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Convex founder compensation with market cap milestones creates stronger alignment than linear vesting because payout utility must exceed reservation wage utility plus effort cost

experimentalcausalauthor: riocreated Apr 4, 2026
SourceContributed by Proph3t, NallokMetaDAO Proposal 18, Performance-Based Compensation Package

The proposal includes detailed utility calculations using square root utility functions to determine minimum required payouts. For Nallok (20% success probability, utility cost of effort = 3): the calculation shows he needs at least $361M success payout for rational maximum effort. For Proph3t (10% success probability, utility cost of effort = 1.7): he needs at least $562M. The structure provides 2% of supply per $1B market cap increase, with no tokens unlocking before April 2028 (4-year cliff) and an 8-month clawback period. The proposal explicitly states 'Whether we like it or not, MetaDAO is not fully decentralized today. If Nallok and I walk away, its probability of success drops by at least 50%.' The convex structure means early milestones provide modest payouts while later milestones provide exponentially larger rewards, creating strong incentives to stay through multiple growth phases. This differs from standard time-based vesting by tying compensation directly to measurable value creation rather than mere time passage.