⌐◨-◨ Nounish Consultants: Pilot Cohort

Would love feedback on this idea that we are launching. Please see our proposed project below.

⌐◨-◨ Nounish Consultants

tl:dr: Offering a valuable new benefit to builders in the Nouns ecosystem supporting their efforts proliferating the meme. ⌐◨-◨

As the Nouns ecosystem expands, especially with the success of Prop House, we see nounish builders struggle with business aspects, strategy, management, legal and tax issues, and more.
We’ve also seen builders who have won grants get stuck in moving forward or those who have created proposals and drop off the radar after not winning.

We are experienced consultants of various expertise building a supportive network that assists nounish builders in their success. We want to help with the ramp-up of these projects and make sure that those who are building in the Nouns ecosystem have support for their ongoing efforts.

The idea:
⌐◨-◨ Create a private Discord with access to specific qualifying builders.
⌐◨-◨ Experts in the area of business, strategy, law, tax, marketing, and other areas as requested will hold workshops and office hours to assist both the group as a whole as well as one-on-one.
⌐◨-◨ Discord server access is available to Nouners, Nouncillors, proposal and small grants recipients, and prop house winners.
⌐◨-◨ Provide a space for founders/project leads to also share ideas/feedback with each other.
⌐◨-◨ Workshop topics and guest speakers are determined by the needs of builders.
⌐◨-◨ Start with a one-month trial/MVP to test out the market needs.
⌐◨-◨ For MVP trial, funding will be sought via small grants.

The Pilot/MVP:
⌐◨-◨ Cohort of 8 to 10 builders/founders/project leads for individual coaching, tailored workshops and calls, and founder support via a private discord.
⌐◨-◨ 4 week pilot program with one individual session per week, one group session per week and daily check-ins.
⌐◨-◨ Ideal candidates are leading a nounish project or business and would like support while building. Interested builders should contact either @emmavancrypto or @profwerder with questions or to apply for the pilot cohort.

Who we are:

⌐◨-◨ Emma @emmavancrypto (Twitter), @emma/nouns gal (Discord)

Nounish Thinker, Noun Delegate, Nouncillor, and early Nouns member.

Emma is Mike Judge’s NFT Manager and launched his first CC0 character on www.JoeSodium.com. She’s also advised companies with their NFT projects helping with strategy, business development, community building, operations, and scaling their businesses efficiently. She’s a former tech startup founder and has also advised a variety of CPG and technology startups at all stages. Emma’s excited to make a bigger impact by supporting creators and builders in the nouns community.

Nounish contributions:
⌐◨-◨ Introduced Mike Judge to the Nouns community
⌐◨-◨ Started a discussion to name the glasses which led to the name noggles
⌐◨-◨ Shared the idea for a rarity traits website which lead to Brian building https://www.nounsstats.wtf/rarity-stats
⌐◨-◨ Has nounish calls regularly with the community throughout the year including builders, new members, nouners
⌐◨-◨ Helped facilitate sales of nouns
⌐◨-◨ Nouncillor and Delegate

⌐◨-◨ Prof Werder (@profwerder, TheNounishProf.eth, kellywerder.eth)

Nounish builder, Nouncillor and Instructor at Florida Gulf Coast University in the School of Entrepreneurship. Prof Werder holds a Juris Doctor and MBA, with expertise in the area of copyright and trademark, along with overall business development. Prof Werder would serve as one of the co-founders and administrators of the project. Similar to work with her students, she looks forward to helping builders succeed with their projects and serving as a sounding board for those who need assistance.

Nounish contributions:
⌐◨-◨ Small Grant recipient for FloriNouns
⌐◨-◨ Created FloriNouns NFT project with her FGCU students
⌐◨-◨ Nouncillor from April, 2022 to present
⌐◨-◨ Guest co-host for The Noun Square/Noun-o-Clock
⌐◨-◨ Created and hosted first Noun-o-Clock Live at NFT.NYC
⌐◨-◨ One of 5 administrators of Lil Sisters Fund
⌐◨-◨ Co-creator of Watercolor Nouns (launching Aug 2022)

Holy YES. This needed and I love it and would love to help out however I can!

