0:11CarlYeah, I always say that I fell into that. Like, it was at the start of the rabbit hole, the Web3 rabbit hole. Like, I fell into a whole job by accident. I’ve always said that if it can pay your rent, it actually is a job. And it can definitely get the job done in terms of even understanding that this technology is real. It’s here to stay. And it’s only growing. I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to see it grow in the past 2 to 3 years. Ironically enough, the DAO is known as Aragon Network DAO.
0:38Kamal HubbardSure.
0:39CarlAnd they were a no-code platform themselves to be able to educate other people on DAOs, but also spew up their own DAOs on-chain amongst, I know, some common blockchains that we’re super familiar with already, Ethereum and Polygon, Avalanche, and But with that being said, that role kind of, I’ll always say it was a very fortunate and grace of God experience for me because never in my life would I have thought that at age 20, 22 now, at age 22, I would be working as an ambassador coordinator amongst professionals that at that age is one of those ages where it’s like, oh wow, they’re taking me seriously. Oh wow, they actually value my ideas. Um, I think what really got me passionate about it, if I can be honest, was it was, um, um, her name was Renee. And, um, well, she had told me, do you see the videos that are out there that are trying to explain what a DAO is now? And if you took a look at that time 2 years ago, it was very -- and just to say it frankly, it was like the old white man with the, with the Google Slide PowerPoint.
1:47Kamal HubbardYeah.
1:48CarlAnd, and as accurate as the information was, it wasn’t entertaining. It wasn’t fun. It wasn’t giving somebody a reason to be like, oh, I should mess with this today. But we all know, as you’ve just even had in your previous conversation, that DAOs are so impactful. It changes every corner of our lives and makes us look at things from a completely different mindset, whether that’s governance or even just finances. And being able to understand, or somebody even tell me at that age, if you go out there with that energy and explain what a DAO is, there’s a chance that they’ll listen to you 10 times more than wanting to watch this video.
2:26Kamal HubbardRight.
2:27CarlAnd so from an educational mindset, that’s kind of where I got super passionate about it because I never once -- one, having that mentorship or having that guidance of adults being able to, um, say, no, you can and go do it. That’s all I really needed. I already had the kind of, um, The, the rabbit hole experience, it got me there. It got me in the Discord chats. It got me being able to be in the room with a bunch of people that already respected me, which I didn’t even know they respected me already. It was just my own kind of social anxiety and road blockers that kind of blocked me. But at the end of the day, being able to be in that space of -- which I think the key word here is community -- it does give you that motivation and willpower to go to that next level. In fact, I felt like it’s gotten me here today.
3:12Kamal HubbardAnd that is a great story. And I mean, I think that also speaks to people who are naturally curious about Web3 and pursue a path, tend to find themselves somewhere that, like you said, can become a real well-paying job or a job that pays enough to cover your expenses and allow you to survive. I’m just really glad to kind of see the growth of the industry altogether. And wanted to also ask you, just, you know, how would you -- you talked about that process of defining what a DAO was and what made it so engaging for other people when you explained it. So can you explain to the folks tuning in? how you would explain a DAO to someone who is new to that concept?
4:09CarlOf course. I always like to, and I feel like I need to lead with the ugly first because I feel like a lot of people, when they hear this terminology of a DAO for the first time, they’re like, that feels like a pipe dream or it’s not realistic. But the truth of the matter is, I think it’s a frame of mindset. I think you can have, for what it’s worth, an off-chain DAO. You don’t necessarily have to have the technical legalities of it. The words itself stands for decentralized autonomous organization. But at the end of the day, it requires all of us in this room to be in the consensus together to know what we want, our objectives, and be able to work towards that.
4:47Kamal HubbardRight.
4:48CarlAnd that’s really what a DAO was for me at the end of the day. The experience of every quarter putting up a proposal and saying, this is what we want our outcomes to be, this is my skill set, and this is how I can get it, and this is how much I want to be paid for my services that I offer to this organization of like-minded individuals. And then us all coming together voting on that, saying, yes, I do want you to be here, continue to do it. And then also be able to see and verify the metrics that you’ve already put in and continue to put in is what makes the DAO stronger, in my opinion. It’s the work that your community is putting in, but also the on-chain and/or even verifiable even if it was a paper ballot kind of mindset, it gives us all kind of that sense of hope. It gives us that, all of us a sense of, okay, we’re going somewhere, we’re going in this direction. And we see how it’s operating.
5:44Kamal HubbardDefinitely. Now, you know, I think of DAOs in 2 different ways.
5:52CarlRight.
5:53Kamal HubbardObviously, a DAO as a business.
5:57CarlRight.
