DAO Suisse - Compliant DAO Launcher on Cardano

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Isla Munro-Hochmayr

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

Entity (Incorporated)

[GENERAL] Co-proposers and additional applicants

As Council members for DAO Suisse:

• Malik El Bay
• Romedi Ganzoni
• Una Wang
• Florian Spychiger
• Isla Munro-Hochmayr

As business manager for DAO Suisse:

• Benjamin Hoelzl

As Founders / Council members at FTW DAO:

• Isla Munro-Hochmayr
• Ben Hoelzl

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

6

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language

No

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

Online launchpad that makes it easy to launch a compliant DAO entity on Cardano, keeping as much as possible online, giving summoners clarity on set-up costs and expected future costs.

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

Yes

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”

We will be working on and with the Clarity team that already has a DAO tooling on Cardano in order to implement a compliant DAO set-up & management tool.

• FTW DAO was a partner in DAO Suisse Launchpad prototype and intends to stay involved
• We intend to build our solution on top of Clarity DAO builder service on Cardano

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

Yes

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

Needs to be explored in detail in project feasibility study, but DAO Suisse is a non-profit Swiss association and intends to build tools that can be leveraged by the ecosystem for minimal cost 

Clarity is a DAO builder service that leverages fully open source and audited on-chain governance and treasury management infrastructure

Likely our software components will be open-source while manual services that form part of our MVP solution will be provided at a sustainable but low price to DAO founders

[METADATA] SDG rating

SDG Goals

5 - Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

8 - Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

9 - Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

16 - Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

17 - Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development

SDG Subgoals

16.10 - Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements

16.3 - Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all

16.7 - Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels

16.8 - Broaden and strengthen the participation of developing countries in the institutions of global governance

5.5 - Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life

5.a - Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws

8.5 - By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value

8.9 - By 2030, devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products

Key Performance Indicator (KPI)

5.5.2 - Proportion of women in managerial positions

16.7.2 - Proportion of population who believe decision-making is inclusive and responsive, by sex, age, disability and population group

8.5.2 - Unemployment rate, by sex, age and persons with disabilities

16.7.1 - Proportions of positions in national and local institutions, including (a) the legislatures; (b) the public service; and (c) the judiciary, compared to national distributions, by sex, age, persons with disabilities and population groups

5.5.1 - Proportion of seats held by women in (a) national parliaments and (b) local governments

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

The adoption of DAOs faces significant barriers due to uncertain regulatory landscapes.

Switzerland, known for its crypto-friendly legislation, provides an ideal environment for

developing a legally compliant DAO, and enabling easy, web3 native set-up for DAO summoners. 

By partnering with DAO Suisse, known for its focus promoting the DAO ecosystem, and pushing for compliant decentralised governance structures, we aim to make setting up a compliant Swiss incorporated DAO as simple, affordable and accessible as possible. Utilising Clarity, a predictable and secure DAO management toolkit from the Cardano ecosystem we aim to create the MVP for a DAO set-up tool, that enables would-be DAO summoners to easily create a legally compliant DAO with a compliant Swiss entity on Cardano.

With this project, we aim to set a standard for future DAOs and ease the access to compliance, legal security and clear governance to potentially hundreds or thousands of DAO founders.

We propose to develop a comprehensive minimum viable product for a DAO based in

Switzerland, leveraging the Clarity smart contract platform, and adhering to a legal and

compliant framework provided by DAO Suisse. This initiative aims to pioneer

regulatory-compliant DAO structures that combine the strengths of Cardano's

blockchain technology, with Swiss legal frameworks to facilitate innovative governance

models.

Objectives:

1. Concept Development: Design a DAO structure tailored to Swiss regulations, leveraging Cardano's Clarity smart contract language.
2. Legal Compliance: Integrate DAO Suisse's expertise to ensure the DAO adheres to Swiss regulatory requirements and best practices.
3. Technology Demonstration: Showcase the capabilities of Clarity and the Cardano blockchain in implementing compliant, decentralised governance structures.

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community

Innovation in Governance: Sets a precedent for creating legally compliant DAOs,

potentially influencing global DAO frameworks.

Regulatory Alignment: Demonstrates the viability of integrating cutting-edge

blockchain technology within existing legal frameworks.

Community and Ecosystem Growth: Enhances the Cardano ecosystem by

providing a tested, secure, and compliant platform for future DAOs.

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

DAO Suisse was established in 2023 together with a wide variety of organisations and individuals who are key to the Swiss DAO and crypto ecosystem.

In early 2024 we partnered with FTW DAO and other DAO-centric organisations in Switzerland to deliver a DAO launchpad with a cohort of 5 very early stage DAOs. We partnered with Blockchain Innobooster and used this cohort to incubate 5 innovative teams with DAO ideas, who were focused on launching DAOs in Switzerland. Cooperating with our member expert organisations, we coached projects through workshops on DAO business models, governance, legal & compliance, tokenomics, tech stack and pitching.

The areas we identified the largest pain-points and gaps for potential founders were:

1. Legally compliant set-up
2. Tech stack and tooling for DAOs (incl. choice of blockchain ecosystem)
3. Initial funding for proof of concept / MVP development

Based on these learnings, and deep personal experiences in the DAO ecosystem, the DAO Launchpad team proposes to build on its initial pilot, by developing an MVP solution that will allow new DAOs to establish their first legally compliant DAO entity on Cardano, leveraging the existing tooling provided by the Clarity tool.

Isla Munro (project coordinator for the DAO Launchpad) is the co-founder of FTW DAO (a DAO aimed at promoting investment in diverse founders), and has deep expertise in both DAOs and the diversity, equity and inclusion space, having spent a number of years promoting diversity and more efficient capital allocation in the finance and venture capital industries. She is also a council member of DAO Suisse, the core organisation making this proposal.

FTW DAO was the key implementation partner on the DAO Launchpad, and is open to partnering with DAO Suisse on the expansion of this program.

The Clarity team has confirmed availability to explore feasibility of this program together and where necessary, develop modifications to Clarity smart contracts.

Other DAO Suisse Council members who will provide oversight and expertise for the project include: 

• Una Hongyang Wang, Ph.D. candidate at ETH Zürich (Tech & Tooling Working Group)
• Romedi Ganzoni, Partner at MME (Legal & Regulatory Working Group)
• Florian Spychiger, Research Associate DAOs & Blockchain at ZHAW (Züirch University of Applied Sciences)
• Malik El Bay, Partner at Dezentrum (Think & Do Tank for Decentralisation)

Other previous DAO Launchpad content partners: 

• Swiss Economics / https://www.swiss-economics.ch/
• MME Legal and Compliance / https://www.mme.ch/
• WTG Ventures / https://www.wtgventures.com/
• ZHAW / School of Management & Law https://www.zhaw.ch/en

DAO Launchpad presentation: https://www.canva.com/design/DAF-i2dYOm0/U_oNX5NTnhk1sZfgC9tFsQ/edit?utm_content=DAF-i2dYOm0&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

[PROJECT MILESTONES] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

Milestone 1

Legal & compliance research

Feasibility study

Acceptance criteria:

• 1-2 page outline of legal / compliance acceptance criteria written by Swiss lawyer with crypto experience
• Clear go/ no-go decision and detailed documentation backing up decision based on legal and compliance review
• Go / No-go criteria clearly outlined and basis for decision clearly explained mapped to compliance acceptance criteria
• If no-go decision, same as above but including detailed reasoning why a Swiss compliant DAO launcher is not feasible as planned in this proposal
• 1-2 page outline of expected complexity to bring Clarity contracts in line with the high-level acceptance criteria 

Evidence:

• Link to pdf report authored and signed off by Swiss registered lawyers with significant practical crypto industry experience 
• Link to pdf gap analysis reviewed + signed-off by Swiss lawyer

Milestone 2

Concept research, design and outlines

Concept Design Report

Acceptance criteria:

• Detailed outline of legal / compliance acceptance criteria for a compliant DAO model that can be built on-chain with minimum to no manual steps required by DAO creators
• Concept design for a legally compliant Swiss DAO that considers and adheres to legal acceptance criteria, widely applicable / useful governance approaches and common basic needs for new DAOs 
• Concept design must provide technical achievability within MVP budget 
• Detailed gap analysis that outlines changes needed to bring Clarity DAO contracts in line with legal / compliance criteria and any important usability considerations
• High level estimation of efforts for various pieces of the technical implementation and required staffing 

Evidence:

• Link to legal acceptance criteria signed off by Swiss registered lawyer with crypto experience
• Link to PDF with concept design and detailed considerations
• Link to PDF with gap analysis 

Milestone 3.1

Technical / implementation planning 

Implementation plan

Acceptance criteria:

• Detailed estimation of efforts and technical staffing requirements, signed off by Clarity team and/or experience smart contract developer
• Detailed project plan which includes effort estimations for non-technical resources and team members 
• Includes overview of bi-weeky / monthly sprints, and the expected results of each as well as required team members and respective capacities
• Plan allows for changes / delays and uncertainties in project

Evidence:

• Link to pdf / Notion page with project plan and sprint planning
• Link to pdf / Notion page with effort estimation details and team resource planning

Milestone 3.2

Project implementation

MVP

Acceptance criteria:

• Any required smart contract changes for DAO launcher MVP on Clarity implemented based on compliant concept design
• DAO Suisse launcher with DAO governance model based on compliant concept live and testable on Clarity
• Clear, easily understandable documentation of any smart contracts and code changes delivered by technical team
• Any smart contract updates tested and audited

Evidence:

• Link to technical documentation / Gitbook 
• Link to Github / similar documentation of new Clarity code developed for DAO Suisse Launcher
• Link to DAO Suisse Launcher MVP

Milestone 4

Community Feedback / Marketing / Engagement

Growth / improvement plan

Acceptance Criteria:

• 1-2 page research plan outlining approach to engagement and feedback from Cardano and DAO Suisse communities
• 5-6 page report outlining research and feedback outcomes
• 1-2 page outline of research conclusions and implications for project expansion / next steps
• 1-2 page outline of legal audit and identification of remaining gaps for compliance of MVP contracts

Evidence:

• Research database that includes anonymised raw data from research
• Link to full pdf report with complete growth / improvement plan

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Work package

Process / Operations / Governance Research / UX / UI Design / Prototyping

Leads / Project Team

• Isla Munro-Hochmayr
• Benjamin Hoelzl
• Florian Spychiger

Deliverable

• Concept & Product Roadmap

Budget

CHF 15,000

(100 hrs @ 150 CHF)

Work package

Legal & Compliance Research / Documentation

Leads / Project Team

• Romedi Ganzoni
• Others (tbd)

Deliverable

• Legal Feasibility Study
• Design Sign-off

Budget

CHF 20,000

(100 hrs @ 200 CHF)

Work package

Technical Research / Smart Contracts

Leads / Project Team

• Logan Panchot
• Una Wang
• Others (tbd)

Deliverable

Smart Contract Design

Budget

CHF 10,000

(50 hrs @ 200 CHF)

Work package

Market & Ecosystem needs research / Community Feedback / Marketing & Comms

• Florian Spychiger
• Malik El Bay
• Isla Munro-Hochmayr
• Benjamin Hoelzl
• Others (tbd)

Deliverable:

User and community feedback database

User research recommendations

Budget:

CHF 15,000

(100 hrs @ 150 CHF)

Work package:

Documentation

Leads / project Team:

• DAO Suisse (all)
• Project Gitbook / Docs

Budget:

• CHF 4,500
• 30 hours @ 150 CHF

Work package:

Project Coordination / User Research / Prototype Implementation 

• Isla Munro-Hochmayr
• Malik El Bay

Deliverables:

• MVP for compliant DAO Launcher on Cardano
• Long-term product roadmap (Draft)

Budget:

CHF 15,000

150 hours @ CHF 150 

Total Effort / Budget Estimation

CHF 79'500 /

≈ 198,000 ADA

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

Process / Operations / Governance Research / UX / UI Design / Prototyping

CHF 15,000

(100 hrs @ 150 CHF)

Legal & Compliance Research / Documentation

CHF 20,000

(100 hrs @ 200 CHF)

Technical Research / Smart Contracts

CHF 10,000

(50 hrs @ 200 CHF)

Market & Ecosystem needs research / Community Feedback / Marketing & Comms

CHF 15,000

(100 hrs @ 150 CHF)

Documentation

CHF 4,500

30 hours @ 150 CHF

Project Coordination / User Research / Prototype Implementation 

CHF 15,000

150 hours @ CHF 150 

Total Effort / Budget Estimation

CHF 79'500 /

≈ 198,000 ADA

[VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

The DAO Launcher MVP will be built on the existing foundations of highly reputable Swiss organisations that have great reach within many parts of the global DAO ecosystem.

The initial pilot of the DAO Launchpad was run without sponsorship or financial support from outside parties, and is platform neutral.

Building the first MVP for such a compliant DAO set-up system for Switzerland with reputable partners on Cardano will create great interest from many DAO enthusiasts globally, well beyond the Cardano ecosystem. This represents a great opportunity to attract talents individuals, builders and projects to the Cardano ecosystem and communicate the strengths of Cardano's technology and tooling ecosystem.

Switzerland is a relatively expensive ecosystem to build in, but also highly trusted and reputable with very high legal certainty and some of the world's lowest taxes for individuals and organisations. As an attractive destination and centre for crypto projects, Switzerland provides the foundations for an excellent return on grant funds to the Cardano ecosystem, as we believe a well developed DAO launcher will eventually attract high usage amongst DAOs and protocols.