Sure, Doordash is 3% of Apple by market cap. But to decide who should be more hated, it makes sense to explore their victims.

What’s the story with Apple?

First, some background. Epic is a video game publisher. They use Apple’s App Store as one method of distribution. Epic monetizes its games through in-app purchases. And Apple is really proud of its app store. So proud that they take a 30% cut of all in-app purchases. Epic’s billionaire founder Tim Sweeny doesn’t like that.

Fast forward through some legal stuff, and it’s still unclear how this will end. Epic wants courts to mandate a smaller cut. And Apple wants a pat on the back for its impressive market share.

The Media Narrative

Everyone loves an underdog story. Journalists know that. This is billed as a classic David vs. Goliath scenario. Apple, the world’s richest company, is squeezing the little guy for everything they have. But David isn’t so little. Epic raised money at a $28.7 billion valuation this year. Rest assured that Epic’s employees are being fairly compensated.

In a relative sense, the narrative fits. But that doesn’t matter.

How Food Delivery Fits In

Fair compensation is a privilege not shared across all industries. Just ask Doordash. They’ve done for restaurants what Apple has done for “little guys” like Epic Games. Dashers, what Doordash labels their indentured delivery drivers, scurry across major cities worldwide. But this isn’t about reliance on a class of labor that Doordash needs to remain stagnant. It’s about their effect on the restaurant industry, and the people who lose as a result.

Imagine this. You work at a restaurant. Maybe you’re a server who’s working hard, making decent money on tips, and saving where you can. Suddenly, a global pandemic hits. The customers disappear. And with them go your tips. All of your restaurant’s business goes to Doordash and Uber Eats. Revenue is down. To make matters worse, Doordash charges a 30% commission on every order. The restaurant, already operating on thin profit margins, is forced to let you go.

Sound familiar? Apple does to billion-dollar software companies what Doordash does to millions of underpaid restaurant workers. You decide what’s worse.

Where’s Crypto on all of this?

If there’s one thing the Crypto/Web3 ecosystem hates, it’s centralization (ignore for now that most crypto activity runs through centralized exchanges like Coinbase and OpenSea). To the crypto community, this issue is simply dumb. Because the App Store is centralized, Apple can control it however they want. They dominate the market so their incentive is to operate in the way that’s best for them. Why care about the developers who make the apps or the consumers that use them? Apple doesn’t have to.

This issue perfectly illustrates the benefit of decentralized networks. Spend time on Crypto Twitter or Discord and they’ll make that clear. Calls to break up Apple and build a decentralized App Store are common.

But no one is saying anything about a decentralized food delivery platform. It’s time to have that conversation.

I specialize in operations. I’ve done that for over a decade. I’ve worked in transportation, marketing, tech, startups, and crypto. Though it took me ten years, I finally know how to explain what I do:

• I create the conditions that allow organizations to scale

• I build systems and processes to maximize efficiency

• I solve new problems when the solution isn’t clear

Makes sense, right? To drastically oversimplify; engineers build, designers design, and marketers sell.

Operations solve the problems that don’t fit neatly into any established category.

How do we structure our teams, organization, and products? Is there a better way to do what we do? How do we respond when a global pandemic threatens the very existence of our industry? Ops answers those questions.

That’s what I do now. But what’s next?

Enter DAOs

According to those involved in Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DOAs), the future of all work lies within. Conversations with anyone in Web3 elicit grandiose statements. Those in DAOs take it a step further.

Proclamations fly: “Every company should be a DAO.” “DAOs are simply a better way of doing business.” “Internet > Web2 > Crypto > NFTs >DAOs.” They don’t think they’re right. They know it. All the while, their eyes glow increasingly bright in a glistening shade of Ethereum blue.

I’m actively looking for what’s next. I’m bored. Typical startups and tech just aren’t for me anymore. I want to be on the bleeding edge of technology and society. Clearly, it’s Web3 that’s pushing that edge. Duh. But I don’t yet know enough about DAOs.

If half of what’s said about DAOs is true, you’d be insane to ignore this.

Over, the past couple of weeks, I’ve gone deep. Here’s what I’ve found intriguing so far:

DAOs are early

While they’ve existed for a few years, the consensus says they’re just getting started. Many more will be created. You can create your own. Think you’ve missed the boat? You haven’t

DAOs can do anything

If multiple people are interacting on the internet for any purpose, it can be a DAO. They define the structure by which these interactions take place. Investing, collecting, creating… anything can be structured through a DAO.

DAOs have problems

And problems have solutions. It doesn’t take much time in Discord servers to realize that every DAO has opportunities for greater efficiency. Some exist across all DAOs while some are specific to a few. Some of the problems I’ve found interesting include:

• How do you compensate/reward members?

• How do you structure the organization?

• How do you avoid burnout?

• How do you create incentives that balance early involvement and ongoing contribution?

• How do you involve talented members that don’t naturally raise their hands?

• How do you create an environment that allows all members to thrive?

Maybe this is where Operations can help!

No one knows how to do this

Incredible things happen every day across the DAO landscape. But the field is new. There is an inherent opportunity to contribute.

Why I Wrote This, And Why You Might Read It

I’m curious and I want to know more. More about DAOs, DAO ops, and how to contribute to these organizations.

The process of moving to a new tech startup is straightforward. Going from tech operations to DAO operations isn’t. I’m writing this to synthesize my research on DAOs. I hope that documenting this journey can help others who’d also like to know more. And I hope to answer the question; WTF is DAO operations?

If anything I said is wrong, or interesting, if you’re thinking about the same things, if there are topics you think I should research, or if you just want to chat, I’m always open.