Golden DAO
Combating social injustice.
Many members of the AAPI community have been facing injustices on different levels. Hate crimes against Asian Americans are more prominent than ever before. Microaggressions in interactions where terms used such as ‘Kung flu’, ‘China virus’, and ‘go back to your country’ directed at US Asians have been normalized in numerous settings - even earlier this year, a Texas Republican candidate for the House of Representatives called for a ban on Chinese students from all Texas universities.
The Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism revealed that anti-Asian hate crimes increased by 4x last year (see notion for graphic).
Despite the clear rise in physical violence against Asians, numerous instances are not reported and many altercations are not legally classified as hate crimes (see notion for article). When integrating web3 technology and a DAO infrastructure, members hold the power to vote, collaborate and decide where funds are directed. GoldenDAO’s goal is to bring together a diverse community to stand against racism and hate and promote inclusivity across the blockchain ecosystem, funding selected AAPI justice projects.
Quantitative: decrease number of hate crimes against the AAPI community
Qualitative: create safe environments for Asians and promote inclusivity in the US
Demystifying Asian mental health stigma.
The National Latino and Asian American Study reported that 18% of the general U.S. population sought mental health services and resources, compared to only 8.6% of Asian Americans. In some environments, upbringings speaking of mental health or neurodiversity are sometimes looked at as a societal ‘weakness’, even to those closest to us. As a community, we want to elevate those who seek better mental health.
Quantitative: increase number of US Asians seeking mental health
Qualitative: shift the cultural dynamic and create a safe space for the AAPI community to pursue mental health
Lifting up Asian culture, artistry, creatives in addition to promoting executive and thought leadership.
In many environments, the AAPI community is projected as ‘smart’ but not ‘creative. GoldenDAO wants to shine a light on AAPI culture, arts, entertainment and build a pipeline of diverse talent to promote mainstream inclusivity and success. In corporate settings, there is the notion that there are a high amount of US Asians active in senior leadership, but there is a clear gap between total representation and individuals in executive settings. In this context, Representation = Diversity, but Inclusion = Equity. Asians make up 13% of the US workforce, but less than half are managers, senior officers, executives (source: see notion). GoldenDAO seeks to raise minority representation and drive promotion equity + leadership DEI.
Quantitative: increase the total number of US Asians in the entertainment field, senior leadership + executive positions in corporate settings
Qualitative: normalize paths and elevate the AAPI community in the arts, entertainment, and creative industries
Closing the Gap on Economic Disparities.
We want to debunk the model minority myth - Asians in the US have the largest economic disparity out of any ethnic group (source: Pew Research). In addition, the AAPI community suffered greatly during the pandemic, as this ethnic group experienced the highest long-term unemployment (check figure on the right) Whether it’s supporting local businesses, projects, or individuals, DAO funds can be used to progress economic prosperity for the AAPI community (see notion for graphic).
Quantitative: improve employment numbers for Asian American workers, fund and save minority small businesses in local communities
Qualitative: create pipelines for entrepreneurs to access funding, increase AAPI representation in the US workforce
Civic and Community Outreach.
Lack of resources in AAPI project funding and minimal attention from media makes it difficult to build and sustain a coalition or movement, causing fragmentation within the community. Through in-person and web3 engagement, GoldenDAO seeks to fund initiatives that bring together different ethnic groups in solidarity, rallying against social injustice, and cultivate a culture of celebrating one another.
Quantitative: generate high turnout, engaged a number of community members together in-person to increase representation for AAPI rallies and events
Qualitative: collective AAPI solidarity + empowerment
Allyship and Advocacy.
We believe that allyship in action is one of the best ways to drive diversity and inclusion initiatives, inspiring and advocating across metaverse communities. As noted in the project roadmap (see partnerships tab below), cross-collaboration with other individuals and communities can elevate the collective.
Quantitative: grow the total number of partnerships with minority-owned brands
Qualitative: increase collaborations with other minority communities, elevating one another
Membership Committed to GoldenDAO’s Cause
GoldenDAO seeks to host a core network of individuals contributing to the future of the web3 community across the metaverse and IRL through an NFT gated DAO - as a founding member, you will have access to:
Exclusive, priority, and complimentary access to GoldenDAO member meet-ups, parties across different cities including our much-anticipated launch party in March with Andrew Yang as our host.
NFT gated members-only chat on Discord to collaborate and contribute to the future of GoldenDAO’s impact on the AAPI web3 community.
NFT artwork representing founding membership (see notion for most updated NFT artwork).
IRL and virtual GoldenDAO gifts, including our prestigious precious metal forged signet ring, cross-referencing each founding members’ NFT mint #, * adjusted to be #1 vs. 1 / 888 due to mint total (see notion for 3D rendered image of physical founding members ring).
