TIP-089: Hiring for thUSD Product Marketing Lead

Proposals
1

Proposal: Hiring for thUSD Product Marketing Lead

DAO-elected Sponsors

@rizzn @Eastban

Purpose:

This proposal seeks the approval of the Threshold DAO to initiate the process for hiring a Product Marketing Lead for thUSD to spearhead both product development and marketing initiatives for thUSD. This role is critical in ensuring that thUSD evolves strategically while being effectively marketed and positioned in the DeFi ecosystem.

The hired individual will collaborate closely with the thUSD Steering Committee and the broader Threshold DAO to ensure alignment with strategic goals. By driving marketing campaigns, community engagement, and partnerships, the Product Marketing Lead will ensure thUSD’s growth within a competitive market environment.

This proposal sets out what the thUSD steering committee has decided what the role should entail at this time as well as its expectations regarding hourly commitments per week. There is also further clarity provided by the expected hiring process, a rough timeline and associated cost.

Role Overview:

  • Position Title: Product Marketing Lead

  • Compensation: DAO standard contractor rate of $85 an hour

  • Hours: Up to 15hrs (based on forecasted workload likely required)

Scope:

The thUSD steering feels that an appropriate remit for the role, at this time, would consist of the following:

  • Strategic Marketing Planning: Develop and execute marketing strategies that drive the adoption of thUSD.

  • Product Positioning: Craft compelling messaging and ensure consistent product positioning.

  • Go-to-Market Strategy: Lead the go-to-market efforts for new features and integrations.

  • Campaign Management: Oversee marketing campaigns and ensure alignment with thUSD’s objectives.

  • Community Engagement: Grow the thUSD community through engagement strategies.

  • Partnership Development: Identify strategic partnerships to boost thUSD’s market presence.

  • Product Development: Collaborate with internal development resources to steer thUSD’s evolution.

Any further extension or reduction of the remit can be dynamically adjusted based on demand at the time, this is something that will be periodically reviewed by the steering committee.

Application Process:

  1. Job Advertisement & Candidate Sourcing: The Steering Committee will list the job advertisement the web3jobs platform to begin the process of gathering candidates. Candidates can also be encouraged to apply from social media platforms such as X to broaden reach.

  2. Initial Review & Interview: The Steering Committee will review all applications, conduct interviews, and select the best candidates. A maximum of the 10 strongest candidates will be contacted to proceed to the next stage.

  3. Selection of up to 10 Candidates for Project: Shortlisted candidates will be asked to complete a project that involves presenting their vision and strategy for thUSD, highlighting their perceived strengths and weaknesses. Candidates will receive payment for the time working on this project Each candidate will be given the same timeframe to complete their project and will have the flexibility to present it in any format they choose. It will be budgeted for taking each candidate up to 8 hours to complete including discovery and required research before commencing the project.

  4. Project Completion & Submission: Candidates will be compensated for their work at the standard DAO rate of $85 per hour and will submit their completed projects publicly on Discord. This will give great clarity on each candidate’s ideas, capabilities and delivery time.

  5. Project Review: The DAO and Steering Committee will review all the submitted projects

  6. Final Selection & Offer: A final candidate will be selected by the thUSD steering committee and offer the role. In the unlikely event that the selected candidate rejects the offer, the committee will select another individual they deem to be the next strongest candidate.

Rough Timeline & Estimated Cost

  • Job Advertisement & Candidate Sourcing: Mid-Oct to early November 2023
  • Initial Interviews: November 2023
  • Candidate Project Submissions: December 2023
  • Final Decision & Offer:January 2024
  • Role Start Date: February 2025

This timeline is not definite and is subject to potential changes based on DAO and Committee affairs.

The total cost associated from this proposal is estimated to be $6,950. The following cost breakdown is as follows:

Cost of job listings on web3jobs (estimated): $150.

Cost of candidate projects: For 10 candidates for 8hrs at $85/hour = $6,800.

The committee firmly believes in the cost benefit due to the vital nature of this hire, this process will provide greater insurance to a quality hire.

4 Likes
2

Here are some thoughts regarding the proposal:

I like:

  • Easy to understand why the role is needed
  • Thought through and well structured application process
  • Compensation transparency
  • Cost allocation

I wish:

  • Clear time (and cost) estimation for application process for contributors of the DAO (Steering Committee)
  • Lenght of application process seems very long, even for a DAO, it seems more like the process of a large corporation. Could the aim not be to finalize the hire this year?
  • Inviting 10 candidates to deliver a project seems admirable but costly and time consuming. Would 3-5 candidates be enough?
  • It says the role “will be periodically reviewed” but it doesn’t say which time frame the role is set to (unlimited?), nor in which period it will be reviewed.
  • Also follow-up costs don’t seem to be included: Does the Product Marketing Lead have any marketing budget allocation (or is this clarified somewhere else?)?

Hope this helps,
Best
Tassilo

3 Likes
3

I’m absolutely down for having a dedicated resource to implement the marketing roadmap we’re developing for thUSD, and was happy to lend my name sponsorship and input to the formation of this proposal. :slight_smile:

3 Likes
4

Thank you for your response, @Tassilo.

A major point of context is that Steering Committee members are currently limited to 4 hours per week. At this time, the hiring process is taking up most of my time, and others within the committee may need to assist with an hour here and there, particularly during the interview stage. However, my intention is to primarily lead this hire while my colleagues focus on other exciting tasks. Unfortunately, I’m unable to provide a detailed time breakdown of real value, aside from a rough estimate.

The fact that we are limited to 4 hours a week should hopefully address your concern about the projected completion in February. We believe this timeline is realistic and not one that sets false expectations.

