ā what matters, what doesnāt; questions to ask candidates; assessing track recordsby Peter Yuan Pan (pet3rpan)https://medium.com/1kxnetwork/how-to-assess-new-community-building-hires-for-token-networks-a2672c07dd58
On-chain vote buying and ādark DAOsāĀ ā security for blockchain voting; how to avoid decentralized cartels, opaque vote buying, moreby Phil Daian, Tyler Kell, Ian Miers, and Ari Juelshttps://hackingdistributed.com/2018/07/02/on-chain-vote-buying/
Voting, security, and governance in blockchainsĀ [a16z Podcast] ā voting in social systems (blockchains, boardrooms, elections); gaming mechanismswith Phil Daian and Ali Yahyahttps://a16z.com/2019/02/09/voting-blockchains-governance-security-cryptoeconomics/
A legal framework for DAOsĀ ā on taxation, entity formation, and operational issues pertaining to decentralized autonomous organizationsby David Kerr and Miles Jenningshttps://a16z.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/DAO-Legal-Framework-Jennings-Kerr10.19.21-Final.pdf
https://coopahtroopa.mirror.xyz/_EDyn4cs9tDoOxNGZLfKL7JjLo5rGkkEfRa_a-6VE
https://medium.com/@OpenLawOfficial/the-era-of-legally-compliant-daos-491edf88fed0
https://dpereirapaz.medium.com/from-daos-to-ai-daos-blockchain-ai-driven-organizations-422e2fac2db
https://blog.codecentric.de/en/2017/09/decentralized-autonomous-organization-blockchain/
https://221a.ca/activity/roundtable-social-tokens-distributed-autonomous-organizations-daos
https://academy.binance.com/en/articles/decentralized-autonomous-organizations-daos-explained
https://medium.com/coinmonks/daos-are-the-next-best-thing-4efaff6662f6
https://cointelegraph.com/ethereum-for-beginners/what-is-dao
https://twitter.com/balajis/status/1406780026834411520
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYPzqRaN4zA
https://www.coindesk.com/video/what-is-a-decentralized-autonomous-organization
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pyi8-qm02hs
https://a16z.com/crypto-startup-school/
https://twitter.com/CaitlinLong_/status/1384991490531729410
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xQLiVbz3EM
š Requirements to any Work
We do not want your research to gather dust in some corner of bookshelf but make it accessible to the world. Thus, we warmly encourage you to create some or all of the following:
- Infograph - visually represent some of your work (find examples here)
- Slide Deck - summarize your research and possibly present it
- Extract most important sequences from podcasts, videos, and other media
- 3-4 Tweets about the most important findings and summarizing the topic
- optional: Medium Article - let people outside the university know about your research and start your personal brand
š¬ How to Apply
If you are interested, please contact Prof. Dr. Isabell Welpe and Christian Ziegler (e-mail below) by submitting your CV and grade report. Please also briefly outline your tentative research idea (research question, data and methods, possible outcomes with a tentative outline all in word as *.docx)
We're greatly looking forward to hearing more about you!
šĀ christian.ziegler@tum.de