A few months ago, I shared an [org chart](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MosJzFP36e5TZJHoUOO2Gv-PCguIGlIhHuzFUz_t6-I/edit) on the inner workings of how [Friends with Benefits](https://fwb.help) evolved from a token-gated Discord into a structured team.

Since then, the FWB community has doubled in size, contribution rates have increased by 7x, and team size has surpassed 31 core contributors, all while maintaining high levels of efficiency and vibes.

Here’s how FWB functions today.

![New members are joining every week. Live Figma link below.](https://i.imgur.com/QUNOv2a.png)

* Each circle represents a Team, led by Leads that were selected based on skill set, diversity of thought, and bandwidth to establish vision and processes of their given team.
* Teams then formed Contributor pools, prioritizing members who volunteered while also reaching out to community members with relevant skillsets. Contributor pools act as waiting rooms where members receive updates from Leads on Team initiatives as well as opportunities to contribute through bounties and project requests.
* Community Managers serve as liaisons between Team Leads, Project Managers, and Contributor pools to help talented contributors find roles.
* Leads come together weekly to discuss updates, bottlenecks, and strategic initiatives.
* Each Team has an Operations Lead that helps streamline workflows and interface with the FWB DAO - including payroll, human resources, strategy, and hiring.
* This structure allows for new Teams to form rather quickly based on demand while still coordinating with the FWB DAO. A community rallies around a purpose and elects a Lead to establish a roadmap and a Contributor pool. From that pool, roles are selected from Operations, Project Managers, and Recruiters to then fill out project specific functions.
* Live org chart viewable [here](https://www.figma.com/file/qmMEyqHc97HjXvV6zeTsKQ/FWB.ORG.CHART?node-id=0%3A1).

![FWB's Product Team](https://i.imgur.com/kfsTPmX.png)

## Representative Decision Making

This organizational framework ensures we are all rowing in the same direction while still harnessing the agility that tokenized internet communities are primed for.

**In Web 3, while ownership is decentralized, the best decision making isn’t.**

The success of Web 3 governance models doesn’t seem to lie in a thousand people making a thousand decisions, but rather a thousand people electing a small group of leaders to make decisions for them, and supporting those leaders through usage, distribution, and feedback.

In Web 2 corporate entities, the feedback loop from leadership and users are outweighed by the fiduciary responsibility between leadership and corporate stakeholders.

Now, the power dynamic has shifted in favor of the community member, who are incentivized via their token ownership to honestly evaluate the merits of leadership's efforts and to hold those leaders accountable through governance and election processes.

For now, FWB sits somewhere in between a digital co-op, a Web 3 startup, and an internet city that is best run as a representative democracy.

If you’re looking to contribute to FWB, please reach out at contribute@fwb.help. We’re constantly in search of great leaders and builders.

And thank you to all the recent conversations that have helped shaped this latest chapter: Cooper Turley, Nabeel Hyatt, Laura Jaramillo, Jose Mejia, Frogmonkee.

Evolution of the FWB DAO pt. II

FWB has quickly become one of the most exciting social experiments on the internet. 

[Friends with Benefits](https://fwb.help) started as a private Discord server populated by our favorite thinkers and has since evolved into a global community bound together by shared values, shared incentives ([$FWB](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/friends-with-benefits-pro)) and shared IRL + URL experiences – all at the intersection of culture and crypto. 

## FWB Today
This is how the FWB DAO has developed to date.

![](https://i.imgur.com/hXtIzjx.png)

* FWB was created by a core instigator who had a vision and began inviting close friends to a Discord.
* As friends brought more friends in, certain contributors began to step up and play lead roles to support growth.
* Those contributors became the first layer of Staff, incentivized by responsibility, status, and token grants.
* The group gradually transitioned to a DAO to manage a community treasury.
* Opportunities to get involved began to plateau as primary functions became filled and weren’t set up to scale. 
* More one-off projects were proposed, but became difficult to manage.


## FWB Tomorrow
As we head into Season 3, we’ve taken these learnings and built them into a clear **participation framework**. It prioritizes leads and active contributors, making it easier for community members to get involved.

![](https://i.imgur.com/hgfOVfe.png)

This is reflected in four notable teams. 

* Governance
* Board
* Team Leads 
* Contributors

![](https://i.imgur.com/trWj4IH.png)


**Governance** consists of *all* $FWB holders who vote to ratify changes to the DAO through Snapshot and engage with our governance channel and forums. Any $FWB holder is eligible to vote on changes.

The **Board** is a mix of staff, community members, and advisors who focus on strategy as well as community participation and education. Advisors are incentivized by token holdings as well as community nominations with on-chain salaries. 

**Team** **Leads** are specialized leaders that manage teams of contributors. Leads are selected based on track record of contribution for executing projects over sustained periods of time. Leads are empowered to set key priorities, allocate budgets for bounties or rewards, and ultimately are responsible for that team’s success. Leads are paid a USDC salary as well as a vested token grant to ensure accountability and reward innovation. 

**Contributors** are the members that power each team – specialized token holders that join based on skills and interest. The teams that currently exist within FWB are Product, Editorial, and Membership. Contributors are compensated based on their level of contribution via social graphs and collective allocations.

## How do these teams interact with each other?
* Community members have clear calls to action to join a team based on their skill sets and interests.

* Leads meet weekly with one another and relevant board advisors to share priorities, challenges, and KPIs. 

* Leads and the Board report to Governance at large through monthly Town Halls providing all members progress updates and community discourse. 

* Each team is given a seasonal budget based on Snapshot proposals. More value generated equates to bigger budgets for teams to hire and invest. 

* Each team lead is assigned a fixed salary, while contributors share the remaining funds pro-rata based on their relative contributions.

* Contributors are compensated based on their value, using tools such as Coordinape or Sourcecred.

* New teams are proposed through governance by aspiring team leads.

* Success is measured by growth of community members that join and actively contribute to a team.

## What improvements will this make? 

**Onboarding Funnels**
Community members will have clearer lanes to participate in and contribute to the organization at large. 

**Better Proposal Creation Processes**
The process and caliber of proposal creation improves due to a better understanding of localized team objectives and specialized contributors who can bring that proposal to life. 

**More Accountability** 
Team Leads drive more value over fractionalized contributors because of focus and a feeling of ownership. 

**Currency vs Equity**
Tokens serve as transparent equity while USDC serves as a currency. Contributors can cash out USDC similar to a “real world job”.

## What’s Next?
FWB finds itself in a unique position to explore the cutting edge of decentralized community coordination. 

By remixing historical Cooperative Organization models with decentralized Web3 needs, we hope this framework provides a good starting point for other communities going through similar hurdles when it comes to empowering and mobilizing members eager to get involved.

In the coming weeks, we’ll share a full blueprint on Season 3, including calls to action for new teams as well as proposals and tokenomics that underpin the FWB ecosystem. 

If you’re eager to play a Team Lead role in Season 3, send us a DM.

Until then, we’ll see you in Discord.

---

Endless appreciation for @coopahtroopah, @hospitaltapes, @mikebodge, @dazuck, @ariellebeau, @josemejia, @fakepixels, @raihan_, @fullyallocated for the inspiring conversations.

[Evolution of the FWB DAO](split://0x6EAdcde6dDbf3B5f4754097A221C32e84A011529?network=mainnet)




