Charles - Delegate Proposal

Ecosystem Governance
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Delegate Questionnaire

Hey hey, please message me here on X with any questions. Appreciate your consideration.

A. Delegation Address: charleslavon.near
B. Forum Username: charleslavon
C. Twitter Username: openwebeconomy
D. Website (optional): linkedin dot com/in/clgarrett

E. Target Voting Participation: 100% and I will abstain if a conflict of interest arises.

F. History of Interactions with NEAR Protocol:

I became deeply involved in the success of Near in 2022 when I joined Pagoda as an Engineering Manager. For 2.5 years, until Pagoda was disbanded in August 2024, I was a hands-on contributor building teams and products focused on improving the developer experience of building on NEAR via tools like the Pagoda Console, Wallet Utilities, Near Social based B.O.S Components, and improving information discovery on near dot org and dev dot near dot org. I also engaged with and brought visibility to the awesome works created by our ecosystem of independent creatives.

Currently I am collaborating with Jacob Nall, another former core contributor from Pagoda, we are focused on building DeFi experiences for mainstream consumers with Near-tech at its core.

G. History of Governance Participation (in NEAR or other ecosystems): I don’t yet have experience in distributed governance orgs, but I have participated in unpaid work to support ecosystem builders.

H. Top 3 Priorities for the NEAR Ecosystem:
Empower builders and non-technical creatives to create novel applications and real-world experiences by applying rigorous funding consideration to ensure their objectives are realistically feasible, time-sensitive, and aligned with the Near community’s goals, and by matching them with technical/marketing/BD talent needed to best realize their potential.

Realize the potential widespread consumer adoption of digital assets with Near technologies as core components.

Improve our perceived relevance and share of voice in the crypto zeitgeist - by contributing public conversations with a focus on bridging the gap between people who are already into blockchain-based experiences (ie Crypto Twitter) and “normies” who are not yet engaged in any meaningful way.

I. Reasoning for any past votes in the NEAR Ecosystem: N/A

J. Conflicts of Interest:
I am building on Near with the intent to create a business of revenue generating application experiences. To support this, there may come a time when my team applies for grants that would be voted on by HoS; in such cases I would abstain from voting.

K. Answer Hypothetical Delegate Scenario:

  1. A proposal to allocate incentives to DeFi protocol users to benefit protocol metrics.
  2. A proposal to establish a subcommittee to market the NEAR Protocol to developers and users.
  3. A proposal to establish a Protocol-Owned Liquidity position by the House of Stake on major DeFi protocols in the ecosystem.

What additional information would you need from the proposers to make an informed decision?

  1. What is the expected lifetime value of the users to be engaged? How many users do you expect to be engaged by these incentives, and for how long (.e.g what will be the user acquisition costs)? Let’s consider graphs of the previous 12 months of the Defi Protocols’ activity showing: Daily Active Users, Weekly Active Users, Weekly User drop off, and Weekly Users reactivated. Explain your hypotheses on how these incentives will address the causes which have suppressed user engagement.

  2. Who are these users to be targeted, and what are we pointing them towards? If they are retail investors, are we sending them to exchanges that support Near? How could we activate them to proceed to engaging/acquiring Near? Or are we focused on educating consumers and activating them to be more involved either as investors or application users? What skill sets and personas are needed on this subcommittee? For application users, what applications are we featuring? What types of marketing activities did those application teams do themselves, and what were the outcomes? What leading indicators such as (brand image, share of voice, etc.) can we monitor to gauge the ongoing success of this effort should it be approved?

  3. Who stands to benefit from this proposal? If the intent of this proposal is to support the budget of the veNear rewards and House of State grants, what shortfall is projected that necessitates this proposal? What other options should we consider to fund this shortfall? What implications would economic factors have on the need for this liquidity position? What do the Defi protocol teams have to say about this proposal? What risks might we encounter and how could we mitigate them?

What key metrics would you evaluate to support or reject the proposals?

  1. Let’s consider the cost of this proposal along with its potential impact on TVL and daily transactions; how does this cost compare to similar proposals which have moved the needle on TVL and daily transactions? What is the track record and/or our confidence in the future potential of the teams behind these DeFi protocols?
  2. What is the track record and/or our confidence in the future potential of the individuals on this subcommittee? Let’s consider the roadmap of upcoming releases across the Near ecosystem and determine what time frame would be best to engage a marketing team, such that they would have new releases to discuss and offer to users/developers - are these releases trending towards a timely release? What are some KPIs on previous marketing efforts that this subcommittee can share?
  3. What yield is expected to be generated from the liquidity position? What is the trading volume of the associated DeFi protocols? What community satisfaction metrics can we gather to track how this position affects the perception of safety of Near’s Defi protocols?

How would you ultimately support and vote for these different proposals?

