More Than Investors: How RnDAO Works With Startups

Written by

RnDAO

Published on

December 8, 2024

What is an RnDAO Venture?

RnDAO ventures are early-stage startups that focus on Collaboration Technology (CollabTech) and embrace a culture of resource sharing and collaboration.

What is CollabTech?

CollabTech refers to tools that enhance human(e) collaboration, evolving traditional B2B SaaS. If your startup builds products that help people work better together, you’re in the right place.

Our Ideal Ventures:

RnDAO ventures are typically small teams in the early stages of their journey, facing challenges such as:

Validating their idea and finding Product-Market Fit.
Acquiring users/customers and scaling adoption.
Navigating legal and operational complexities.
Achieving financial sustainability (grants, fundraising, revenue generation).
Attracting high-value contributors who align with their vision (ideally working for equity or reduced compensation).

We also collaborate with more mature projects. For inquiries about partnerships, please join our Discord.

Who RnDAO Isn’t For:

RnDAO does not collaborate with ventures that:

Are not building CollabTech (e.g., products that don’t enhance collaboration).
Are unwilling to collaborate or share resources with others in the ecosystem.
Are only seeking capital and already have everything else figured out.

How RnDAO Helps Ventures Succeed

Find Your First Users
RnDAO members become the first users of products built by RnDAO startups, providing rapid feedback and boosting credibility to attract more users. Our marketing team and fellow ventures will also help you connect with others.
Access to Customers & Grants
We facilitate introductions and quick feedback opportunities. RnDAO is an official delegate in zkSync, Arbitrum, and Scroll, and we have strong relationships with key governance leaders across the Ethereum ecosystem and beyond.
Network of Aligned Contributors
RnDAO team onboards talent daily, and we’ve created a funnel to seamlessly integrate them into startups. Each contributor is vetted to ensure alignment with the startup’s goals and expectations, so startups can focus on their work while we connect them with the talented people they need.
Ecosystem Opportunities
Startups don’t have to search for opportunities. When one arises, it’s shared across the ecosystem, with introductions and quick feedback provided as needed.
Hands-on Support
Our team of experienced builders and entrepreneurs works with startups to help them zoom out, avoid mistakes, find faster ways to gain traction and reach product-market fit. We have weekly meetings (30-60 minutes or more if needed) and constant asynchronous discussions, work sessions, and feedback. We don't do calls just to share updates. We work closely with you to retain high context and get our hands dirty in prioritization and strategy calls and focused work sessions.

Success Stories

Together Crew began as an RnDAO project, joined Techstars, gained traction, and now has two VCs reaching out—but no longer needs funding.
MeetWith had the entire RnDAO ecosystem using their product before it was fully ready. It was promoted daily to anyone scheduling a call with an RnDAO member. This gave them valuable feedback early on, allowing them to make crucial adjustments. Their communications also improved significantly, as they now had a product used by a community of 1,500 members, not just a proof of concept—and that built trust.
CollabBerry’s product was included in the Hackathon Continuation Proposal to Arbitrum, requesting an additional $30K to integrate it into our proposed program. Collaborations like this are becoming more frequent as our products mature and offer more and more value to support DAOs and other organizations.

The RnDAO Startup Agreement

Are you considering joining RnDAO? We're excited to explore the possibility of working together! We understand that as a first-time founder, you might have questions about what comes next and what collaboration with us looks like. This guide is here to help, using straightforward language to explain our process.

Getting Started: The Trial Period

The trial phase is designed to establish a mutual understanding between RnDAO and your startup. During this phase, we focus on the following steps:

Before any formal agreements, we like to have a trial period. This is a chance for both you and RnDAO to get to know each other better. During this time, we:

Learn about your team and startup.
Share how RnDAO can support you.
See if our goals and values align.

This period doesn't involve any commitments—it's simply an opportunity to ensure we're a good fit.

Understanding Our Legal Agreements

We know that startups can take different paths, and we want our agreements to be flexible to suit your journey. Here's how we structure our collaboration:

1. Starting with a SAFE

We typically begin with a SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity).

What is a SAFE? It's a simple agreement where we invest in your company now, and in return, we receive shares in the future when you raise more funds.
Why use a SAFE? It postpones the need to decide your company's value today, allowing you to focus on building your startup.
Learn more about SAFEs: an in-depth view of SAFEs here.

2. Introducing the Token Warrant

If your project involves creating a token (common in blockchain or Web3 startups), we add a Token Warrant.

What is a Token Warrant? It's an agreement that says if you issue a token in the future, RnDAO will receive a portion of those tokens.
Why include this? It ensures fairness if your project's value comes from tokens instead of traditional shares.
Learn more about Token Warrant: an in-depth view of Token Warrants here.

3. Considering a SEAL

For startups that aim for early profitability instead of raising more funds, we have a SEAL (Shared Earnings Agreement Letter).

What is a SEAL? It's an agreement where if you start earning significant profits and paying yourselves above a certain amount, RnDAO receives a percentage of the excess earnings.
How does it work? You can pay yourselves up to a threshold (e.g., $70,000 per year). If you earn more, a portion goes to RnDAO. If you don't take the money out but want to reinvest it to grow the business, RnDAO doesn't take a cut.
Why use a SEAL? It supports startups focusing on profits without taking away cash needed for growth.
Learn more about SEALs: the Calm Company Fund pioneered this approach.

The Swap: Becoming Part of RnDAO

We believe in mutual collaboration and shared success.

What is the Swap? You exchange a small portion of your equity or tokens for RnDAO's governance tokens.
Why do this? It makes you a co-owner of RnDAO, giving you a say in how things are run and aligning our interests. It also means you share in the success in all ventures in RnDAO.
When does it happen? After you've shown progress, like raising funds, launching a token, or generating revenue.
Learn more about Swaps: Kindred Capital (a VC fund) pioneered this approach.

This ensures that everyone involved is contributing and benefiting fairly.

Putting It All Together

Here's a quick summary of the steps:

Joining Discord and introductory call.
Application form submission.
Review by the Investment Committee.
We normally get back to you with a decision within 2 weeks
Trial Period: We get to know each other with no obligations.
SAFE Agreement: We start our formal relationship with a simple investment agreement.
Token Warrant and SEAL: Depending on your path, we add agreements that suit your specific journey.
The Swap: As you progress, you become a co-owner of RnDAO, fostering collaboration.

Next Steps

We're here to discuss these options with you in more detail. Our goal is to support your startup in the way that makes the most sense for you.

Questions? Don't hesitate to ask us anything.
Ready to proceed? Let us know, and we'll guide you through the next steps.

Join the RnDAO Discord and introduce yourself in the Introductions channel.

We look forward to the possibility of working together and helping your startup succeed!

‍