That is awesome to hear!! Thanks for the support! We really think we can scale this to support all builders in the ecosystem and hope this pilot will help us get a better idea around founder/builder needs.

yes and hell yes to this, anything I can do to help sign me up

Super awesome! Projects often will require more impact and structured activities aiming the long term. Having qualified support is much needed.

Thumbs up!

sounds pretty cool. are there any projects you guys have helped so far, or any that have requested this service that you would help? i would love to see a trial run succeed before funding something larger. what would it take for this to get off the ground?

Thank you Klim! Definitely reaching out for your assistance (and also would love to have you Zoom into my class too!).

We’ve both been informally advising various builders in the space but nothing concrete from start to finish. This has been an idea I’ve had for a while and was emphasized when Toady asked for assistance with a Prop House spaces to give support to builders. I ended up creating a Nounish Business Model Canvas as a tool to help those who are starting to build. Most of our coaching has been on a more informal basis via dm’s.

In terms of this start-up, originally we had a broader pilot in mind with a 9eth budget but scaled it back based on feedback from Skilift to a one month pilot and keeping it smaller with more personalized coaching/attention. So for start-up we have paired it down to 2 eth total (1eth each). Some of the funds would also go to honorariums for guest speakers for workshops to expand the expertise offered.

I’d like to see this scaled as a public goods type of benefit to builders in the space so that they don’t lose momentum and so we don’t lose good builders who just don’t have support when challenges arise. This could be eventually expanded to other cc0 projects as well, similar to the expansion of Prop House, where those forks/projects provided the funding to support their builders.

And with the shift to a cohort structure, we can also build in a mentorship from one cohort to another, eventually bringing on new coaches/advisors to the project as we expand.

Thank you!! And excited to chat more with you in the coming week as we ramp up!

always available to talk and help how i can, Can also use your services for a couple of my ongoing things as well as plans for the marketing/engagement portions of the builds both physical and digital goods. I am always up to talk to students

ok cool, i think 1 ETH each for a month is great and fair to fund a trial. let’s do it

please keep us posted on progress and try to conduct as much business as possible in public places so we can see the work you guys are doing

Appreciate all the kind comments and support! We are excited!

This sounds like an amazing idea. As an executive producer / lawyer who understands web3, I’d love to connect and help out in any way. My motto is “a rising tide lifts all ships”.

Down to help in any way I can @Emma and @profwerder! I’m a small business owner and involved in many non-profit boards which I’m finding has a lot of similarities with cc0 world. I’ll be very excited to watch this experiment unfold!

What a great concept!! Should you need anything in relation to publishing, please feel free to hit me up, too Just love the idea of pooling resources!

Thank you! Hope we can create something really great to help support all the awesome builders in the ecosystem! We’ve both already been talking to potential cohort participants and planned to have things rolling this week. We’ll share updates as we go!

Let’s chat this week! Would love to know more about your background.

Hi Rekola - would love to chat more – please dm me on twitter or discord: @profwerder on twitter @profwerder#8300 on discord. We are launching next week so moving fast!

dm me on twitter or discord – would love to get you involved! @profwerder on twitter, @profwerder#8300 on discord

Would love to have you involved! I’ll dm you and give you some more info!

⌐◨-◨ Nounish Consultants Pilot Update ⌐◨-◨

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⌐◨-◨ tl:dr: Offering a valuable new benefit to builders in the Nouns ecosystem supporting their efforts proliferating the meme by providing resources and support in the areas of business strategy and development, legal and tax, mental health and navigating the nounish ecosystem.

As the Nouns ecosystem expands, especially with the success of Prop House, we see nounish builders struggle with business aspects, strategy, management, legal and tax issues, mental health and more. We’ve also seen builders who have won grants get stuck in moving forward or those who have created proposals and drop off the radar after not winning.

