The book “How to DAO: Mastering the Future of Internet Coordination” was published in January 2025 and is considered one of the first serious books attempting to explain how to practically build and operate a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization).
📌 Key Points:
• Authors: Kevin Owaki (co-founder of Gitcoin DAO) and Puncar (researcher and practitioner in Web3). Both have practical experience in creating and managing DAO projects, not just theorists.
• The book is about 300 pages and is more practical than theoretical, and has received praise from prominent figures like Don Tapscott (author of Blockchain Revolution) and Sandeep Nailwal (co-founder of Polygon).
🔑 You will learn from the book:
1. Why Web3 needs DAOs and how they differ from traditional companies.
2. How to design a governance system to avoid chaos.
3. Key roles and mechanisms of operation within DAO, and how voting works.
4. Project Stages: Pre-DAO (when led by founders) and Post-DAO (when decentralized).
5. Practical examples from DAO projects and common mistakes to avoid.
🧩 Simplified Comparison: DAO vs Traditional Companies
The Element 🏢 Traditional Company 🌐 DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization)
Leadership General Manager / Community Board (Token Holders)
Decision-making Centralized decisions from management collective voting on the blockchain
Transparency Limited (internal reports) complete and public (Smart Contracts)
Ownership Private shares tokens distributed to participants
Laws State laws smart code + DAO rules
Execution Human (may be delayed or canceled) automated and instant via smart contracts
Participation Employees only anyone who holds a token
Trust in people in code and blockchain
Flexibility Slow to change Fast and scalable
🔄 Quick Mind Map
Traditional Company
Contributors
↓
Board of Directors
↓
CEO
↓
Employees
DAO
Community (Token Holders)
↓
Proposal (Proposal)
↓
Voting
↓
Smart Contract
↓
Automatic execution
🎯 The Main Idea
DAO replaces hierarchical human management with a transparent, democratic system programmed on the blockchain.
✨ Summary: The book is considered a practical guide to understanding and managing DAOs, and is very suitable for those who want to delve into this field and understand how it works in practice.
