1.) Preferred Display Name and Age (If you do not want to enter your age, enter that you are above 21 years of age, which is the minimum)
Name: Nicole O’Brien
Age: 27
Social Media Handles
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cheerful_nicole
Discourse: Profile - nicole.obrien - govern.IOTA
Linkedin: Nicole O’Brien - Bloom | LinkedIn
Discord: bloom_nicole
Telegram: nicole_obrien9
2.) What motivates you to apply for this position?
Previously as an employee of the IOTA Foundation I was unable to apply to be a grant reviewer last year. Now as a community developer and builder I am hoping to use some of my time and knowledge of the whole IOTA stack and ecosystem to help the community fund the right projects.
I am motivated by the success of Web3 and in particular IOTA / Shimmer. With the growing ecosystem of IOTA, Shimmer and ISC chains, there needs to be a robust and efficient grant applications process to ensure that the projects can keep up with demand and continue to grow the ecosystem. As part of this we also need to make sure that the projects we onboard or help to flourish in the ecosystem are of a high quality and looking to build lasting change for this ecosystem, rather than draining funds from the treasuries of multiple chains without creating something meaningful that will last.
In short I want the funds used in the treasury to be used for good and to the benefit of the whole ecosystem, and I believe I can contribute towards that by helping to review the grants.
3.) What is your educational and professional background?
Educational Background
- BSc in Computer Science (University of Nottingham)
- Final project: Android game for herding sheep utilising Boids algorithm
- MSc in Computer Science (University of Nottingham)
- Thesis: Identifying anonymous authors of social media (twitter) posts using novel machine learning techniques
- CompTIA Security+
- Global certification that validates the baseline skills necessary to perform core security functions and pursue an IT security career.
Web3/Crypto Background
- IOTA community member since 2017
- Creating some of the first information and FAQ pinned posts on reddit to help users navigate the complexities of trinary IOTA and the OG wallet.
- Launching and moderating the IOTASupport subreddit
- IOTA Foundation for 2 years since 2021
- Software engineer for Firefly (Chrysalis based wallet)
- Tech & product lead for Firefly v2 (Stardust based wallet)
- Co-founder of Bloom Labs since 2023
- Building Bloom wallet, a multi-chain wallet supporting IOTA / Shimmer / Iota Smart Contract chains and more.
Professional Background
- Software Consultant - Hitachi
- Developer - IoT - Vehicle Manufacturer
- Analyst - Cyber Security - National Health Service
- BA & Developer - Data & Cloud - Financial Institution
- Technical Architect - Cyber Security - Manufacturer
- Software Consultant - Netcompany
- Full stack Developer - Apps - Ministry of Defence
- Lead Developer - Apps - National Health Service
- Software Engineer - IOTA Foundation
- Full stack Developer - Firefly
- Technical & Product Lead - Firefly
- Co-founder & CTO - Bloom Labs
4.) What experience do you have relevant to this position (grant reviewer, Project manager, etc.)? Please describe
- When at the IF I helped review proposals for the Ecosystem Development Fund from a functional and technical feasibility perspective
- I have been part of the hiring process for Firefly, reviewing applications and CVs, hosting technical interviews and reviewing solutions of technical challenges set to candidates
- Managing product, tech and delivery of Firefly and Bloom
5.) Are you a software developer? If yes, please provide info on your skills and proof of the projects you already have built/worked on (Github, languages, certificates, etc.)
Yes - nicole-obrien (Nicole O’Brien) · GitHub
- Previously to 2021 mostly private development work
- Worked on Firefly for 2 years at the IOTA Foundation
- Worked on Bloom wallet sine June 2023
6.) Do you have affiliations that may cause a conflict of interest when reviewing applications? The community would like to know particularly if reviewers are involved with projects as a creator, on the board, or employed. Please list any projects or applications you have affiliations to.
- Director, co-founder and CTO of Bloom Labs, building Bloom wallet.
7.) Are you willing to sign a legally binding service provider contract and reveal and verify your identity through a KYC process with the legal entity of the Treasury Committee?
Yes - I am willing to KYC and sign a service provider contract with the Shimmer Community Treasury.
8.) Can you commit 10 hours weekly on average to work as a grant reviewer for the Shimmer community over the next 12 months?
Yes - I am willing and able to commit 10 hrs a week to the Shimmer Community Treasury.
9.) If you are voted in the top 2 reviewers, you may have the option to join the Growth Committee and work with the TEA representatives. In this case, you may be required to work hours over the required 10 hrs per week. Are you able to commit to this if required?
Yes - I am willing and able to commit to the Growth Committee and the Shimmer Community Treasury if required. (subject to commitments to Bloom)
10.) Are you willing to sign a service provider contract, including an NDA with the Tangle Ecosystem Association, and respect the Non-Disclosure Agreement if selected as a member of the Growth Committee? Breaking the Non-Disclosure Agreement may bring consequences financially and or legally.
Yes - I am willing to sign a service provider contract and Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). I absolutely will respect all binding effects within such agreement contracts.
11.) Provide any web links or supporting documentation you would like the community to see when assessing you for the Shimmer Community Treasury Grant Reviewer position.
12.) What is your long-term vision of the Shimmer Community Treasury? How do you see the Community Treasury affecting the Shimmer & IOTA ecosystem, and what does the Shimmer & IOTA Ecosystem look to you in three years?
We all want the IOTA and Shimmer ecosystem to not only survive but also thrive. There is often a heavy reliance on the IOTA Foundation for not only vision but also for ecosystem growth. One party can not be responsible for the whole ecosystem and we as the community need to take some responsibility for that. The tangle treasury has been a great initiative, voice of the community and funding arm for projects over the last year. But I think the community. I see a couple of approaches that could help it grow:
- Crowdfunding for projects through a Treasury token; enabling the community to get involved in the funding of high quality and vetted projects.
- Finding capital partners to sponsor co-horts of projects solving a specific problem they are invested in. Similar to Outlier Ventures, but community owned.
Additionally rather than constantly excepting any proposal for any topic, the treasury could put out request for proposals on specific topics or problems that need to be solved in the ecosystem, with specific timelines. This will enable a multiple benefits:
- These can then be reviewed in batch and compared against each other, so that the project with the highest quality to cost ratio will be considered. Rather than trying to assess a single proposal with no alternatives or baseline.
- Allow the community to fund the solution of the problems they need solving rather than projects suggesting non existent problems to be solved and milking multiple ecosystems out of funds.
- Allow clear budgeting and segmentation of yearly funds, assigning the the funds proportionally to the problems difficulty, or impact.
Example of a project doing this all well is: https://projectcatalyst.io/ in the Cardano ecosystem.
- Yes