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title: Determining Initial Members & Shares

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# Determining Initial Members & Shares

## How to identify potential members

Contributing to a DAO can look very different depending on the type of DAO and underlying mechanics that give structure to the organization, not to mention the cultural and social elements that underpin relationships between members.

Here are some considerations when looking for prospective DAO contributors:

1. Does this person have the necessary skills/resources to add immediate value?
    - if yes, continue below
    - if no, keep on back burner until tasks are available
3. Why would this person want to contribute to the DAO?
    - are they interested in the goals, continue below
    - if more extractive intentions, reconsider proceeding below
5. What is this person most passionate about?
    - do they align with yours and/or the DAOs mission?
    - if not, reconsider proceeding below
7. How do their skills translate into opportunties to contribute?
    - do you have immediate tasks to match their skills?
    - if not, reconsider proceeding below
9. Do their values align with your DAO?
    - *start to consider a manifesto*
    - what does the DAO stand for?
    - what can't you tolerate?
    - make sure the person meets this basic criteria
11. How would they prefer to be compensated?
    - *everyone needs to eat*
    - compensation should be the last consideration when finding the right initial contributors.
        - first make sure their skills are right fit for the DAO and can be put to use immediately, they believe in the vision and share similar values.
    - if there's an existing incentive model, it should be clearly communicated to potential contributors.
    - compensation can be decided as a group if there is not a clear model baked into the sustainability of the DAOs design.

## How to determine initial gov' share distribution

1. will all members be considered equal?
    - static governance shares
        - only at the start?
        - *see #2 below*
    - or permanently?
        - *start with a higer amount (i.e. 1,000 shares) - reference #4*
2. will the DAO have a dynamic governance structure?
    - share inflationary model based on value added?
        - *use coordinape to determine*
    - share inflationary model based on time?
        - *earn -x amount- of shares every -x amount- of time*
3. will more contributors be onboarded after the DAO's inception?
    - will they become an equal member?
    - do they start off with less power?
        - *leave room for new contributors to grow*
4. will there be 'honorary members'?
    - *giving 1 share as a signal*
    - keep this in mind for initial share distributions
5. Should membership be fluid? are shares transferable or not?
    - should the DAO be permissioned or permissionless?
### Notes

#### static shares
- it can be easier to start off equal and introduce more complex structure as the organization takes shape.
- starting off equal also leaves flexibility for different compensation models.

#### dynamic shares
- if contributions have been made prior to forming the DAO, using something like coordinape to determine initial share distribution is highly effective and generally fair.
- a dynamic share model sets the stage for a streamlined incentive model that leverages share inflation based on contribution value determined by coordinape.
- this will be covered more in later steps (insert link here) but treasury management should start to be considered at this stage too.
    - add more value to treasury to cover share inflation

#### transferable shares
- can be an NFT (https://daogroni.daohaus.club/)
- can be an ERC20
- consider the pros/cons of permissionless token membership