DeveloperDAO FM
A place where you listen to music while building cool stuff. - Jul 2022
The Goal
Not every project in a DAO has to be infrastructure or governance. Some just need to feel like home—and travel farther than Discord.
DeveloperDAO FM started as a joyful side project for builders already inside the community: a place to leave Lo-Fi on, flip channels, run a Pomodoro, and keep shipping—without leaving the vibe of Developer DAO. But there was a second reason too: expand brand awareness of the DAO beyond people who were already members. Ship something delightful makers would open while coding—and that could carry Developer DAO's name into new rooms.
What I Built
I designed and developed it end to end—UI, interactions, and the product surface. Music, timer, channel switching: the pieces were few on purpose. The charm had to come from how it felt, not from a long feature list.
A Small Personality System
The logo does the talking.
The Developer DAO mark became the heart of the experience. Hit play and the face smiles. Pause, and the smile fades. A tiny emotional beat—easy to miss in a pitch deck, hard to forget once you feel it.
The Rest of the Desk
Channel switching kept the soundtrack from going stale. The Pomodoro timer gave the session a shape. Together they made FM feel less like a music tab and more like a desk you sit down at.
When the Room Got Bigger
Shipping for the DAO was enough of a win. Then Product Hunt picked it up—comments, strangers enjoying the same small smile on play, and a feature in their newsletter that reached about 700,000 people. A community side project carrying Developer DAO's brand into a much wider room, still wearing the same personality.
Why It Still Makes Me Smile
FM reminded me that DAO work does not only mean serious systems. It can mean building the soundtrack people share while they create. Small products, clear intent, a little warmth in the interaction—that combo still shapes how I pick side projects today.