Presale, skip the line access to future project drops.
Access future GoldenDAO meet and greet events with special guests, hosts, headliners.
Member voting rights on GoldenDAO’s community wallet fund contributions and initiatives.
VIP access to all of GoldenDAO’s Physical and Virtual events (+1 to all events is guaranteed).
IRL gatherings + DAO and web3 foundation, connecting with community
Roadmap:
February 2022 Andrew Yang public announcement
March 2022 NFT founding membership key public sale + POAP launch
March 2022 NFT gated Discord chat invite to founding members, collaborating and contributing to the future of GoldenDAO
March 2022 Reveal Day
March 2022 In-person launch party exclusively for founding members, hosted by Andrew Yang, with special guests, celebrity appearances and performances, and GoldenDAO sponsors
April 2022 GoldenDAO members meet-up in Miami for bitcoin conference
May 2022 Season 2 launch - est. 8,000 - 10,000 NFT membership mints priced at .10 ETH (subject to change)
May 2022 DAO community expansion - after GoldenDAO’s infrastructure is complete, the DAO will vote on how proceeds in the community wallet will be used. GoldenDAO will have a treasury aimed to fund AAPI empowerment projects, community initiatives, and further GoldenDAO’s mission.
May 2022 GoldenDAO vote on brand equity growth, partnerships, and logo usage. Potential, but not limited-to opportunities include:
- GoldenDAO metaverse outpost
- GoldenDAO wearable tech,
- GoldenDAO physical location in major cities (NYC, LA, MIA, etc.) is used as a hub for members and partners.
- GoldenDAO x specific partnerships (cross-community and project engagement, brand partnerships, etc.)
June 2022 GoldenDAO party in NYC for NFT week
September 2022 Autumn Moon Festival GoldenDAO membership in-person event hosted in LA (location subject to change)
November 2022 GoldenDAO customized gold plated signet ring gifted to founding members, cross-matching # of minted NFT (i.e. #888, #747, #1)
2023 international expansion targeting cities such as Singapore, Jakarta, Seoul, Hong Kong, and more to come
Pricing Structure:
Public Sale:
General Public mint
Mint Total: 2000
Priced: 1 ETH
Presale :
Saved for individuals who show commitment (via social media, discord engagement, or other methods) to GoldenDAO initiatives, mission.
Mint Total: 888
Priced: 0.80 ETH
Reserves :
Reserved for individuals, partners who show long-term commitment to GoldenDAO initiatives, mission (i.e. social and community engagement, appearance, performance, MC at GoldenDAO in-person event, etc.)
Mint Total : 200
Why limit the NFT mint total and price?
→ When comparing NFT vs. token membership, we decided to highlight NFT artwork given that it creates brand equity. The virtual and physical ring is meant to represent a member as part of a larger AAPI collective, promote solidarity.
Although we are confident that we would be able to maximize sales at a traditional mint total (i.e. 5,000 - 10,000), we want to emphasize the importance of bringing people together in person. Metaverse engagement is the future and virtual events can be successful, but there is something amazing + human-centric when we host individuals to celebrate together in person. The price floor incorporates fixed and overhead costs with our project, given the focus on physical events, gifted items, and talent costs. From a branding perspective having initial exclusivity can help bring in additional members in the long run. The desire for individual participation outside of the GoldenDAO founding members will continue to grow as our brand equity grows.
Governance
Prior to the DAO launch, we will begin applications for governance (up to 88) The governance will contribute to the growth and integrity of the DAO. Current owners of AAPI.eth.
Transparent Funding and Membership Engagement
DAO mechanics make it so that all funding is member-driven and transactions are transparent on the blockchain compared to private organizations that may use funds based on institutional discretion. When members participate in a collective, engaged community, there is natural retention vs. one-off engagement. Outside of a strong web3 presence, driving people in-person creates a collaborative environment where dialogue is encouraged. When we bridge the two, we can create a powerful community. Using POAP (Proof of Attendance Protocol) smart contracts, we will reward members for attending in-person events.
Some examples of popular use cases are:
Voting - Attendee to a board meeting receiving a POAP to commemorate the event, which has significant social capital to the holder.
Recognition - GoldenDAO issuing a POAP to members who contribute to volunteer events like showing up for a rally.
Reward - GoldenDAO rewarding attendees of a live performance with a POAP that can later be used to provide access to exclusive content or swag.
Time and Human Capital
Committing to physical, emotional, and mental energy for a cause can be draining. With web3, we can expedite project funding in a more astute amount of time through collective member participation.
For example, assembly Member Yuhline Niou shared that decision-makers in Albany caught wind of a TikTok video from our rally. From this social call to action, minority representatives in Albany such as Niou, were able to come together and secure additional funding for AAPI nonprofits from $300k to $10MM (see notion for IG post).
