Team Allocation and Valuation

Reasons for the modifications to the standard MetaDAO structure and their results.

The LASO ICO is not a standard MetaDAO launch.

Investors should not be punished with a higher valuation for the raise going well. In short, the more that's raised, the lower the team allocation is.

Valuation is always $3M.

$2.25M Pre-money Valuation

It's helpful to add some numbers for context on the valuation.

With ~$34k in revenue in past 30 days with ~92% gross margin, we're raising at 5.5x annualized revenue.

Many tokens raise before they have product-market fit at a higher FDV.

Laso is already processing millions in annual volume. This raise funds the scaling of an existing business, not exploration of an idea.

Valuation impact on team allocation

So, why this lower FDV if higher could be achieved?

MetaDAO targets a 50% ICO ratio. That prevents the low-float, high FDV token launches that plagued the last cycle. It's a good target.

Let's say we target a more typical FDV of $5M. To hit that 50% float ratio, we would then need to raise $2.5M.

We simply do not need that much cash to execute on our next set of objectives. It would be imprudent to raise more than needed. Raising too much leads to unnecessary spending.

Alternatively, we could set the FDV at $1.5M. That would be too low. Selling half the FDV at that price would:

1. Be unfair to the holders who don't get an allocation.

2. Dis-incentivize team members joining post-TGE.

3. Reduce ability to raise in the future.

Instead, we set the pre-money FDV at $2.25M, striking a balance of:

1. Adequate price for ICO tokens sold.

2. Space to re-raise if needed in the future.

Counteracting Team Allocation

We use three tools to counteract the higher team performance allocation:

1. The blind cap.

2. 24-mo team lockup.

3. Space to re-raise

Blind Cap Impact

First, the blind cap ensures that the maximum possible team allocation is 67.75%, but it can be lower. If we raise more than our minimum of $750k, that decreases the team allocation towards more typical levels.

For a deep-dive on blind cap mechanics, read Blind Cap Mechanics.

Team Lockup

Second, the standard MetaDAO team performance package has an 18 month vesting period from the close of the ICO. We have increased that to 24 months.

As a result, the team cannot receive any LASO allocations until July 2028.

Subsequent Raise Space

Third, and most importantly, we have space to re-raise without minting new tokens.

In the future, it may be prudent to raise more to execute on objectives. We have space to do that without minting new tokens, which would dilute existing holders.

Of course, that doesn't exclude the option to mint later if a proposal is made and passed. But we have the option to raise non-dilutively if we choose.