Author: Bo Brustkern (Bo | Bankless DAO 
#7210)
Analyst: Ella Dane (Ella Dane#0382)
Date: 01 March 2022
Previous Surveys can be found in this table.
TL;DR
Our cNPS dropped ten points, but it’s still a highly respectable score. Folk are hyped about the brain trust within the bDAO, and the opportunity to grow within it. They’re concerned about lack of structure, alignment, governance and the value of $BANK.
Summary
On February 4-8, 2022, we measured the community’s satisfaction with BanklessDAO and achieved a Community Net Promoter Score (”cNPS”) of 52, a very high score. Yet we note that even this impressive number represents a drop of 10 points from the S2M3 score, and a 16 point drop from the S2M2 score. This drop is concerning and should be monitored closely.
We asked three qualitative questions of the community to better understand what was behind the NPS quantitative measure.
- First, we asked, In ONE WORD, what is the primary reason you gave this score? The responses led us to the following conclusions:
- Our most ardent supporters (aka Promoters) are hyped about the learning, opportunity and growth that this community affords.
- Our neutral contributors (aka Passives) resonated most with the opportunity that the bDAO provides.
- Our most negative members (aka Detractors) cited instability, scattered participation and lack of structure as their primary concerns.
- Second, we asked, Care to expand on that one word? And we concluded:
- There was great enthusiasm around the value of the bDAO community itself; i.e., the value of the learning opportunities therein.
- Vibe alignment, content quality and mission are of paramount importance.
- Among the chief concerns were the continued difficulty to get involved in the bDAO, the zigzag evolution of DAOs, and our lack of vision, leadership and sensible governance in this ever-changing environment.
- Finally, we asked, Anything else we should know? Several themes stood out; most importantly, that alignment, governance and tokenomics need attention and improvement to ensure that the bDAO becomes a resilient meritocracy.
While the quantitative measure of NPS appears to be on a downward trend, it is still highly respectable. Our synthesis suggests that our community is extraordinarily enthusiastic, loyal and prepared to put in the hard work to make bDAO a defining organization in this emerging space.
Our future success will rely on our ability to align, coordinate and drive toward a common goal.
Community Net Promoter Score Summary
Background on Net Promoter Scores:
The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a well-regarded methodology for quantifying the whether a brand delivers on its promise. The standardized form of NPS reads as follows: “On a scale of 1-10, how likely would you recommend X to a friend or colleague?”
In our case, X = “working in BanklessDAO”
The results of an NPS survey can be quantified in a score that ranges from negative 100 to positive 100. Depending on the topic, brand, industry, etc., a “good” score can range anywhere from +0 to +40 and beyond.
For more information, please refer to the following sources:
Wikipedia discussion of NPS
Lattice discussion of eNPS
Note that the language of the NPS has three primary groupings:
Promoters are those who respond with a 9 or 10 to the NPS question
Passives are those who respond with a 7 or 8 to the NPS question
Detractors are those who respond with a score of 6 or below to the NPS question
In our case, we are measuring “cNPS” which we cleverly coined to mean Community NPS. While there is no clear community standard yet, I believe cNPS relates closely to eNPS (Employee NPS). As for how to interpret the score, according to Jennifer Willy, Editor at Etia.com, “anything above zero is generally acceptable… Generally, a score between 10-30 is considered good while anything near 50 is excellent.”
bDAO’s NPS
We achieved an cNPS of 52, an excellent score, likely ranking among the top organizations in the world; and yet this month’s score shows a continued downward trend from the prior three months.
A total of 327 bDAO members responded to our survey, including Guest Passes, L1s and L2s, representing a steady number of participants (down 2% from last month’s 332). Of these, a very low number (29 of 327) were counted as Detractors.
Since we began measuring cNPS, we have achieved scores of 68, 68, 62 and now 52. A quick analysis indicates that L1s and L2s showed material negative changes in satisfaction with the DAO, while Guest Passes trended slightly more positive.
While enjoying a highly satisfactory quantitative result, there is a troubling trend now appearing, in which the more senior contributors are the least satisfied.