The idea was to create a support network specifically for nounish builders, creating a Nouns version of an incubator/accelerator. A four-week pilot funded at 2 ETH with positive results and a better understanding of builder needs. We present some key findings and recommended next steps below.

Supertight Woody:

“Nounish Consultants have created a niche community that harbors healthy, sustainable growth within NounsDAO. I’m looking forward to see where Emma and Prof take this project and excited to contribute however I can!”

Key Findings:

1. Mental Health - Burnout is real and everyone is struggling with mental health. The resources provided and small group session was beneficial and seen as something we need more of, via professional assistance and community support.
2. Intimate conversations in a less chaotic environment made it easier to meet people, build relationships and collaborate. We need a virtual Coffee Shop.
3. Need more proposal guidance and feedback and recommend creating some resources such as templates and best practices tips, as well as sessions with community mentors who have successfully gotten props passed.
4. Expert Professionals were helpful and more are needed.

Although many entrepreneurial people manage to connect easily in the Nouns Discord or via Twitter, others get lost and find it hard to cut through the noise. Creating a smaller environment where everyone was coming in at the same time and introducing themselves, made for an easier approach. Rekola noted the “warmness and openness we established,” made it a safe place to come freely and propelled him in moving forward to having a virtual coffee with Woody. This gave us an idea to create a virtual coffee shop as we move forward that could also serve to match up individuals who may have needs in common.

Cryptasha:

Loved the 5-minute gratitude and reflection journal that Emma recommended and uses it. She has been getting more connections and help through the program.

“I absolutely think this is worthwhile to continue. A place like this where people can come to for specific advice is valuable. The first mental health talk I went to has been helpful in jumpstarting some good habits like journaling and working on how I phrase things. I also think networking within a small group like this is helpful for direct feedback on proposals and how to share them.”

Virtual Coffee Shop examples:

• Emma and Woody connected re: props and other discussions about doing a Nouns Rap song together
• Rekola and Laplace connected for PR props
• Gogo and Cryptasha connected for building Media Lists for marketing

Deeper conversations also have a chance to flourish outside of the daily grind of project Discords and Discourse.

⌐◨-◨ Weekly Highlights

Week 1 Highlights:

• Tips on growing social media userbase for a Nouns project
• Discussion on utility for projects
• Soundboard and advice calls with Emma
• Negotiation and confidence chat with Emma
• Office hour calls with Emma and Prof Werder
• Legal Chat with a lawyer (note: .2 eth sent as a thank you from grant funds)

Week 2 Highlights:

• Additional legal chat with an IP attorney
• Strategy call with Emma
• Branding advice
• NFT trends call with Emma
• Prop advice
• Mental Health resources

Week 3 Highlights:

• Burnout and mental health chats with a mental health professional note: ( .2 eth sent as a thank you from grant funds)
• Additional mental health resources posted
• Group Proposal Tips Call with Woody whose prop passed

Week 4 Highlights:

• Marketing Call with Emma
• Proposal tips and CC0 Benefits
• Nouns Incubator discussions
• Office hours with Prof and Emma

Example Highlights:

Monday, August 29th

1. Discussion on utility for NFT projects.

Emma Asked: What are some of your favorite types of utility that you’ve come across?

1. Seva’s Take:

• Providing IRL value
• Royalties are one of my favorite utilities so far. But I don’t think the value is just there. Thinking of NFTs/CC0/DAOS/Treasury/Privacy… It is a new dawn of organizations and networks wasn’t possible before. What could we do with 10, 20, 100s of NounsDAOs?

2. Klim’s Take:

• The idea of perpetual royalties for the work that are on chain and can transfer to your kids and grandkids.

2. Office Hours - Voice Call

Emma provided a one-hour call with SuperWoody and byRekola

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1. Key Takeaways:

• Soundboarding - A desire to chat with people who understand nouns and NFTs
• Helping provide advice/templates for folks with their proposals

Book Recommendations For Negotiating: Never Split the Difference

Tuesday, August 30th

Highlights:

1. Discussion on projects scaling too fast with Prof Werder and Emma

• Lil Nouns dropping of price, trouble reaching quorum, etc.

