Personal Information
Discourse ID: @houdinifr
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Houdinifr_
Educational Background:
Completed Bachelor’s Degree at University of Delaware (UD) in 2020 with Mathematics B.A., Integrated Design Minor, and Certification in Business Essentials. During my time at UD, I took up many entrepreneurial programs including a 12-week intensive entrepreneurial bootcamp called Summer Founders and won awards including Horn Entrepreneurship 17&43 “Most Promising Venture”, & Cristin C. Duprey Diversity and Inclusivity Award.
As a senior in college, I co-founded a food accessibility startup called GetPotluck, an on-demand delivery service that delivered international foods to international students, communities, etc. We started from scratch with minimal funding and continued to develop the startup for 2 years, making about 200 deliveries in the Greater Philadelphia Area.
Professional Background:
My professional background exists heavily in operations, project/product management, and data. As a data product manager and data UX researcher in the startup space, I’ve rolled out SaaS products to 800+ end-users, 250+ businesses, and ~50 internal team members in my business-to-business roles. Each of these products began as a product initiative document, where the problem, rationale, specifications, and more are outlined. From there, we determine if and how we create the products.
As a grocery delivery founder, I raised over $25,000 to help create a runway for our operations. I was in charge of strategically allocating funds to all costs of doing business. This role was extremely important since we were still very limited financially and had to, for example, temporarily front the costs of purchasing groceries with each delivery. This then influenced terms and service caps that were set as a result of being a small startup with limited funding.
Additionally, I’m a fellow at Venture for America, a fellowship that matches fellows seeking to make the most impact in their work and environment to startup companies. I’m also an entrepreneurship mentor/consultant at the University of Delaware’s Horn Entrepreneurship school and have served as an advisor in other places such as Schoolyard Ventures.
Nomination Statement
Concise statement on why you are running for the Special Council
I go by Houdinifr, a name that might be unfamiliar to you. And that’s exactly the point. I’m not just seeking a position on the Special Council to fulfill its demands, but to also serve as a conduit for those who are on the outside looking into our vibrant ApeCoin community. With your trust, I promise to fuel my position with ALL of my skills, experiences, and undivided attention.
Motivation
Details on your motivation for becoming an ApeCoin DAO Special Council member
Without possessing high-value Yuga asset ownership, I bring a relentless commitment to the Ape Foundation - emotionally, intellectually, and financially. Recognizing the DAO’s existing Yuga-centricity, I am confident that the combination of my “Yuga-outsider” perspective and my fellow council members would optimize our facilitation, create diverse dialogue within the Special Council, and enrich the DAO’s collective vision. My commitment goes beyond supporting the Ape Foundation. I aim to help ApeCoin become a friendly front door to the amazing world of Web3 - it all starts here.
Rationale
Share relevant experience and skills that will bring value to the ApeCoin community
I have a strong background in entrepreneurship, product/project management, operations, fundraising, and serving a multitude of stakeholders. I understand the intricacies of creating and facilitating operating procedures, project development, and most importantly, community building.
One instance where these skills were put to the test was in creating a self-serve onboarding process for customers. My company’s traditional onboarding was very tedious and time consuming. As a result, similar to the AIP process, I led my team in crafting a long yet smooth, end-to-end flow where, in the end, we would capture submissions with information necessary to onboard a customer without human intervention. I first-handedly facilitated this process, constantly making improvements after capturing user feedback. It was not an easy feat, but I was able to get the job done in collaboration with my team members. I aim to do the same with members on the Special Council.
In many of my roles, I’ve had to mitigate risks by thinking through the long-term impact, hurdles, and benefits that a project or product would pose on stakeholders. An example was when I created data dashboards using SQL for mid-market and enterprise-level chain convenience stores. Our business model involved a multitude of micro-transactions with our direct customers, making accuracy and record alignment paramount. This experience parallels the attention to detail needed in drafting a comprehensive AIP Analysis Report, and I intend to bring this meticulousness to my Special Council role.
Though I’ve had many more, with these experiences alone, I know I will be instrumental in contributing to the ApeCoin community and am ready to take on ANY challenge the role poses.
Specifications
Further describe relevant experience, including crypto and governance participation, and/or ideas for DAO improvement
I recently partook in the AIP Idea-a-thon where I was chosen as a winner for the community building and events category. In its most basic sense, the idea - ApeX Showcase - is a quarterly showcase and competition. However, the long term vision is to bring people closer, expose interests and skills, network, and overall have the showcase serve as a spotlighted stage that would bring more individuals, in and outside of Web3, to our ApeCoin community. I believe the judges grasped that vision and saw the true value it would bring to ApeCoin & the foundation. I’m currently in the process of submitting a formal proposal.
Diving deeper into the community, I’ve signed up as a music producer on Apetalent.xyz, spoke in a ThankApe hosted Twitter space, staked all of my ApeCoin in Tessera’s staking pool, listened in on multiple Ape-affiliated Twitter spaces, and actively engaged with and utilized Discourse, Snapshot, and ThankApe.com.
Beyond my ongoing engagement with our community, my goal is to ignite a spark within others, encouraging them to voice their opinions, actively participate, and bring their unique ideas to the table.
Concluding Statement
Summarize your statement as to why you are the best choice for Special Council
Claiming to be the ‘best choice’ for the Special Council simply isn’t my style. What I am 100% certain of, however, is that the fusion of diverse perspectives, a multitude of skills, and a broad range of knowledge is what brings true strength and decentralization to the Special Council. As cheesy as it sounds, it’s true! This is what I will bring to the Special Council.
In the Council, I’d leverage my unique blend of operations and management experience, my active participation in the DAO, and my multifaceted skills - the most important being my ability to listen. In orchestrating a seamless pipeline into ApeCoin, I plan to uphold the community-centric approach I’ve demonstrated in all my consumer-focused roles.
The bottom line is this: With me, you’ll get non-stop out-of-the-box thinking and non-stop listening. I want to look back at the strengthened and dominating infrastructure of ApeCoin 10 years down the line and say “I helped build that”. I look forward to empowering our ApeCoin community, broadening our horizons, and connecting more people with the exciting opportunities that ApeCoin and Web3 offer.
