Here is a recap of our experience in Austin, Texas at Blockworks’ Permissionless II conference to wrap up this summer of conferencing, (Sept 22, 2023).
What We Did:
The team headed to Austin, Texas to attend the Blockworks’ Permissionless II. They made it to the last day of the conference, the ‘America Wins with Web3’ political focused civic hackathon, and hosted our own Impact Happy DAOr with cohost Core DAO at Loro Asian Smokehouse. We had a Donor Zone set up with unique merch for Frends of Endaoment to learn about the Universal Impact Pool.
Our Team:
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Dae: Dae is our Community and Communications lead, based in the United States. They have played a pivotal role as a key representative at all our events to date.
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Ishaan: Living in Texas, Ishaan plays a key role in everything .Tech builds and joined to provide valuable support and expertise.
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Ricardo: One of our dedicated .tech leads, Ricardo was excited to be on the ground to share details about and discuss the Universal Impact Pool (UIP)
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Zach: Zach serves as our executive representative on the ground, focusing on closing deals and expanding our reach.
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Bruxa: Produced our Impact Happy DAOr event from afar, and supported to build an itinerary of activations to attend.
Hypothesis going in:
Permissionless is historically a conference where bigger VC/HNW players attend and a great place to connect with potential donors or collaborators. Plus, we spotted some politically-minded groups getting in on the action at the conference, and were eager to be part of those conversations.
What went well:
We had solid turn out to our Impact Happy DAOr event and everyone was in great spirits.
Dae took the lead in crafting a thorough event partnership document for the future, which will be a valuable resource to foster new partnerships and alignment.
What was challenging:
The Happy DAOr one-sheet was sent out a bit late in the game, and by that time, the few potential partners with available funds at this point in the season had already committed elsewhere. Furthermore, it seemed like most events were tied to ATX DAO, leaving limited options.
Permissionless didn't quite have the impact-oriented vibe we were aiming for, making it a less obvious fit for our event concept. We aimed to secure solid attendance numbers and participants, so teaming up with a partner was a priority. Eventually, we joined forces with Core DAO.
Core DAO jumped on board as co-hosts just a week before the event. Unfortunately, the criteria for co-hosting was not crystal clear, and their connection to our impact goals seemed a bit hazy. Additionally, they were in the midst of a rebranding effort and had travel commitments, which slowed down communication when we needed it to be swift to develop our new relationship. This led to some confusion and miscommunication about event logistics.
Learnings:
Having a partnership agreement and clear alignment criteria ahead of time is crucial when collaborating with new partners. It's important to allocate more time before events to identify potential partners, create adaptable poster designs, and so on. The more time we have for preparation, the better – unless we're attending purely for research or networking purposes.
This year's market differs significantly from 2022, and this is having a noticeable impact on events. Markets are constantly evolving, so we shouldn't base our expectations for this year's conferences on past years. Each event presents a unique environment, which increases the potential for varying levels of satisfaction. We must remain agile and adaptable to the fluctuations of the crypto climate.
In summary, we believe that the resources and time invested in Permissionless might yield better results if redirected elsewhere. Moving forward, we should focus on attending events where we anticipate the presence of value-aligned or complementary players. We also need a clearer sense of our strategy and priorities before the event, and we should send team members with the appropriate bandwidth, interest, and skill set.