How can these lessons be helpful to Nouns DAO if they run into these issues later?

• 15 min auctions (Lil Nouns) vs 3 auctions a day (Food Nouns)
• Discussion of pros and cons

2. Proposal advice

• Develop MVP first
• Create a video and include it in prop

3. Mental Health Resources

• Books, podcasts, meditations posted

4. Trademark and IP Q&A with two lawyers during Office Hours

Wednesday, August 31st

Highlights:

1. Discussion on Negotiating with Emma

• Doing your research (finding comparables, reaching out to folks if not publically available)
• Being patient and also try not to have all your eggs in one basket
• Being assertive and persistent. Follow up with the next steps and send concise messages.
• “Everything is negotiable”
• Don’t be afraid to ask.

Example: If the price goes up $100, ask if they can do $30 instead. You may be surprised!

• Have boundaries and be careful of people pleasing.
• Be confident and positive. Have a good self-care plan. Know your worth and stick to it! If you’re going to do something for free or less than your rate, try to have a plan in place if “x happens, you get y” or ask yourself if you do this for a discount, will it be worth your time still, if it may lead to more experience and more business in the future, etc.
• Listen to the other party’s concerns if there is pushback and make sure to address the concerns and find a solution.
• Write down your success story - Pick a few things you’re proud of and read them as a reminder
• If you’re having a bad day, good to journal out how you feel and tear the paper up after. Also know feelings are temporary and many folks go through similar experiences. Good to have someone you can soundboard with

1. Meditation for Confidence

Thursday, September 1

• Planning

Friday, September 2

• Voice Discussion on utilities, noun sounds prop, IRL events, royalties, avoiding burnout, strategy, IP rights, CC0

Monday, September 5

• Planning legal discussion for Friday
• Articles on negotiating and mental health resources

Tuesday, September 6

Highlights - Emma’s Strategy Call with Klim and Super Woody:

• Discussion on Rugrats creator PFP project and learning where things could have gone better with the community and how it can apply to a nounish pfp project

Takeaways: Free mint, lower supply

• IRL events with Klim’s Toys - Get the word out there outside of Twitter
• Create buzz, awareness, and engagement at DesignerCon
• Klim is working on a proposal for Designer Con https://www.designercon.com/

Wednesday, September 7

Highlights

1. Branding Advice (Example below)

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Thursday, September 8

• Creative discussion on a Nouns Rap Song with Emma and Woody

Friday, September 9

• Discussion with IP Lawyer where folks asked questions and resources were posted

Monday, September 12

• Discussion on burnout and mental health resources posted
• Scheduled call with a mental health professional

Tuesday, September 13

• Continued discussion on burnout in Web 3
• Legal discussion trademark vs patent Trademark, patent, or copyright | USPTO
• DAO Legal Resources: Legal Entity - DAO Research Collective

Wednesday, September 14

• Proposal planning

Thursday, September 15

• Planning

Friday, September 16

• Proposal Tips Call with Woody
• 1.5 hour Mental Health Chat and resources with a professional
• Mental Health Resources
• Incubator ideas discussion

Monday, September 19

• Personality tests https://www.16personalities.com/

Tuesday, September 20

• Marketing Chat with Emma - Toys (Klim), Comics (Gogo), and Cryptasha
• NFT Media List - Gogo and Cryptasha to collaborate
• Discussion on proposal feedback and more of a discussion for mental health so folks don’t feel alone
• Royalties Discussion

Wednesday, September 21

• Mental Health Resources
• Prop feedback chat

Thursday, September 22

• Office hours call with Prof and Emma
• Chat about the needs of the ecosystem and how to support nounish builders (community mentors, experts)

Friday, September 23

• Prop Feedback
• Office hours call with Prof and Emma

⌐◨-◨ What comes next? ⌐◨-◨

There is value in an effort like this but we are still in the MVP/development stage. We propose an additional 2 month trial with additional structure and larger reach. We would like to still bring people in as cohorts but open it at the beginning of each month to any Nounish builders, Nouncillors, Nouners or Nounders.