  1. It depends - I would be likely to vote to approve the budget for Defi incentives if there were an impactful return on investment and a reasonable customer acquisition costs that is inline with CAC for mobile and desktop trading applications.
  2. It depends - I would likely vote yes depending on the make-up of the subcommittee and whether they would be accountable for the marketing efforts themselves or whether they plan to delegate to external marketers who have experience in activating our target audience.
  3. It depends - My current knowledge related to how a protocol owned liquidity position might work is limited and thus so is my imagination on what risks could be involved and other negative implications. So I would likely vote no.

L. What is your motivation for becoming a NEAR delegate?

Exploit my Experience I want to take advantage of and deepen my Near Protocol experience while working to accelerate our builders’ ability to get products into users’ hands.
Improve our Community It will require diverse perspectives and lived experiences to equitably work to improve the sentiment across our developer and community ecosystem.
My Desire to Accelerate Mainstream Consumer Crypto With Near as the blockchain for AI, we are also positioned to the blockchain for everyday consumers applications via approachable, consumer-focused Defi.

M. Anticipated delegation support (if applicable) (Please describe the anticipated breakdown of delegated voting power, including any relevant self-delegation or large investors/core team members you wish to disclose).

  1. Self-Assessment Criteria
    A. Experience (1/2)
    I’m an indyhacker at heart, a leader, and a full stack product engineer who has pushed more front-end and middleware applications into production than mainnet contracts, for now. My focus has always been on protocol growth, developer productivity, and user experience.

B. Diversity of Perspective (1/2)
At least 1, maybe 2, depending on the profiles of other potential delegates.

C. Alignment with NEAR Ecosystem (2/2)
I have been working to lift all boats and our bags since joining Pagoda in 2022.

D. Governance Engagement (1/2)
I have not previously been active in our governance forums, but I have been very active in contributing to our initiatives via our code repositories.

E. Conflicts of Interest (2/2)
No conflicts as of now.

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I wholeheartedly support Charles becoming a delegate to the House of Stake. He is not only deeply knowledgeable about all things NEAR, but also has a nuanced understanding of the challenges the ecosystem has faced through its peaks and valleys. I met Charles while working at Pagoda, and every collaboration we had left me optimistic about the future of that organization and NEAR as a whole. Charles’s humility often makes it easy to overlook just how valuable he is as a technical contributor and leader. His empathy, combined with his passion for the Open Web, makes him an ideal candidate to help guide decision-making within the House of Stake. Charles is intelligent, trustworthy, and someone you would be proud to have representing NEAR.

In short, Charles possesses the expertise, character, and vision necessary to make a meaningful impact as a delegate.

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Charles would be a fantastic delegate. He spends a lot of time explaining NEAR and blockchain to the world. He’s both technical and an entrepreneur. He’s a conscientious and trustworthy leader with deep experience managing groups, multiple viewpoints, and conflicts toward successful outcomes. NEAR will be in good hands with Charles.

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I highly recommend Charles as a delegate for NEAR’s House of Stake. Having worked with him at Pagoda, Ive seen first hand his dedication to growing the ecosystem, supporting developers, and making blockchain more accessible. He’s a builder at heart always focused on practical solutions that get products into users hands. His mix of technical skill, leadership, and genuine passion for NEAR makes him a great fit for this role.

Charles also brings a thoughtful and balanced perspective to every conversation. He’s someone who listens, collaborates, and isn’t afraid to tackle tough challenges with a level head. His vision for expanding NEAR’s reaches especially in consumer-facing crypto applications aligns perfectly with where the ecosystem needs to go. I can’t think of a better person to help shape NEAR’s future.

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Really glad to see this proposal!

Yeah, Charles is awesome. As a community member, I’ve always felt most heard by Charles.

Content creation, building his own product, and deep experience working across teams in the NEAR ecosystem make him an excellent candidate.

I especially like his criteria about team reputation and aligning marketing plans with other products.

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Who I am: former Pagoda engineer and engineering manager of 3+ years

I worked closely with Charles during our time together at Pagoda and would enthusiastically recommend him as a delegate. Charles is a reliable decision maker who seamlessly navigates between the empathetic and technical considerations of any issue. I have leaned on him heavily when facing important decisions, and his thoughtful approach repeatedly led me to consider factors that may not have occurred to me and to move forward with confidence.

He is proactive and deeply engaged with the mission of NEAR, and I expect to see him actively contributing to the ecosystem well into the future.

Charles is a trustworthy representative and would be a valuable voice in protocol governance.

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Charles has been a dedicated contributor to NEAR, helping builders and creatives bring their ideas to life. His deep experience in engineering and ecosystem growth makes him a strong candidate for delegate. Excited to see his impact in this role!

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While I haven’t had the opportunity to collaborate with Charles on a long-term project, I’m confident we would work well together based on our past interactions!!

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