We are writing to answer several follow-up questions from the community on the Aave Will Win framework. This post addresses the most frequent questions that were not covered in our initial response.
Will the foundation be operational before funding begins, and what will guarantee its independence?
The foundation is unlikely to be live during the timeline between now and the final vote on the Aave Will Win framework. However, we are open to time bounding the foundation creation according to what the DAO thinks is reasonable. We will first present a detailed proposal for the independent foundation’s structure, including its governance and board composition, for the DAO to ratify.
What specific KPIs will be used to measure success?
We will provide detailed quarterly reports to the DAO, and public, and will also be making individual posts for each growth/development grant with relevant details. These reports will track key performance indicators for each product. For new products, KPIs will include Total Value Locked, daily active users, transaction volume, and revenue generated for the DAO. For V4, we will track adoption, protocol integrations, and the growth of the spoke ecosystem. We are open to hearing additional KPIs that the DAO would be interested in tracking.
Will there be DAO-approved caps on revenue deductions?
We are open to establishing DAO-approved caps on discretionary revenue deductions, particularly for user incentives. That said, we suggest setting these caps on a product-by-product basis in future proposals. This approach allows for flexibility as we learn what drives growth best through A/B testing against real users, similar to how we grow Aave Protocol today. For now, we will provide full transparency on all revenue deductions in our quarterly reports.
When will independent revenue verification be implemented and who will decide who does the review?
Many of the revenue streams can be independently checked using publicly available data. For less visible data, we are investigating ways to transparently report revenue and arrange independent verification.
How will this grant affect the DAO’s other financial commitments?
Our internal analysis indicates the DAO can support this funding request while meeting its other obligations. The DAO’s treasury is not static and in the past month and a half it has made over $23 million. Also, if approved, the DAO would immediately inherit a revenue stream (via aave.com swaps) that could cover a meaningful portion of Aave Labs’ baseline request of $25 million. Additionally, we hope this structure will be embraced by other Service Providers who are looking to build additional products of their own on top of Aave.
Aave Will Win is a proposal to increase DAO revenue way beyond the Aave Labs’ financial requirement.
What are the next steps from here?
This proposal is a Temp Check. We are answering feedback as it comes in, and we intend to keep the proposal moving through this phase. After the Temp Check, we plan to incorporate finer details, time-bound commitments for items like the foundation, and other adjustments during the ARFC stage as part of the standard governance process.