Ask HN: Would you join an Indie Hacker DAO, if so how should it be structured?
I've been thinking about alternative funding options for indie hackers / bootstrappers that don't include debt or venture financing and it seems to me like a cooperative version of a startup studio / incubator could be a way to do it. Something similar to https://dxdao.eth.link where members can vote to bring on new members and potentially offer to cover living (UBI) and business expenses for a year at a time with an option to re up if there's traction.
I'm personally not a fan of crypto but DAOs seem like an interesting business structure that could make it possible to set things up in a decentralized manner and make it easier to manage members vesting in and out if they leave.
Starting this would either require a few initial crowdfunded projects or a merger of already profitable bootstrapped companies willing to use some of their revenue to fund things (ideally new projects that they'd be customers of).
TLDR: How can we build the Y Combinator for Indie Hackers without needing VCs and infinite growth?
(also posted on IH: https://www.indiehackers.com/post/would-you-join-an-indie-hacker-dao-cooperative-if-so-how-should-it-be-structured-864503bd13)
Published in 2021, this chronicle by @m_ke details the mechanics of building a profitable, self-funded business without venture backing.
The community focused on B2B customer acquisition channels, cold email vs SEO distribution, and balancing full-time employment with side-project development.
I like this idea and have been thinking about how DAO’s could be useful for something similar but hadn’t made this mental leap yet. It would be good if the members could pick and choose which startups their funds contributed to within the portfolio.
I’ll take a look at your further reading link - this is very interesting.
I like the structure you described and I'd be interested to join. After my last failed startup, the most important thing for me right now would be the basic income, though.
I posted some more comments about this idea here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28577944
Good definition of a DAO here: https://ethereum.org/en/dao/