Quantitative Results:
Sources:
Unattributed NPS scoring sheet source is here
Confidential GUEST PASS responses here (restricted access)
Confidential LEVEL ONE responses here (restricted access)
Confidential LEVEL TWO responses here (restricted access)
Synthesis Scratch Pad here
Qualitative Questions
Along with the quantitative cNPS question, we asked three additional qualitative questions to dig a little deeper into the sentiment that the NPS attempts to measure.
The following is a synthesis of the responses we received from the 763 individual responses we received. Many thanks to @Ella Dane for compiling the results in the Synthesis Scratch Pad.
Qual Q1: In ONE WORD, what is the primary reason you gave this score?
We drove for concision by limiting responses to a single word. We then created word clouds to assist in visualizing sentiment indicators from each segment of the DAO (L2s, L1s and Guest Passes). We made word clouds only for the Promoters because of the large number of respondents.
Promoter Responses
L2 Promoters
Among the 79 L2 respondents, we found that 42 Promoters were inspired by (1) opportunity, (2) community, and (3) energy, followed by many other sentiments including education, agency, innovation and hope.
L1 Promoters
Among the 87 L1 respondents, we found that community was by far the most cited one-word sentiment among 49 Promoters, followed by family, growth, learning, inclusion and buidl.
Guest Pass Promoters
Finally, the among the 161 Guest Pass respondents, 107 Promoters provided a wide variety of sentiments including community, opportunity, inspiration, professional, resourceful, organized, systematic, energetic, and of course WGMI.
Promoter Synthesis
Among all promoters, the relevance of community reigns supreme. Beyond that, what our community stands for is essential: learning >> opportunity >> growth. It seems we are bullish on the bDAO because we are bullish on our community’s ability to teach us relevant skills, providing us the opportunity to grow.
Passive Responses
Among 327 total respondents, exactly 100 were classified as Passives (7-8 on the 10-point NPS scale).
From this mix of 100 words we find that opportunity is among the most important attributes heralded by the Passive segment. Also striking a chord were people, welcoming, learning, potential, exciting and chaos.
Detractor Responses
Often the best instruction on how to improve ourselves can be received by thoughtful Detractors. Among 327 total respondents, only 29 were classified as Detractors (6 or lower on the 10-point NPS scale). Among the 29 responses, we found the following themes:
Chaotic
Conflict, thrash, confusion, inexperience, unstable, stressful, swirl, unfocused.
Scattered
Participation, commitment, time, collaboration, vibe, communication.
Structurelessness
Incentives, financial, governance, gridlock.
Qual Q2: Care to expand on that one word?
Our second qualitative question in the survey asked our respondents to give us more detail behind their one-word sentiment. Answers fell into several predictable themes, which I summarize below:
Among our Promoters and Passives, the most pronounced sentiments related to:
- Community (71 responses)
- Learning (43 responses)
- Culture & Vibe (30 responses)
- Other positive attributes: Open Mindedness, Content, Mission
- Other challenges: Coordination, Vibe, Leadership
1. Community (71 responses)
By far the most cited theme was the quality and generosity of the folk withing the bDAO. Selected comments from the 71 responses in this theme include:
“I am amazed by the collab between people, guilds, projects and even other DAOs.”
“The contributors are more than colleagues, they are lifelong friends.”
“This isn’t like other work or other DAOs; we’re building a family.”
“I have never met so many bright, passionate and kind people in one place.”
“bDAO is populated with scores of people exploring the future of work without being told how it needs to happen.”
Where coordination is concerned, we received two noteworthy and somewhat opposed views:
“500-1000 people working God knows how many hours per month. What we can all create together in this massive community-economy experiment is just mind blowing… just absolute cutting edge frontier stuff! Exploring what a social DAO can be, become and achieve! Bankless woop!”
vs:
“There is so much talent in the DAO, but we struggle to figure out how to harness that to meet a realistic strategy. We need to figure out how to make $BANK valuable, and how to get people to work towards that goal.”
2. Learning (43 responses)
The second most cited theme was that of learning. Selected comments from the 43 responses in this theme include:
“The amount of learning from working in the bDAO is valuable beyond words.”
“The experiences you gain and share here are priceless.”