With that said, your suggestion to reduce the number of candidates considered to five is a good one. While we initially set ten as an absolute maximum, it wasn’t necessarily a target, and we recognize the need for a reduction given the time constraints.

Regarding your question about periodic reviews, the term was intentionally vague as we can’t currently predict where the demand will lie. It might be more appropriate to replace “periodically” with “regularly.” To clarify, there is no set timeframe for the existence of this role; we expect it will be needed as long as thUSD grows. The reviews will primarily focus on the role’s remit and responsibilities, which we will assess as needed, given the fast-changing nature of the market we’re navigating. I anticipate these reviews will be conducted collaboratively and thoughtfully.

As for the follow-up on the marketing budget, this is a matter for further discussion with the Marketing Guild, and I hope to have more clarity on this soon.

I hope this helps!

5

Sounds great. Thank you for clarifying :pray: I hope you understood my feedback as constructive input :slight_smile: Mostly wanted to share my learnings from hiring in other DAOs before. If I can support anywhere in the process, please let me know

1 Like
6

Yes absolutely, and your feedback is appreciated :pray:

8

To clarify,

It was felt an important aspect was not addressed within the proposal initially in regards to the scope of the role.

It is important to address the need for this role to be able to effectively work cross-guild (Marketing Guild, Integrations Guild, & Treasury Guild) to ensure that thUSD achieves optimal positioning, integration, and strategic alignment across the various sectors of the DAO.

Here is a revised proposal which can be used for snapshot. I also cleaned up some mistakes from the original post, my bad (dates in the timeline shows the wrong year).

Revised Proposal

Hiring for thUSD Product Marketing Lead

DAO-elected Sponsors

@rizzn @Eastban

Purpose:

This proposal seeks the approval of the Threshold DAO to initiate the process for hiring a Product Marketing Lead for thUSD to spearhead both product development and marketing initiatives for thUSD. This role is critical in ensuring that thUSD evolves strategically while being effectively marketed and positioned in the DeFi ecosystem.

The hired individual will collaborate closely with the thUSD Steering Committee and the broader Threshold DAO to ensure alignment with strategic goals. By driving marketing campaigns, community engagement, and partnerships, the Product Marketing Lead will ensure thUSD’s growth within a competitive market environment.

This proposal sets out the thUSD steering committee’s vision for the role, including expectations regarding hourly commitments per week, a detailed hiring process, a rough timeline, and associated costs.

Role Overview:

• Position Title: Product Marketing Lead

• Compensation: DAO standard contractor rate of $85 an hour

• Hours: Up to 15 hours per week (based on forecasted workload)

Scope:

The thUSD steering committee feels that an appropriate remit for the role, at this time, would consist of the following:

• Strategic Marketing Planning: Develop and execute marketing strategies that drive the adoption of thUSD.

• Product Positioning: Craft compelling messaging and ensure consistent product positioning.

• Go-to-Market Strategy: Lead the go-to-market efforts for new features and integrations.

• Campaign Management: Oversee marketing campaigns and ensure alignment with thUSD’s objectives.

• Community Engagement: Grow the thUSD community through engagement strategies.

• Partnership Development: Identify strategic partnerships to boost thUSD’s market presence.

• Product Development: Collaborate with internal development resources to steer thUSD’s evolution.

• Cross-Guild Collaboration: Work effectively across the Marketing Guild, Integrations Guild, and Treasury Guild to ensure cross-functional alignment, seamless integration, and unified messaging of thUSD within the DAO’s ecosystem.

Any further extension or reduction of the remit can be dynamically adjusted based on demand at the time. This is something that will be periodically reviewed by the steering committee.

Application Process:

  1. Job Advertisement & Candidate Sourcing: The Steering Committee will list the job advertisement on the web3jobs platform to begin gathering candidates. Additional reach will be generated by encouraging applications from social media platforms such as X.

  2. Initial Review & Interview: The Steering Committee will review all applications, conduct interviews, and select the best candidates. A maximum of the 5 strongest candidates will be contacted to proceed to the next stage.

  3. Selection of up to 5 Candidates for Project: Shortlisted candidates will be asked to complete a project that involves presenting their vision and strategy for thUSD, highlighting perceived strengths and weaknesses. Candidates will receive payment for the time working on this project. Each candidate will be given the same timeframe to complete their project and will have the flexibility to present it in any format they choose. It will be budgeted for each candidate to take up to 8 hours to complete, including discovery and required research before commencing the project.

  4. Project Completion & Submission: Candidates will be compensated for their work at the standard DAO rate of $85 per hour and will submit their completed projects publicly on Discord. This will provide great clarity on each candidate’s ideas, capabilities, and delivery time.

  5. Project Review: The DAO and Steering Committee will review all submitted projects.

  6. Final Selection & Offer: A final candidate will be selected by the thUSD steering committee and offered the role

Rough Timeline & Estimated Cost

  • Job Advertisement & Candidate Sourcing: November 2024
  • Initial Interviews: November 2024 - December 2024
  • Candidate Project Submissions: December 2024 - January 2025
  • Final Decision & Offer: January 2025
  • Role Start Date: February 2025

This timeline is not definite and is subject to potential changes based on DAO and Committee affairs.

The total cost associated from this proposal is estimated to be $3,550. The following cost breakdown is as follows:

Cost of job listings on web3jobs (estimated): $150.

Cost of candidate projects: For 5 candidates for 8hrs at $85/hour = $3,400.

The committee firmly believes in the cost benefit due to the vital nature of this hire, this process will provide greater insurance to a quality hire.

9

This proposal has been rejected by the DAO, with the following results of the Snapshot vote:

Results:

  • Reject: 104M T - 100%
  • Approve: 688 T - 0%