RFC: Developer DAO Hackathon

What is the idea?


A developer DAO organized hackathon focused on Web3 which will include only Developer DAO members. . The main purpose of this hackathon is have DD members get to know each other through their teams, learn valuable Web3 skills, build projects and tools that were previously discussed in guilds or explore new ideas which could be beneficial to the DAO.

Why is this idea important to us?


With the rise in popularity of Web3 more and more developers are looking to make a leap into this new world but only have some limited introductory knowledge or at best a weekend project on a platform like Buildspace. So why would a hackathon help? A lot of developers learn best by building real life projects and hackathons provide a great opportunity for that. Furthermore, a successful entry in a DD organized hackathon could yield ideas for future DD led projects as well as be used as some form of proof of competence through an NFT which could help the DAO and future employers in the space find the right person with the right experience / skills for the job.

How would we execute?

Duration
The hackathon will be monthlong with occasional check ins.

Teams
Teams of up to 5 members will need to be formed with all relevant team information posted prior to the start of the hackathon in order to participate. Each team will work on their respective project and ultimately make a decision if they want to submit their final project for judging and participation for awards and proof of competency NFT. A special team icebreaker will be hosted for people prior to the launch of the event to help with team formation.

Team Icebreaker
A special event where people can meet and form teams around a project idea. I envision a series of icebreaker events held over multiple days prior to the hackathon launch where people can just hang out in discord voice and text chats. Additionally we could have a form for people who already have an idea and are looking to form a team for that idea. These ideas could be posted and people could apply to be part of that team.

Project themes
A hackathon usualy has a problem theme or several categories participants can try to create solutions for. Here is an example list of categories we might include: DeFi, DAO, NFT, ZKP, Public blockchains etc. People could also choose to go public with their idea or keep the idea as a DAO project. In addition, if we acquire sponsors for the event they could set out specific criteria for ideas that use their technology, tools or stack which could yield special prizes from those sponsors.

Judging criteria
a panel of judges will be sourced for this hackathon. Some initial criteria we might consider for them to uphold includes but is not limited to:

Innovation - How creative is the solution? Does it represent out of the box thinking?

Technical Achievement- What technological problems had to be overcome to create this product?

Application -What kind of impact will the solution make?

Documentation - How well is the product / project documented? (Great idea suggested by with-heart)

Sponsors
Our dedicated business and marketing team should start approaching potential sponsors in order for the event to have a healthy prize pool, merch and overall hype for the hackathon. Sponsors can additionally set out their own specific prizes tied to some criteria they set out. Ex. Chainlink would have a special reward for projects utilizing their Market and Data feeds product.

Sponsor / Member led workshops
Workshop on specific technologies will hosted by either sponsors of the event or members of the DAO. These will be hosted on a schedule and live streamed on the official hackathon stream.

Team / Project Tracking
This could be as simple as a spreadsheet or airtable to keep track of which teams are working on what projects. On top of that we can have occasional check-ins with the teams on progress in order to keep everyone motivated to finish a MVP. In addition, a final submission website will be created for participants to outline what their project is all about so judges and members of the public can see.

Demo day
A virtual demo day will be hosted where finalists will pitch their projects to the panel of judges. This could be live streamed on YouTube / Twitch with possible participant from the public through a QA sessions.

15 Likes

Interesting! Are there any thoughts on the next step after the hackathon? e.g. funding, incubating, mentoring, etc…

Thanks for creating this RFC!
I really believe this hackathon could be super valuable for the DAO, for the obvious reasons (build cool stuff! Showcase projects outside the dao! Build up community!)

But, IMO, one crucial point is that it will allow people who aren’t currently contributing to find a relatively straightforward, self-contained on-ramp to become more active members of the DAO!

Currently the ratio of active contributors to members of the DAO is quite low, because the discord’s energy is chaotic good and that might be intimidating to some. If done well, I believe that hundreds more developers might be able to find their way into a productive role in the dao through the relationships built through this hackathon.

I would therefore suggest making the onboarding to this hackathon a really well-lit path. Some suggestions to that end:

  • spend a little time coming up with a rock solid team forming process. We really want every dev_dao member who wants to take part in the hackathon to find a team he’ll enjoy working in. This article has some great tips for including everyone in a team for in-person hackathons - maybe there is something there we could use?

  • more experienced/active members could take the lead on “learning-focused projects” targeted to beginners in the space; buildspace-like projects

  • off-boarding after the demos - a set of judges, mentors could funnel the participants towards DevDao guilds/projects they might enjoy!

4 Likes

In general I think that public hackathons are a good thing to do, but I think that we should dogfood the hackathon first and make sure we like the experience that we’re building before dragging the public in. Also, if we’re using it as a means of onboarding like minded people, we should have the governance token / future-participation figured out on the governance/tokenomics side (so that winners and/or participants can be rewarded appropriately to engage with D_D further).

6 Likes

Ah sorry, yes! When I say onboarding here it’s converting existing members of the DAO from lurkers to contributors. Definitely agree this should be member only.

3 Likes

Love the idea! Could be a great way to level up our web3 skills together and reach a good enough level to partecipate and contribute to other projects in the future.

this seems to be a good idea. I also support the idea of dogfood the hackathon first before doing it public. Should be a medium of improving the interaction among members