Dework Just Raised $5 Million. Could It Become Linkedin for DAOs?

By Jason Nelson

Looking to bridge the gap between DAOs and potential contributors, Dework today announced a $5 million seed round led by Paradigm and Pace Capital, with participation from the former chief technology officer at Coinbase, Balaji Srinivasan, and Polygon founder Sandeep Nailwal.

“Dework gives Web3 builders all the tools and talent necessary to help ambitious DAOs reach their full potential,” Anish Agnihotri, a Paradigm researcher, told Decrypt in an email. “The team has built a decentralized solution for a decentralized set of challenges.”

Dework, in positioning itself almost like a Linkedin for DAO contributors by connecting them with projects that match their skillsets, said some of the funds will be put toward creating more bounties and attracting more contributors to help build its platform.

A decentralization autonomous organization, or DAO, is an online community focused on a common goal that uses a shared treasury, smart contracts (programs that execute once criteria are met), and tokens for voting on proposals.

Co-founder Lonis Hamaili, an experienced DAO contributor, said Dework is focused on making the whole process clearer and easier for participants. However decentralized a DAO seeks to be, an individual—or several individuals—still must organize it, decide on compensation models, and find and manage talent.

“I had no way of knowing how to contribute,” Hamaili told Decrypt, recalling how when he first looked into joining some DAOs, he had few ways to reach members besides direct messages on Discord.

Potential DAO contributors can use Dework, which launched in December, to choose from a list of DAOs and open bounties. They also can see recommended DAOs by connecting their personal Discord to the Dework platform and answering a few questions. At that point, those individuals can build a Dework profile, effectively a resume, and include wallet info to receive payment.

“Currently DAOs don't have a good way of showcasing their roadmap and [saying], ‘This is what we’re building,’” Hamaili told Decrypt. “So if you want to contribute, you're forced to actively search and push, rather than be pulled in. By using Dework, it's easier to pull people into the DAO, because you can show what needs to be done, and contributors can join, grab a task, and start to contribute—and get paid in crypto.”

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