Partnerships x Collaboration, allyship through projects
By building strong partnerships with other communities, we can contribute to a DEI blockchain ecosystem and build projects to lift others. Highlighting the work of individuals is an example of facilitating an inclusion moment - our silver sterling, custom 18kg gold plated signet ring, is precious metal forged and designed by Maxwell Amadeus Coombs, an active designer for LVMH Moet Hennessy merchandise and founder of streetwear brand Control Sector (see notion for article). Control Sector has sold unisex apparel to major retailers such as Foot Locker, in collaboration with Fetty Wap. Relationships like these can lift multiple communities and build relationship networks, helping solidify GoldenDAO’s brand equity in the field - we welcome partnerships and collaborations that elevate one another, regardless of vertical, IRL or virtual.
Team
thought leadership to help execute the mission
- Gnosis Safe
0x1A01D450b6D5154E7626a3C81913F8bF0Ab52F52
Andrew Yang is the Chair of the Forward Party and a serial entrepreneur who ran for President of the United States in 2020 championing universal basic income and other anti-poverty policies. Organizations Andrew has founded include Venture for America, Humanity Forward, and Lobby3DAO. Andrew was named as a champion of change from the Obama administration in 2012, and presidential ambassador for global entrepreneurship in 2015. He is a NYT bestselling author and frequent commentator on major media outlets. Andrew has stood against the anti-Asian hate that has deeply impacted the AAPI community and has helped surface these issues to the forefront of national attention.
Jack Liang is a former Instagram employee, startup advisor at Meta, and speaker for the Facebook boost initiative - teaching SMBs how to grow their business through ads. As an established community activist for the AAPI community, he has helped organize Stop Asian Hate rallies in NYC driving a record-breaking 10,000+ participants together in person, including prominent politicians and celebrity figures such as Rihanna to stand together and fight against injustice.
Theodore Lu is an award-winning, consistent top ad sales strategist for the high-performance agency organization at Google, becoming the only individual to achieve the top 5% in back-to-back performance review cycles, and attained #1 in revenue and productivity nationwide, globally within the fastest-growing department across all of Google; core member of Asian Googler Network NYC, part of Google’s ERG ecosystem. Theodore is a native New Yorker who has an extensive background in fashion, graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology and has worked in the fashion industry for over a decade. Theodore dropped out of high school at 14 years old to pursue options and futures trading in the equity market, and professional gaming in Counter-Strike, World of Warcraft, and Hearthstone. Asian American identity is important to Theodore and he hopes to promote inclusivity by sharing his own unconventional journey.
Sarah Lee is a graduate of Parsons the New School for Design and has built a career in the areas of user experience design, front-end web development, and branding. She is currently a designer at a pioneering web design agency, Juicyorange (est 1994), in New York City, where she currently resides. Sarah has broad experience working with clients in many industries. She has worked with many big names and companies such as General Mills (Chex, Wheaties, Lucky Charms, Reese’s Puffs x KAWS). She is always up for a challenge and greatly enjoys getting to meet people from all different walks of life. Sarah hopes to continue pursuing her career in technology and design, making a positive impact in the world through working with like-minded people.
Ami Yoshimura grew up between Japan and the US and attended public schools in both NYC and Tokyo. He has a deep passion in bridging cultures and bringing unity to communities, and has facilitated countless hacker and content houses across cities. A community builder & operator connecting IRL & URL within creator economy, web3, and beyond, Ami dropped out of school at 19, hosted NYT featured events & experiences, and led community and growth initiatives at facebook, several startups, and web3 projects.
Shane Fan is a 1st generation immigrant, who emigrated from Shanghai to the US when he was in 3rd grade. In 2020 when Anti-Asian hate started spiking up, Shane built Stop Asian Hate Snapchat lenses to inform those around the world about the AAPI community, reaching millions across the US. Shane’s background is in social media and smart contract development. After graduating from UC Berkeley at 18 years old, Shane found his way into web3 and the creator economy, becoming a web3 founder by day and content creator in his free time.
Eugene Lee is the co-founder of a stealth web3 startup. Despite being born in the States, he grew up primarily overseas, primarily in China, Korea, and Singapore – as an Asian American, he’s been immersed in Asian cultures across the globe. Eugene’s background is in smart contract development and gas optimizations. Having dropped out of Berkeley at 18 to pursue personal projects, Eugene developed many innovative projects for the community for free - for example, fiveoutofnine, an on-chain chess AI.
Devin Picciolini is an engineering alum of Groupon, Facebook, and Instagram, Devin has co-built global, customer-facing features like Instagram Business Profiles and Facebook Scheduled Posts that are used by billions of users monthly, as well as internal tooling and process development workflows that are used to automate Facebook and Instagram for millions of SMBs globally.