“I feel the bDAO provides a huge opportunity for really anyone to build themselves up. That said, it’s tough here, and it’s not for everyone.”
There was also a real sense among these respondents that the future of work is within our grasp, but will take thoughtfulness and hard work.
“I love being here, learning from people and helping others. The DAO is a great place to hang out, can’t wait to make my living out of working in DAOs!”
“An increasing degree of maturity make for a sober and necessary examination of DAOs and their position in the web3 economy.”
3. Culture & Vibe (30 responses)
Historically — that is, over the past 4 months — our community has often cited the vibe of bDAO as one of the main reasons they appreciate the DAO. It is heartening to see that, despite our dip in overall NPS score, culture remains one of our strengths. Selected comments from the 30 responses in this theme include:
“DAO members are always sincere and transparent.”
“I love the culture in bDAO; everybody is ready to help, cooperate and build together!”
“Work is fun because people choose to be here.”
“The energy and activity is inspiring and feels good.”
4. Open Mindedness, Content & Mission (33 responses in total)
Other positive attributes include our open mindedness, content quality and mission alignment.
“At Bankless, if you can dream it, you can build it.”
“Great contributors producing high-quality content.”
“BanklessDAO has so much potential to change the way we live and work.”
“For me this is something revolutionary.”
5. Coordination problems, Vibe check & Leadership change (21 responses in total)
Other challenges include our coordination, vibe and leadership.
“People who take up projects can walk out and disappear anytime they want with seemingly no consequences.”
“My confidence in the DAO has slightly decreased. I’m torn because it’s great that we have an entrepreneurial environment for new ideas to be born as long as it fits within our priorities. But that has also created an environment that sometimes feels disjointed.
“A lot of energy, enthusiasm and brainpower in the DAO. I hope we can capture and focus it before people move on to other pursuits…”
“bDAO is undergoing a big change as leadership starts to show some cracks. Time will tell if we can mobilize and get out of our “startup” phase and show some real staying power.”
Other Concerns
Among our Promoters and Passives, we heard three major concerns.
It is tricky to get involved in a DAO. It goes without saying that there is a learning curve involved in being part of a DAO. While BanklessDAO may be among the most welcoming, it is also among the most daunting by our sheer level of activity.
Detractors’ Concerns
We can often learn the most from our Detractors. This small group, numbering only 29 out of 327 total respondents, offered constructive feedback along the following lines:
The chaos is real. Respondents reported that there are too many things going on, “too much information for the average person to even try to comprehend.” Another respondent suggested, “we seem to be chasing our tails, and it’s hard to tell if we’re making any forward progress on core issues.”
BanklessCN
Finally, there were two noteworthy comments about BanklessCN, including:
Qual Q3: Anything else we should know?
Our final qualitative question in the survey asked our respondents if there was anything else we should know. This purposely open-ended question elicited a broad range of responses.
Noteworthy suggestions & criticisms included:
Bankless Africa needs a boost. It was suggested that we need “an African Project Coordinator to be able to reach more folks and host events in African countries.”
Synthesis
BanklessDAO is an incredibly vibrant community of independent collaborators. At the time of this survey, in early February 2022 and at the conclusion of S3M1, the bDAO boasted 19,400 members with 3,320 weekly average visitors and 871 weekly average communicators. These communicators were posting between 7-10 messages per week each, and total speaking minutes were relatively steady between 10,600 and 11,100 minutes per week. (Source: discord developer portal) Of this community, 327 responded to our survey, which is statistically significant.
The members of BanklessDAO are less promotional than in months past, as the quantitative measure of Net Promoter Score has declined from 68 to 52 in just two months.
That said, a community NPS of 52 is still excellent in my view.
Clearly, the members of the bDAO believe in their peers, the culture of the DAO, the learning and the opportunities that the bDAO affords.
While there are genuine concerns among our contributors, there also appears to be a strong sentiment that we will be able to find our footing where leadership, governance and tokenomics are concerned.
Underscoring lessons of surveys past, I conclude that we must continue to focus on governance, leadership and taming the chaos that comes from a massively distributed workforce in order to succeed in redefining a better future of work.