I believe that there is a wave of change coming to the structure of organizations. I believe that ownership, operation, and profits may shift from the hands of the few to the many. How? By an up-and-coming structure known as the DAO, pronounced "DOW."

The 101 on DOAs. DAO stands for Decentralized Autonomous Organization. A DAO differs from the famous centralized hierarchal business structure in that it is decentralized or has a "flat" design. Put simply, DAOs are community-led, community-started, and community-run. Decisions and/or proposals are captured on the blockchain. Voting structures vary; some take on a 1-person 1-vote system, some reward patrons with tokens for their efforts within the DAO.

Will they be successful? The verdict is still out, but undoubtedly, significant interest and some unique project proposals have already been made. Who knows how far DAOwn this rabbit hole will go. (Bad attempt at a DAO joke… sorry)

I am an Alice, though, looking into the hole. I wanted to start a DAO, so I started my research and pestered my brother and wife with new ideas. My small step into the hole led me to the multiple platforms that create the voting mechanisms for a DAO. Then, I started to look into the legal structure options (LLC, CO-OP, LCA, etc.) and took a pause.

My DAO idea at the time was ambitious. The legal fees to create the bylaws alone would be significant. So at that point, I stopped and thought it would have to be "bootstrapped." I would have to devise another idea to help the community first. By doing this, I would grow a network and be able to leave that project utilizing an"Exit to Community" strategy (or starting a DAO). Hoping by that time, I will have the skills and know-how to create a successful DAO ready to take on the big leagues and the legal fees.

Vitalik Buterin once tweeted:

"The optimal governance structure for early-stage projects is founder dictatorship. The optimal governance structure for mature projects has large user/stakeholder involvement. "Exit to community" continues to be underrated as a way to get both." (Twitter- Aug 21, 2020)

This realization is where the "List of DAOs" came from. During my initial research, I discovered no simple, scrollable list of DAOs. There were lists of DAOs with analytics and metrics, but the information was overwhelming. Those sites are beneficial, but "The List of DAOs" would be different. Equivalent to a real estate search app (think Realtor or Zillow), the List of DAOs would have a logo and a mission. That's it. It is simple to use and search, and viewers can read a sentence or two and do their own research—an aggregator for information on DAOs from all the platforms in a .com format.

It would be a project to not only help myself grow but also give the community a "go-to" site for when they get the question on what types of DAOs there are. "I just checked the List of DAOs, and yep there's a DAO for that."

The content is for informational purposes only. Nothing in this article constitutes investment advice, a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer of a security, token, NFT, or application to a DAO. This is not investment or legal advice. Please do your own research.