Upstream Collectives is a multi-feature platform that enables the set-up and operation of a DAO or any self-governed community, which it calls a “Collective”.
The platform aims to centralize the currently fragmented functionalities required to run DAOs such as treasury, governance & voting, token gating and communication. Instead of having each of these functions reside in disparate tools leading to disorganization, Upstream Collectives brings them all onto its main platform.
A user can either set up a new Collective (read: DAO) or become a member of an existing one. Upstream Collectives is currently in beta and users have to request access to set up a new Collective.
For joining existing Collectives, users can connect their wallet, then request to join. The pre-existing Collective members vote on approving the ‘join request’, with their voting power weighted by how many of the Collective’s tokens they hold.
Upstream Collectives’ functionalities include:
Operating a DAO across a wide stack of individual tools is challenging - DAOs might use Discord for communication, Snapshot for voting, Coordinape for disbursement, etc. Upstream Collectives’ ambition is to bring together all of these foundational functionalities required to run a DAO.
Upstream Collectives is built by the same company that built Upstream, a web2 professional community and networking product. Upstream Collectives tries to improve on its web2 predecessor by bringing “greater accountability, governance, and input into how communities are making decisions and using their money.” Upstream Collectives’ goal is to transition web2 communities into web3 communities, as the company itself is transitioning. This is part of the reason why Upstream Collectives uses the term “Collective” in place of “DAO” to have a wider appeal beyond just the web3 audience.
The product is still in beta and prospective users have to request access to create a Collective.
The UX of the product seems to be in transition from web2 to web3, which creates some confusion. For example, users have to create both an email-and-password login and connect their wallet to join a Collective. This might be due to the fact that Upstream is operating two separate products - Upstream, a web2 professional networking product, and Upstream Collectives, a web3 DAO product. It will be interesting to see how the team brings together these two different groups of users they are serving and to produce a user experience that appeals to both.
Upstream Collectives doesn’t have a technical documentation or a trial/demo environment yet. Get a feel for the product by requesting to join the NFT Community Collective.
Mobile version of the tool will be available as an internal beta in mid-December
Other near-term functionalities:
