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Nik Hirsh AKA Pecunick

Below is a summary of the original document

Background​

  • Past 1.5 years remote: Barcelona, Bangkok, etc.
  • Formerly worked at Mercedes (very political, inefficient).
    • "A lot of companies today are just coasting on a reputation that’s 50 years old."
  • Experience in:
    • Knowledge management
    • Chat support bots / AI

Current Role​

  • Media Data Governance Manager at Red Bull:
    • More granular than high-level roles at Pecunia
    • Examining how law applies only when you control the domain (Web3 requires flexibility)
    • Defining long-term alignment, task delegation, and decentralization
    • Goal: create positive social impact via DAO

Personal Journey​

  • Started as a bartender
  • Invested entirely in crypto project payments
  • Converts to stablecoin in contracts
  • Helps set budgets in production with real info

Why Pecunia Nonprofit?​

  • To fix bureaucracy!
  • Project management DAO
    • External profits go to internal member-proposed projects
    • Focus on operational stability
    • Reaction to chaos in Web3
  • Started with Hummingbot projects

Core Product​

  • Open source tool/platform for managing remote, semi-anonymous teams
  • Project examples: Card game, Twitter API
  • Events: Hackathons, organized through community + core docs

Goals​

  • Build a professional structure for grants/contracts
  • Lean org with ~6 founding contributors, ~20 overall
  • Bridge gap between open source and public goods delivery
  • Nonprofit designed to:
    • Avoid tax limitations
    • Operate with limited legal resources
    • Invest excess funds into community

Process Overview​

  • Large grants split into small bounties
  • Distributed dev teams work on specialized tasks
  • Replaces “this is your job” paradigm

Early Days​

  • Contributors met online, not in person
  • Relationships grew organically via referrals
  • No face-sharing for 6+ months
  • Key innovation wasn’t the project — it was the working model

Learning About Stellar​

  • Nik explored Stellar via:
    • Forums
    • Grant programs
    • Online research
  • Problem: Discord/Twitter/Telegram all lacked governance/structure
  • Incorporated in 2023 via midao.org
  • Marshall Islands: tax-neutral, no IRS nonprofit registration
  • MIDAO validates ETH payment address, central contact point

Governance Philosophy​

  • Flat structures don’t scale
  • Split roles:
    • Workers
    • Governors
  • Vote weighting (e.g., quadratic voting)
  • Board-like core contributors:
    • No formal dues
    • Can be anonymous
    • Must dox to each other

Reputation System​

  • Points earned via Pecunia work
  • Must be in top 30% to qualify for Board
  • Board elects new Board members
  • Reputation = proof of work ethic & alignment

Governance Flexibility​

  • Board can evolve:
    • Change mission/vision
    • React in real-time
  • Not all members should vote on all things
  • DAOs need a center for operational efficiency

Sociological Insights​

  • Human trust caps at ~120 people
  • Beyond that, need formal structure
  • Contributors grouped between 20–80
  • Hierarchy replaces social trust

Community Infrastructure​

  • Public server: low barrier for feedback
  • Private server: focused, accountable participation
    • Doxing = reputation risk
    • Interview connection enforces responsibility

Immutable Contributions​

  • Points can't be revoked
  • Reputation = effort already spent
  • Core must maintain top 30% to stay in power

Security & Infiltration Risks​

  • Billionaires could technically "buy" bounties
  • But reputation cost makes it economically irrational
  • No governance token used

Projects & Roles​

  • No job titles, only tasks
  • Contributors = only role
  • Projects have leads (chosen by vote)
    • Must deliver to be rewarded
    • Leads can still be paid for good process (even if results fail)

Project Process​

  • Anyone can submit a proposal
    • If approved, budget held in escrow
  • Includes:
    • Scope
    • Deliverables
  • All managed through future open source tool
    • Anonymous contributors
    • Voting
    • Escrow

Tooling Needs​

  • Reduce manual HR burden
  • Lean operations via:
    • Simple interfaces
    • Permissioned workspace
  • Tying together disparate platforms into a unified tool

Bounties​

  • Bounty board system
  • Trusted contributors get larger roles
  • Work proven via:
    • Deliverables
    • Social impact
    • Potential margin return to DAO

Budgeting & Labor​

  • Treasury pays operational costs
  • Devs paid per bounty, not hourly
  • Leads estimate value/effort
  • Flexibility for asynchronous, borderless work

Organizational Principles​

  • No ultimatums or harsh participation lines
  • Work backward from ideal scenario
  • Decentralized sovereignty is the endgame