Hi Moonbeam Community,
I’ve previously provided reflections on the grant committee in Seasons 3 and the Interim committee, and I encourage you to read them here and here - they mainly hold true for Season 4. So I will briefly update on some thoughts on the most recent committee, but also provide a view into why participating in the committee is beneficial, with the hope that it will encourage others to apply for a role.
Season 5 introduced an additional 3 community members to the committee to a new total of 6, which was different from the previous committees where the community members were 3. This introduced a new dynamic for those that were on previous committees – more people per call, more diverse viewpoints and experiences when evaluating grant requests, and differing viewpoints from which to consider proposals. I consider all of this very beneficial, and a positive.
However, there are benefits that can be had from smaller teams like on previous committees – one forms a more intimate bond with other members, members are more accountable to each other, and there is a greater appreciation that commitments need to be met – one person not carrying their weight can bring everything to a standstill. That’s why I think the new season that explores having two teams of 3 members + foundation representation will get the best of both worlds, and I think it holds a lot of promise. Which brings me to why someone should apply, and also why I’ve always felt that anything I’ve done from every single committee has been worth it. I’ll summarize in bullet points:
- You will meet other committee members that are truly passionate about this ecosystem. No doubt about it, almost every member has truly wanted the best for Moonbeam, and that is refreshing, and inspiring.
- You will learn a lot. Everyone with experience can fall victim of the “I know it all” syndrome, but the simple fact is you will meet so many teams, and so many people with different ideas, backgrounds, technological and business perspectives, that it will take a lot of hard work not to learn something new that will become valuable down the road.
- You will meet a lot of interesting people, and possibly form great bonds – with others on the committee. One member has invited other members on his fishing boat in his country. Another had invited members to their family eco-tourism business in their home country. I can say something special about every memeber that has been on the committee – that has nothing even to do with blockchain. These experiences are worth it just on their own.
- You’ll be helping advance projects in web3 and the overall industry. By weeding out the less impactful projects from the true gems or projects that are built on possibility, you’ll enable teams to bring their ideas to fruition, while also helping Moonbeam. There really is a lot of satisfaction to get out of seeing a team launch on Moonbeam after 6 months, when you first met them and they had an idea.
As always, please reach out to me if you have any questions, and it’s always a pleasure to work within the community.