We’ve all felt it, haven’t we? The drag of large, centralized organizations where innovation seems to go to die, tangled in red tape. And on the flip side, many of us in the Web3 space have dived headfirst into the dream of pure decentralization, only to find that without structure, even the most passionate communities can struggle with accountability and coordinated action. It often feels like we're caught between a rock and a hard place.
But what if there’s a more effective path? During a recent insightful session at the Token Engineering Commons (TEC) Research Hub, Daniel Ospina from RnDAO peeled back the layers on these challenges and introduced a compelling alternative: polycentric collaboration, embodied in a concept he calls "swarms".
This isn't just another buzzword. It's a thoughtful approach to building and innovating together, aiming to capture the best of both worlds – the resources and reach of larger systems, with the speed and passion of small, dedicated teams.
The Old Crossroads: Why We Need a New Map
For years, we've seen the narrative play out. Big companies and governments, despite their resources, often become slow and resistant to change, struggling to keep pace with rapid technological development. On the other hand, the Web3 world’s push for decentralization, while revolutionary, has had its own set of growing pains. Many early Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), fueled by a romantic vision of leaderless collaboration, found themselves grappling with power vacuums, a lack of clear accountability, and the sheer difficulty of getting things done effectively. The result? Many promising projects fizzled out, and some DAOs even began to revert to more traditional, centralized structures out of frustration.
The data isn't kind either. Daniel highlighted sobering statistics: 75% of hackathon winners abandon their projects , nine out of ten startups in accelerators still fail , and a staggering 94% or more of grantee projects in Web3 ecosystems deliver no lasting value after initial funding runs out. Clearly, our current ways of fostering innovation are incredibly wasteful.
Enter the Swarm: A More Natural Way to Build
So, if the extremes of centralization and pure decentralization are often falling short, where do we turn? Daniel proposes we look to polycentric collaboration – a system with multiple centers of power and action, working in a coordinated fashion. This is the heart of the "swarm" model.
Imagine not a monolithic giant, nor a scattered collection of disconnected individuals, but a network of agile, entrepreneurial teams. These teams are independent yet interconnected, building solutions that can integrate and collaborate, much like Lego blocks forming a complex structure. The goal is to achieve economies of scale without sacrificing speed to bureaucracy.
The Five Pillars of a Thriving Swarm
Daniel didn't just offer a theory; he laid out a practical blueprint based on five key components that make a swarm effective:
Niche Focus: Instead of trying to be everything to everyone, swarms thrive when they concentrate on a specific industry or problem. Think of specialized VC funds that outperform larger, generalist ones because they have deep expertise and networks within a particular community. This focus allows teams within the swarm to genuinely support each other because they share relevant customers, talent pools, and investor networks. It’s about depth over breadth, leading to more meaningful collaboration.
The Venture Studio Model: This is like a "startup assembly line" in the best sense. Venture studios systematically build companies using repeatable processes and shared resources. Instead of each new team reinventing the wheel for common tasks (like roadmap construction or sales outreach), they can leverage proven methods from the studio. The studio often provides dedicated staff who act as fractional co-founders, embedding expertise directly into the startups. This hands-on, systematic approach is showing impressive results, with venture studio startups reportedly achieving double the internal rate of return compared to traditional startups, and maturing significantly faster.
Interdependence of Units: This is where the "network" effect truly kicks in. Teams within the swarm aren't just loosely affiliated; they are financially and operationally incentivized to support each other. In RnDAO’s model, for example, successful startups become co-owners of the umbrella organization, which in turn holds a stake in each startup. This creates a powerful dynamic where every team has a vested interest in the success of others, leading to organic sharing of research, customer introductions, compatible technology, and talent. It’s about creating an "elite club" where collaboration is not just encouraged but economically sensible.
Flexible Investment Contracts: The startup journey is rarely a straight line. Some ventures are best suited for VC funding and equity growth, others might thrive with a token launch, while some can bootstrap through early revenue. Traditional funding models, especially in VC, often lock startups into a single path. Swarms, Daniel argues, need flexible contractual relationships that can accommodate these different trajectories while ensuring that value flows back to the swarm to support future ventures. This adaptability is key to building a regenerative and resilient ecosystem.
Sweat Equity: Ideas need more than just capital; they need dedicated human effort. The swarm model champions "sweat equity," where individuals and teams earn ownership based on their contributions of work, not just financial investment. This democratizes participation, allowing talented individuals to contribute to and co-own the ventures they help build, even if they don't have capital to invest upfront. It’s about rallying communities of "true believers" around good ideas.
A Glimpse of Swarms in Action: The RnDAO Story
Daniel’s own organization, RnDAO, serves as a living laboratory for these ideas. It began informally with a small core team and a vision. Today, it's a growing swarm with multiple ventures, fostering collaboration through a central venture support team, peer-to-peer support, and an emerging "guild" system for knowledge sharing in areas like growth or development. RnDAO’s focus has been on providing mentorship, expertise, and processes, rather than just capital, empowering teams to build sustainable value.
Why This Matters for All of Us Building in Web3 (and Beyond)
The swarm model offers a compelling vision for anyone frustrated with the current limitations of building and collaborating. For crypto enthusiasts and Web3 builders, it presents a way to:
Move beyond the "Kumbaya" phase of early DAOs where good intentions didn't always translate into results.
Create more sustainable and impactful projects by reducing the incredibly high failure rates.
Foster genuine collaboration and shared success, rather than isolated efforts.
Leverage diverse forms of capital – including the invaluable capital of human talent and dedication.
This isn't just about Web3, though. The principles Daniel discussed – niche focus, systematic support, interdependence, flexibility, and valuing diverse contributions – have broad applicability to any industry looking to innovate more effectively.
Building the Future, Together and Smarter
The journey to perfect the swarm model is ongoing, as Daniel himself acknowledged. It takes time to cultivate these complex, interconnected ecosystems. But the potential is undeniable: a shift towards more resilient, adaptive, and ultimately more successful ways of bringing ideas to life.
It’s a reminder that the future of innovation likely lies not in rigid hierarchies or unstructured free-for-alls, but in carefully designed ecosystems that empower individuals and teams to achieve more together than they ever could alone.
Watch the full presentation here: DAO Swarms - TEC Research Hub: Daniel Ospina
