- Yes
1. Preferred Display Name and Age
Display Name: Null
Age: 32
Social Media Handles
X: @rafaeldjpb
Discord: Null#1163
2. What motivates you to apply for this position?
I was asked by some folks in the community to re-apply after helping the Treasury with a couple of tasks for the past few months.
Created the Tangle Treasury Discord, a space for anyone in the community to engage with the TT committee directly, participate in grant discussions, governance and more
3. What is your educational and professional background?
Educational Background:
M.S. in Interactive Entertainment, 2018 – University of Central Florida
Web3/Crypto Background:
Learner, Supporter, Investor (2012 – Today)
I started learning about Bitcoin by reading posts on bitcointalk.org around 2012 or thereabouts. Since then I’ve tried to keep up with the latest innovations & schools of thought in the DLT space. I enjoy reading through academic papers, participating in constructive discussions, and generally thinking about DLT adoption. If you’ve been in the IOTA community for a while, you may have seen some of the discussions I started in our Discord from time to time.
Professional Background:
Co-Founder, CEO, Developer (2018 – Today)
Not Suspicious – XR (spatial computing) Research & Development Studio
generatecontent.ai – AI Tools Aggregator
Wartale – Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game
Grant Reviewer (2021 – 2022)
SBIR grant program by the National Science Foundation (NSF)
4. What experience do you have that is relevant to this position?
Aside from my technical and business expertise, I am also a long-time IOTA community member. I was part of X-Teams, I’m helping with the Tangle Treasury, and I am generally familiar with how things work in our ecosystem. Fun fact: I posted the first governance thread on this forum before it became the governance forum.
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 (see above). I have developed games & apps for VR, MR, AR, mobile (iOS & Android), PC, consoles and browsers. I’ve worked with C, C#, C++, JavaScript, HTML5, Python and more. Most recent side project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thEFH-fm36I
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.
No.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
N/A – links have been embedded in the answers above, when relevant.
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?
My vision is for that of a hands-on, active committee (vs. passive). Instead of waiting for proposals, we should be coming out with RFPs (requests for proposals) that can help us meet our strategic goals. Additionally, we should be highlighting success stories in the community a lot more often (e.g. by hosting interviews with builder grantees, etc), and ideally promoting those through professional communication channels like a Blog page on the Treasury’s website. The Treasury’s website also needs a visual and SEO upgrade. Though JD has done a great job quickly setting up a website with all the functionality that was needed, in order to attract top talent and build more trust going forward, we must lead by example by infusing more quality and rigor in everything we do, including on things like the Tangle Treasury website.
More importantly, we need to simplify the governance frameworks so that more people in the community can understand them.
Tl:dr: more education, more communication, lead by example, simplify and engage.