Simon Fleck - Board
What is your experiences within Intersect and Cardano?
My active involvement in the Cardano community started in 2021. Since then I received funding and successfully completed several Project Catalyst proposals. For this I have been working with different teams throughout Project Catalyst to support various projects. Apart from Cardano After Dark which is working on cPoker, a decentralized Poker application and DRED, a decentralized messaging layer solution for building DApps, I am currently also a Cardano Ambassador with the Cardano Foundation. In that capacity I have hosted the Cardano Summit community event Vienna 2023 and am still co-hosting the Catalyst After Town Hall as well as regular Community meetups in Vienna.
Recently I have been involved with Intersect by contracting with the Open Source Working Group to create a meetup for the Cardano community at the Open Source Summit Vienna. I have also co-created and facilitated the Marketing Working Group's budget proposal, and I am in the process of organizing the group into what will hopefully be a functioning Working Group or Committee. This group will ensure that IntersectMBO upholds its responsibility to the 1st Pillar of Intersect, as well as contributing to the 2nd Pillar of Intersect.
Pillar1: "Support the community to develop the ecosystem by hosting developer-focused conferences, hackathons, and events."
Pillar2: "Administrate and champion Cardano’s community-led governance implemented by CIP 1694."
Do you have any other Cardano affiliations or possible conflicts of interests, including you as an individual or an enterprise you are associated with?
As mentioned above, I am a Cardano Ambassador and I am also working with a group to build a startup under the name of Cardano After Dark. I don't foresee any conflict of interests.
Are you currently in receipt of or previously received any Intersect or Cardano funding or grant?
There is no other current funding or grant.
What do you think the MBO’s primary strategic goals and objectives are or should be for the next 3-5 years?
When opening the Intersect Knowledge-base, one can see that Intersect was given sound directions through the 5 Pillars.
I would like to see special effort and strong evidence for the success of Pillar 4 "Facilitate the continuity of Cardano for system stability." Even though every Pillar, to me, seems important for the success of Cardano.
Education
Education is fundamental for a complex technology like Cardano, there is no way past education when onboarding developers onto our ecosystem. Even though Emergo and other entities are doing a good job with their programs I could see Intersect also putting special effort into this area given the importance. Offering education to Intersect members would also be another value proposition for signing up with us.
From an Operational Side, longevity of the organization and the collaborative efforts as well as legal cover are paramount.
Can you describe the current composition of the Board and the skills and experience gaps that the organization is looking to fill?
I have no special insight into the skills and experience of the current Board members and am looking forward to getting to know, helping and learning from them as I hope they will be able to help and learn from me.
What are the key challenges and opportunities the MBO is currently facing?
The key challenges and opportunities the MBO is currently facing stem from the unique nature of decentralization. Bootstrapping and organizing such an entity effectively requires a fundamentally different approach, along with specific skills and mindsets for both the members and leadership. This is why, education plays such a crucial role in ensuring that everyone involved has the skills to effectively build and work in a decentralized environment.
When it comes to Operating in a decentralized organisation, in my opinion, Sociocracy 3.0 can be particularly valuable in helping the MBO establish clear communication, decision-making, and accountability processes within this new organizational model.
How does the MBO measure success and performance, both at the Board level and operationally?
The MBO sets measurable KPIs for their goals, making sure those KPIs are measured accurately is just as important as interpreting the resulting data.
If we organize in working-groups and as flat hierarchical structures as possible, the success-metrics must be open and transparent such that every member understands the success-metrics and we all work towards a common goal.
some KPIs I think are important:
Financial Health
Mission Fulfillment (Pillars)
Operational Efficiency
Stakeholder Satisfaction
Decentralization
What do you think is the relationship between the Board and the Executive team?
While the Board is responsible for the long-term governance, oversight and strategic vision of the company. They also need to make sure that the Executive team is equipped to deal with the challenges ahead. The Executive team is responsible implementing this Strategy via execution and tactics. They also channel meaningful Information from their specific Areas of work back to the board.
What are the key expectations for the Non-Executive Director (NED) role in terms of time commitment, specific responsibilities, and contributions to Board meetings and committees?
A Non-Executive Directord at Intersect is responsible for providing strategic guidance, overseeing the organization's performance, ensuring legal compliance, and safeguarding financial health while upholding fiduciary duties such as care, loyalty, and alignment. Additionally, they offer mentorship to the executive team, engage with stakeholders, and ensure the board operates with integrity and independence, without interfering in day-to-day operations.
The key expectations for the NED are clearly defined in the Intersect knowledgebase:
What/who do you think are the MBO’s key relationships with external stakeholders, and how does the Board engage with these stakeholders?
Cardano Ecosystem Members
Stakeholder: The primary stakeholder of Intersect is the Cardano Community at large, or the Cardano Ecosystem Members, since the organization revolves around input and collaboration from the community.
Engagement: Cardano Ecosystem Members are able to purchase a membership at a very affordable price. This way they can be part of various Intersect activities like voting on key decisions, attending open meetings and events. They can also contribute directly towards working groups, proposals and initiatives therefore having a deep impact on Cardano.
Cardano Developers and Open Source Contributors
Stakeholder: Cardano Developers and Open Source Contributors are also key stakeholders, since they contribute to the core technologies of Cardano.
Engagement: IntersectMBO supports developers by orchestrating working groups like the Open Source Committee and the Developers Roadmap Committee. Financing Open Source advocates for overseeing repositories and
Cardano Governance Participants
Stakeholders: The Administration of Cardano Governance is one of Intersects responsibilities and very important to the success of Cardano as a whole.
Engagement: The Governance Tools WG is directly engaging anyone who wants to participate in their community meetings.
Cardano Builders and Startups
Stakeholder: Cardano Builders, startups, and enterprises play a crucial role in expanding the utility of the Cardano blockchain. These builders rely on the security, stability, and scalability of Cardano for their operations.
Engagement: IntersectMBO engages with builders and startups by facilitating collaboration through working openly on open-source projects and hosting events like hackathons and technical workshops that focus on developing solutions for real-world applications.
What do you think is the MBO’s approach to risk management, and what are the top risks that the Board should be aware of?
Governance Risks:
Risk: The governance model may face challenges if community engagement is low or if powerful groups dominate decision-making. Unclear or inefficient governance processes could also lead to disputes or stagnation.
Mitigation: Ongoing refinement of governance models (such as CIP-1694) and encouraging broad community participation can mitigate these risks.
Technical Vulnerabilities:
Risk: Bugs or vulnerabilities in Cardano’s infrastructure, especially if left unaddressed, could undermine security or scalability.
Mitigation: Intersect’s role in overseeing the technical roadmap and coordinating open-source contributions is essential in identifying and resolving these risks proactively.
Reputation and Community Trust:
Risk: A loss of trust from the Cardano community due to mismanagement, lack of transparency, or failing to meet expectations could lead to reduced participation and slower adoption.
Mitigation: Maintaining transparency, open communication channels, and consistently delivering on promises can help sustain community trust. Being careful with treasury spendings, open community management and successful education/rebranding of the Cardano image could mitigate the risk reputation and trust loss.
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