The problem Grateful DAO solves

The counter-culture that was born in the 1960's by the Grateful Dead and their fans - very much alive and well today

This culture, and economy, is organically decentralized and aligns very well with web3. Grateful DAO will be a vehicle for this counter-culture to fully and smoothly onboard & transition

By gathering members organically at live shows, the problem of lifeless, sometimes toxic, online recruiting will be eliminated

Incentives will be based on the DAO's native "Inspiration" token. A certain amount will be gifted upon joining, and more tokens are earned

Free access to shows, backstage access, & meetups at shows

Sponsorship/Creation of events & concerts

"Shakedown Street" NFT marketplace

Message Board/Social Media platform for users

Token incentivizaiton will be in place to award users that create "good" proposals, and penalize for "bad" ones

VIP culture, especially at festivals, has gotten out of control (SuperVIP, UltraVIP, etc.). Grateful DAO will combat this by giving members status with token based time and merit

A free AI generated membership NFT minting will be offered instantly for all new members upon signing up

"Rose" NFT's will be gifted to users who have been nominated and voted on as deserving

Grateful DAO will serve as an "umbrella DAO" to unite subDAOs for bands, festivals, & more that all fly under the Grateful Dead banner

An AI agent, "Bertha" , will be available to DAO members, although the exact use and nature of this agent is still being researched

The Grateful Dead have a long history of embracing technology over the decades, upcoming Dead & Company residency at Sphere in Vegas shows that this ethos has not changed - Grateful DAO will continue this

In summary, Grateful DAO is a much needed platform for onboarding this counter-culture to web3 in a decentralized manner. Also, the beloved and treasured legacy of Grateful Dead music and culture will be passed down to future generations

Challenges I ran into

The main challenges faced so far in this project have been rooted in community buidling, it seems that the approach has been too democratic and idealistic. A more decisive and targeted approach seems to be necessary, at the expense of some democracy.

The process for initially gathering members was distributing paper flyers at live shows last summer on Dead & Company's final tour. Quality over quantity was the idea for assembling this genesis group.

This open grassroots approach to gathering members is still being evaluated , it is great ideally , however it may not be targeted enough.

I began conducting Zoom meetings with this initial group. My idea was for the DAO to be as democratic as possible, not even the chain was pre-determined. It quickly became apparent that being too democratic was actually a detriment to the formation of the community.

I am still working out with user research what the best things are to (and not to) be pre-determined.

The user research gathered during these meetings also showed that the UX friction of a crypto wallet made them uneasy.

Another major mistake that I made was not having a clear defined purpose for the DAO. This seems like such an obvious blunder in hindsight , but I was again trying to be too democratic and idealistic by leaving these decisions open.

The specific smart contracts that will be needed for this DAO will become more apparent after more user research is conducted.

There seemed to be an overall lack of interest by this initial group, especially after multiple meetings. Based on response it seems that it would be beneficial to offer new users a free NFT minting upon signing up.

Although the hurdles described above are not necessarily technical ones, they are pivotal to the development of this project. Continuing to have conversations with potential users and carefully documenting the research will be the best way to get over the frictional entry-barrier hurdles.