FWB is gearing up for a busy next three months, full of system upgrades that are intended to set us up for long-term success. In order to make these upgrades happen, the Q2 budget needs to be approved.

Based on our community’s feedback that budget votes need to include more context, this time we’re trying a new format: releasing an overall Q2 strategy plan for discussion alongside the proposed budget.

The following overview should provide a holistic view of the contributing team’s strategy for the next 90 days—including the initiatives and proposals that we’re working on producing, how they’ll benefit you as a member, how much they’ll cost to execute, and how you can help shape them. This should make it clear what you’re voting for or against once the Q2 budget goes up for a vote.

A Look Back at Q1

At the end of last year, we collectively voted on a revised vision for the direction of FWB. As we defined it, “FWB believes in the promise of a better internet—one where communities and authentic connections thrive, where creativity is valued, and where the future can be collaboratively built.” In action, this has meant leaning into FWB as “a new kind of social network” that values intimacy over scale, that is collectively governed, and that produces meaningful digital and physical experiences.

In Q1, we took a major step towards realizing our outlined vision by launching the FWB app. As a still-evolving digital infrastructure, it gets us much closer to becoming the new kind of social network we want to be. Since the app’s launch in early February, we’re proud to have onboarded 34% of our members, with a 75% retention rate—combined with a meaningful boost in new membership applications, with 230 people applying in February, more than December and January combined. This is hopefully just the beginning of what our community can accomplish with our own social software powering our collective energy.

Here’s what community members have to say about the app:

A few more 2023 Q1 highlights:

• We hosted flagship FWB events in Mexico, Denver, and Austin.
• Community members hosted 13 local FWB events in nine different cities.
• We passed the proposal to bring FWB FEST back in 2023. This year’s community festival and conference will take place from August 3-6 in Idyllwild, CA.
• We introduced a major discussion around updating FWB’s membership mechanics through the introduction of an NFT-based membership pass. As the first System Upgrades proposal, this represents the first step towards executing our Q2 strategy.

Strategic Vision for Q2

Over the next 90 days, our core goal is to pilot a sustainable revenue model for the FWB DAO, while making some major system upgrades that will set FWB up for long-term success.

Below is an outline of the key proposals and initiatives that make up the bulk of FWB’s Q2 strategy. Note that if the Q2 budget passes, the proposals outlined below will each have their own discussion period, and will be voted on individually. This means that the details and nuances of each proposal can be sussed out then, once the overall Q2 strategy and budget are approved.

System Upgrade Proposal 1: Membership Mechanics

This proposal will introduce an NFT-based membership pass as the primary marker of FWB membership, instead of holding 75 $FWB. The idea is that upon a new member’s application being approved, they would need to purchase a membership NFT—either as a cohort with other members joining at the same time, or on the secondary NFT market. Additionally, this proposal creates new use cases for the $FWB token, such as community software licensing capabilities, guest access to various FWB properties, and more.

System Upgrade Proposal 2: Establishing a Software C-Corp for FWB

This proposal will call for the formation of a new software-focused C-Corp that will be partially owned by FWB. We see this as a necessary next step to properly resourcing FWB’s burgeoning product initiatives, while also ensuring the FWB DAO’s long-term sustainability. The proposal outlines key reasons why this restructuring is necessary, and shares a vision for ensuring the FWB DAO and software C-Corp will function in a way that is mutually beneficial and aligned—giving both organizations the best chance to be successful.

System Upgrade Proposal 3: Establishing FWB DAO as an UNA

This proposal calls for the formation of an Unincorporated Nonprofit Association (“UNA”) around the FWB DAO to ensure compliance and sustainability. Additionally, this proposal highlights the long-term objectives of the FWB DAO, including our aim to operate under a cash-flow generating, break-even model with a progressively decentralized contributing team that is proposal-based, and focuses on the proliferation of the $FWB token.

Launching 2023 FWB FEST

With the near-unanimous vote of pursuing FWB FEST 2023, our Events and Marketing team have been pushing full-steam ahead on the festival launch, which is currently slated for March 24, 2023. FWB Fest will take place August 3-6, 2023, at the same venue as last year—but with a whole new lineup of performers, speakers, vendors, and more. Existing members will receive discounted pricing, as well as the ability to extend their discount to a friend. We are projecting roughly $179,500 of revenue from the community sale, which will go back to the community treasury with a total projection of $879,000 in revenue for the entire event through ticket sales and partnerships.

