The LAO Scout: Launching a token curated registry to crowdsource the best blockchain projects
The LAO releases a token curated registry, The LAO Scout, to enable the Ethereum and blockchain community to quickly identify and signal to The LAO projects to fund.
We learned with Web2 the power of networks. Social networks like Twitter and Reddit brought communities together around the globe, creating digital, intellectual coffeehouses that have transformed the way news and information are disseminated. As we move into the era of Web 3, the ability to create and deploy networks is only getting easier and will continue to expand into other areas of the economy, including venture capital and finance.
Indeed, the next and natural progression of virtual coffeehouses will not just include the swapping of links and information but will include the pooling of capital and the creation and markets to help inchoate groups of people online formalize their relationship and impact the world around them.
At its logical endpoint, that is the hope and opportunity for DAOs. Bringing people together not just to share information but to make a difference. And, a significant step in the evolution of DAOs is launching these organizations in the US in a way that complies with existing law.
That is the hope and the goal of The LAO — launching on April 28 — an entirely novel, internet-native, DAO to fund innovative new blockchain technology. We believe that DAOs will have a profound impact, as they mature, on creating hyper-efficient and effective mechanisms to fund entrepreneurs and innovation across the globe. They will help buidlers build, and move blockchain technology beyond the era of hodling.
Historically, venture capital funds have generally relied on their network of general partners and the projects that they fund to secure deal flow. The funds with the best deal flow have tended to generate the best returns. That said, networks of small groups of people are limited and as a result traditional venture capital often overlooks incredible projects simply because they aren’t sourced from their network. As a result, projects that have the ability to improve people’s lives simply are not funded, because an entrepreneur drew the wrong lottery ticket and was born outside the United States or because they have a background that makes it difficult to join the network of venture capital funds.
That can all change with DAOs, like the LAO. Sure, DAOs, through governance and smart contracts can make funding a breeze, but one of the perhaps unemphasized aspects is that we’re able to create participatory and democratic means to sourcing and finding deals. One step in honing in on what the general community foresees as a promising project or team is through the launch of LAO Scout.
With the LAO, new startups can say goodbye to the days of doing the Sand Hill Road jog. Founders can now spend time, energy and critical resources that previously went to fundraising in the Valley and build instead. LAO Scout creates a means to have organic, community-based projects signaling through a well-worn medium that all crypto enthusiasts spend hours on (and know too well): Twitter.
Right now, members of The LAO will have access to all those decks, financials and growth data — but the intangible metrics, or the ‘je ne sais quoi’ of a project, requires more sleuthing through the Internet and feeling out of networks.
The Ethereum community does this better than anyone. That’s why we want to unleash that community to help nominate and support projects they care about.
Introducing LAO Scout
LAO Scout (an extension of TCR Party) creates a curated list of what crypto-twitter believes are the top new blockchain projects and worthy of funding. This is a democratic way to determine which projects really do have strong technology and the ability to execute based on what everyone thinks.
The interface of LAO Scout is user friendly and built entirely within Twitter itself — all interactions occur entirely within mentions and direct messages, allowing users to focus on the exciting part: nominating the projects they love and want to see funded. The Twitter community also has the ability to challenge new projects they believe should not be on the list of top projects to receive funding — making this ever-changing and dynamic.
All members of this project list will have their tweets automatically retweeted by @TheLAOScout and can be followed by anyone interested in being informed by the top projects in the space.
Getting Started
To get started, simply follow @TheLAOScoutBot and send a Tweet like “Hey @TheLAOScoutBot let’s get started” The bot will send you a DM with further instructions to get you started.
We’ve also built the LAO Scout Leaderboard, which is a place for the general community and LAO members the current status of the projects. Here you’ll find a directory of all the projects who are on the list, being nominated to join the list or have an open challenge against them (which requires your vote!).
Nominating a Project to the LAOScout Leaderboard
You can vote to nominate a project via DM to the bot (just leave out the mention) or publicly with the following command: “@TheLAOScoutBot nominate @ProjectHandleName” Make sure you have enough tokens to nominate by checking your balance with the “balance” command (via DM).
Challenging a Project on the LAOScout Leaderboard
At any point, you’d like to challenge a project, whether it’s during the nomination period or after they are added to the list. The command is: “@TheLAOScoutBot challenge @ProjectHandleName”
Make sure you have enough tokens to challenge by checking your balance with the “balance” command. Make sure you have a sufficient amount of tokens by typing “balance” in a DM to @TheLAOScoutBot. Next, find the handle of the user you wish to vote for (or against), and tell the bot “vote @ProjectHandleName keep” or “vote @ProjectName kick.” If all goes well the bot should message you back letting you know that your transaction was submitted to the blockchain.
Increasing Your Vote Weight
By default, voting has a weight (strength) of 50 tokens. Vote weight refers to how many tokens you’re putting behind your vote. A higher vote weight strengthens either your kick or keep the position to ward off other projects.
Additional Commands
Once you’ve registered with the bot and received your first distribution of tokens, you can send direct messages to LAOScoutBot in order to nominate, challenge, and vote on listings.
- balance — Returns the current balance in your wallet.
- faucet — Sends you 50 free LSCT per day!
- nominate [handle] — Nominates a Twitter handle to be on the list.
- challenge [handle] — Challenges a nomination or currently listing on the list.
- status — Responds with a status of each of the listings you’ve created, in addition to letting you know the status of your Twitter handle’s listing.
- vote [handle] [kick/keep] [weight — default 50] — Submits a vote for a currently open challenge against the given handle. Note that their handle and “kick” or “keep” are required, however a weight is not and is set to 50 by default. The maximum weight of your vote is determined by the number of tokens you currently have locked up for voting (see below).
- vote-balance — Returns the balance of tokens you currently have locked up for voting on challenges.
- vote-deposit — Allows you to lock up tokens for voting on challenges, therefore increasing the maximum weight you can place on your votes.
- vote-withdraw — Allows you to release tokens locked up for voting on challenges, therefore decreasing the maximum weight you can place on your votes.
Learn More
If you would like more information about becoming a LAO member or project, please reach out to us at hello@thelao.io. For further information, check out our docs, which cover questions about The LAO’s structure and operation, or hit us up via email or telegram.