• Open up to new cohort —applications would open to any nounish builders
• Applications just to vet so we make sure we have the right folks in there who are actually building in the ecosystem
• Daily Accountability Topics
• Virtual coffee shop connecting builders
• Weekly Business Development/Strategy Sessions and Office Hours w/Emma
• Business Resources and Discussion Topics of Interest w/Emma
• Weekly office hours w/prof
• Emma & prof to organize experts, add resources, daily contact in discord, etc
• Weekly expert session
• Mental health session/resources
• Bring in 2–4 community mentors to focus on prop development and similar nounish specific stuff
• Use this platform to build connections between builders and identify needs within the ecosystem

New budget for 2 month trial:

• Emma: 3 eth/month (15hrs/wk approx-primary admin/comm manager)
• Prof: 1 eth/month (5 hrs/wk approx, backup admin/mod)
• Experts: .5 /month of direct via retro (max 4 per month —legal, tax, mental health etc)
• Community mentors: .5 /mo retro (max 4 per month) — They would have specific area they would do a session on & be available for an assigned week.

Let us know what you think!

As a participant in the first cohort, I for one found this program extremely valuable and highly encourage further funding. I was able to focus on building Noun Dust and Nouns Press Corps with this program. Emma and Prof were open, transparent, helpful, and extremely insightful.

I had a wonderful experience with Emma and Prof in the Nounish Consultants Discord. I see a lot of value in the nurturing and assisting builders in an uplifting and healthy way here. I’m very much looking forward to see where this can go

Thank you for the kind words! We both appreciate it and are glad it was helpful!

Thank you so much! It was great getting to know you during the pilot and I’m excited that it’s led us to collaborating on a nounish project together

Was great having you in this cohort and seeing you connect with other builders to see how you could assist them. This is the nounish way!

Thanks for being a part of this initial pilot. And thank you for sharing your experience with on chain proposals and providing some pointers for those who are working on props. Very much appreciated!

I’m a huge fan of anything that is deepening genuine human relationships in Nouns. Would have loved this if it had been here when I first entered the ecosystem. Excited to see where this goes.

Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to getting to know you

I can’t wait to be a part of this program and support it’s growth. Lucky you if you join Nouns and connect with this knowledgeable and welcoming crew.

Just a quick update: we would still like to continue and expand this effort. But we understand that NSFW team is re-organizing so we hope to chat more soon!

Wow this would be amazing!

Hi! This is amazing! I would like to join the cohort or get some feedback if still possible, I am starting a project and starting it with Nouns will be great! I don’t know if i am late, or is it still possible to join the discord?

Hi ferrodi - we put this on hold since it wasn’t funded for another round. We are exploring other options but in the meantime, the discord is open and I’d be happy to chat with you and see how I can assist!

Nounish Consultants discord: Nounish Consultants

Prof Werder

Great idea. I’m sure bc of who you are it will be approved. I am for sure interested in this…it would add great value but would you plz give more detail on this “⌐◨-◨ Experts in the area of business, strategy, law, tax, marketing, and other areas as requested will hold workshops and office hours to assist both the group as a whole as well as one-on-one.” as it is pretty much the whole backbone of this prop so to speak.

Great, thank you so much!

For the pilot we did have a session with an IP attorney and also did a mental health session with a licensed professional and you can see some of the resources and information in the discord. If we did revive this specific prop and if funding was found, we could be a bit more specific but did not engage beyond this since no funding to move to the next phase was approved.

I do see this becoming a part of a larger initiative that I am working on so please stay tuned and I will update at a later time. For now, please pop by the discord: Nounish Consultants

I could use the support on what I’m working on!

unfortunately we put this on hold but may revive down the road