Continuing to Develop the FWB App

Now that the FWB App is in the hands of our community, our focus is on continued member onboarding. Our Q1 goal was to have 25% of the community onboarded after launch, which we easily achieved. We are now at 38% of total eligible members onboarded. We currently have major product releases in the works, all of which have been shaped based on community input—from distinct channels to peer messaging and profiles, all of which are slated to come out in Q2.

This journey of shaping our own community platform is a collective one. Make your voice heard in the #canary-mine Discord channel.

Leveraging Partnerships

To date, FWB has excelled at forging partnerships with other brands and communities in the ecosystem who want to collaborate with our community. During Q2, we will capitalize on important groundwork we laid in Q1, with a meaningful percentage of our annual projected $800,000 coming to the FWB treasury in partnership value—most of which will be produced through FWB Events and FWB Fest.

Shifting Membership to a Cohort Model

To better welcome incoming members and retain current members, the Membership team is preparing a cohort onboarding model. Cohorts will have dedicated Discord channels, FWB App identifiers, and digital events programming. In addition to cohorts, we’re also looking to support an upcoming Fellowships proposal to further assist in onboarding new members, and extend the knowledge and impact of the DAO. And for day dot members, keep your eyes peeled for new projects and content in-app—from member profiles to city guides.

Q2 Budget Proposal

To execute the above strategic initiatives, the FWB ops team is proposing the following budget for Q2 (April–June, 2023). During this time, the core focus for FWB DAO will be on cash conservation to extend our runway until a predictable revenue model is in place.

The full Q2 Financial Package can be viewed here, including team descriptions, and a summary is below.

Q2 Budget Key Takeaways: How We're Reducing Burn

1. Select core contributors are switching from full-time to part-time roles.
2. The Marketing and Editorial team are winding down to focus on member communications.
3. Pending the FWB Software C-Corp Proposal, the Product team will be shifting off the FWB DAO payroll in June.
4. Recurring payroll spends will continue to decreases over the quarter based on transition policies.
5. In addition to reduced burn, we have a strong partnership pipeline in Q2.
6. Overall, FWB’s primary goal this quarter is to extend runway to 20.71 months and launch a sustainable revenue stream through membership.

More Information

• A detailed breakout of request approvals/expenses may be found here: Q2 2023 Operating Budget
• A summary of community-approved Snapshot proposals and their corresponding payouts may be found here: Q2 2023 Approved Snapshots Budget
• A breakdown of the Q1 Actuals can be found here: Q1 2023 Summary

2023 Q2 KPIs

If our Q2 strategy is properly executed, we believe we will see the following results:

1. FWB Fest will drive ticket sale revenue of $179,500.
2. Our new NFT-based membership model will begin driving revenue through new entrants.
3. We'll have the ability to properly resource the software C-Corp through venture capital investments.
4. We'll see a membership conversion improvement from 56% to 70%.

Get Involved

To help ensure FWB gets where it needs to go, we encourage all members to be as active and engaged as possible over the next 90 days. Here's how:

• Participate in the live FWB Strategy & Budget Discussion happening on March 23, 2023 at 1pm EST, and in the #live-proposal-discussion channel.
• Attend additional upcoming Community Calls. Check the events schedule in the app and the #governance channel for updates.
• Share your feedback on the app. How can we evolve it to better suit your needs as a community member? Let our Product team know via the #canary-mine channel.
• Participate in upcoming governance discussions. New proposals are always dropped in the #live-proposal-discussions channel, and in the app’s Official feed. With several System Upgrade proposals going live soon, be sure to jump into the Discord chat to see the questions other members are asking or to ask your own.
• Organize an event in your city, or online. Read the proposal outlining our Event Keys strategy here, and apply to host an event here.
• Attend FWB events! The full roster is always available at fwb.help/events, and via the app’s Events tab.

Looking to the Future

When FWB originated in 2020, proven frameworks didn’t yet exist for running a DAO. It’s been our privilege and challenge to be a pioneering organization in this space. We’ve collectively made meaningful strides with our governance and income models, launched our own social app, developed our own cultural festival, created a fully decentralized events programming model, and built a solid brand and thriving community from scratch—just to name a few of our accomplishments.

We’ve also had setbacks, and some of our experiments and initiatives haven’t hit the mark. But given everything we’ve learned over the past two years, FWB is well positioned to make these upgrades and we want to thank everyone for their patience and understanding as we navigate and learn together.

In the coming weeks, we hope to reach a place where the majority of members and token holders feel excited about the Q2 strategy. Then we’ll be able to make the system upgrades happen, move forward in a sustainable manner, and refocus our energy on creating meaningful experiences for and with the community.

<3 FWB