5:58Kamal HubbardRight? They’re operating, that’s their purpose, right? Every DAO should have a purpose.
6:02Carl100%.
6:02Kamal HubbardAnd then if it is a business, you have the people who are essentially like the promoters of that business, the people who started and organized and kind of did whatever they needed to do to actually file that business with the state or something and just get it started. And some people will criticize that process because they say, oh, well, That’s not decentralized, but you need to go through those steps to do things to have a legitimate business.
6:31CarlRight.
6:32Kamal HubbardAnd those promoters generally would step away and allow the rest of the business participants to, once again, participate in the proposals and shape the direction of that company. So, that’s more of like the business side. And then more to what you were speaking on, where a community can come together for, once again, a purpose, a general purpose or a specific purpose, and then begin to vote and make proposals or make proposals, then vote around whatever that purpose they see.
7:06CarlSo I will say on that, and kind of going back to that piece where I said the ugly, I think you brought up a really good point about understanding like that, that business structure and legalization structure needs to be there. And so while yes, we’re all like-minded individuals coming together for a community-driven purpose. I do strongly believe at the end of the day that, um, if we as a community aren’t putting our own checks and balances in place, if we as a community isn’t creating what is the criteria to be in our own community, if we’re not like, we aren’t doing that, then we are setting ourselves up for failure because we aren’t holding ourselves to our own standards.
7:45Kamal HubbardRight.
7:45CarlAnd we’re not growing. And that is a business mindset.
7:48Kamal HubbardYeah.
7:48CarlUm, kind of what you were talking, we were talking about before, the personal, um, the personal DAO. with Jesse, the family orientation that still holds a level of accountability that each individual still needs to share. So just as much as for even for Craft the Future, if each team member on the board for any organization that we -- or any entity that we are going to touch, we have to have our own level of accountability.
8:10Kamal HubbardYeah.
8:11CarlWhy -- how is Carl the marketing director and what are the criteria for Carl to be the marketing director? And did we all agree on Carl to be the marketing director? And I think that in itself needs to always be there because we have seen some businesses and not even just DAOs, businesses and DAOs alike, traditionally speaking, that doesn’t have the checks and balances in place, but operate more with this is who we are, but doesn’t have the paperwork or tools in place to hold themselves accountable.
8:38Kamal HubbardYeah, I mean, obviously accountability is a necessary part of any you know, community relationship and just growth, right? You know, if you’re gonna grow as an entity, people need to be held accountable. Not only just, you know, be praised, but, you know, if something does go wrong, recognize where things went wrong. Someone or --
9:04CarlI always say --
9:05Kamal HubbardNew people take accountability and we move forward and grow.
9:07CarlI definitely always say that, um, that accountability piece Or that -- I’m gonna use the scary word that most people don’t like to hear: failure. It’s not a scary thing, in my opinion. It’s actually the most needed thing, um, in order to even get to that next step, that next level, that next direction that you want to go. You’re gonna have to experience a lot of failure.
9:28Kamal HubbardYeah.
9:28CarlYou’re gonna have to experience a lot of hurt just to be able to -- you have to know what that feeling feels like in order to get it, get to that next space of what you want to be. So if anybody is creating a I mean, this is probably my own shameless plug or CTA for anybody who wants to create a DAO. Like, if you are going to go that mindset, you got to be prepared to fail.
9:45Kamal HubbardRight.
9:46CarlYou got to be prepared to fail twice, twice as hard, right? So you can be able to know what, um, to know what direction you’re going to go in. Um, from even an analytic mindset, those numbers are everything. Um, it drives your business, it drives the direction that you’re going to go in, and it actually is something ironically enough, to keep you accountable. Failure keeps you accountable because you know what direction you’re now going.
10:10Kamal HubbardRight, right, precisely. Well, Carl, it’s been great speaking with you. I really appreciate your insights and helping us understand, you know, what creatives, tools creatives can turn to, where they can do it here in Milwaukee. Also your experience with DAOs and helping us kind of talk around those concepts. So before we go, is there anything that you’d like to share with anybody A little bit more about yourself or where they can find you online?
10:38CarlI would say the last thing I’d like to share is like the direction that Craft the Future is going towards now is really wanting to create a hub for those no-code tools for people to be able to discover them in a way that doesn’t just like leave them saying what next, but how to, and how can I do this together or find the people to help me do this with me? Um, cuz at the end of the day, it takes a team, it takes that community effort to be able to Give creatives that spark of what’s next. So, and where you can find me, you can find me on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok underscore GM underscore Carl.
11:14Kamal HubbardAll right, there you have it. So everyone, don’t just make it a good day; make it a great day with crypto. Crypto with Kamal, and we’ll see you next time here at ICPCC 24.
