Network School's Governance Model: How Decisions Get Made and Who Has Power
How Network School is governed: Balaji's role, the core team, community input, and the tension between founder vision and member autonomy.
The Founder-Led Model
Network School operates as a founder-led organization.
Network School operates as a founder-led organization. Balaji Srinivasan sets the overarching vision, approves major decisions, and shapes the community culture through his personal involvement and public communications. The core team — a small group of full-time staff — manages daily operations, programming, facilities, and member experience. This structure is more akin to a startup than a democratic organization. Decisions about pricing, curriculum, partnerships, events, and community rules flow top-down. Members can provide feedback and suggestions, but the final authority rests with the founder and core team.
Community Input Mechanisms
Despite the top-down structure, NS incorporates community input through several channels. Discord channels serve as informal feedback loops where members voice concerns and suggestions. Community meetings allow direct dialogue with the core team. Some programming (about 60 percent of classes and events) is community-organized, giving members significant autonomy in shaping their daily experience. Voting mechanisms for certain decisions are explored through on-chain governance experiments. The tension between founder authority and community voice is ongoing and openly discussed — NS is transparent about being a work in progress.
Comparing to Other Governance Models
Traditional communities (HOAs, co-ops, condos) use democratic governance with elected boards and majority voting. DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) use token-weighted voting for all decisions. NS sits between these extremes — a benevolent dictator model common in open source projects, where the founder sets direction but the community shapes implementation. This model has trade-offs: it enables faster decisions and clearer vision but concentrates power and risks burnout or blind spots from a single decision-maker. Vitalik Buterin has critiqued this model as potentially creating micro-authoritarianisms.
The Path Forward
Balaji has publicly discussed evolving NS governance toward more decentralized models over time. The progression might follow a pattern: founder-led startup → community-informed organization → partially democratic governance → full community governance. This mirrors how successful protocols like Ethereum transitioned from founder-led to foundation-governed to community-governed. The challenge is balancing the speed and coherence of centralized decision-making with the legitimacy and resilience of distributed governance. NS members interested in governance can contribute to this evolution through active participation and thoughtful proposals.
60% of NS classes and events are community-organized
Source: NS
Founder-led model similar to open source project governance
Source: NS governance structure
“The best governance model for a community depends on its stage. Early communities need strong leadership. Mature communities need strong institutions. The transition between them is the hardest part.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Can NS members vote on community decisions?
Not formally in most cases. Some specific decisions (event programming, minor community rules) incorporate member input through polls and discussions. Major decisions about pricing, curriculum, facilities, and partnerships are made by the core team. On-chain governance experiments have been explored for certain community decisions.
How do I provide feedback or suggest changes at NS?
Use the Discord feedback channels, speak to community managers directly, attend community meetings, or reach out to core team members. Constructive feedback with specific suggestions is more effective than general complaints. The team is generally responsive to well-reasoned proposals, especially when members volunteer to lead implementation.
Is NS a DAO?
No, NS is not a DAO. It is a centralized organization with a founder and core team making decisions. Some elements of crypto-native governance (NFT credentials, on-chain reputation) are present, but the fundamental power structure is traditional. Balaji has discussed moving toward more decentralized governance over time, but the current model is founder-led.
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