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Symbolic intro of letting go
Products and people are similar. There comes a time in each life cycle where we have to let go and release our control.
Just like when a teenager moves out of the house and goes to college, or when we watch our plants grow into trees and then forests, we must rely on external sources for growth.
This mentality is acknowledged and accepted within Finsweet, and now it will be adopted by Client-First. What was once solely owned and managed by Finsweet is relying on external sources for growth community impact.
Announcing the Client-First Board of Directors
At Finsweet, we believe in putting our community first. We are excited to introduce the Client-First Board of Directors, a new initiative that gives our community members a voice in shaping the future of Client-First, a framework for building Webflow websites.
This change is a significant step in the journey we have created for Client-First.
Client-First was always built to be free and for the community. We initially created it as an agency tool to be more unified as a team. It transitioned into a tool that was released publicly and became highly valuable for Webflow agencies and freelancers.
Client-First has had such a significant impact on the community, that a Board of Directors is the next step to empower community of users.
The Current Workflow for Client-First
Currently, Finsweet manages all updates and decisions for Client-First. Finsweet is the sole decision-maker in the process. If we think a change should be made to Client-First, we vote on it internally. If we (Finsweet) decide it's a good update to make to Client-First, we make it.
After a change is made to Client-First docs, we tell our product providers, and then post an announcement to update the community of users.
This process worked, but it was autonomous. No community involvement or external interaction went into the decisions for a tool that thousands of people use daily.
With the introduction of the Client-First Board of Directors, this workflow will change dramatically.
The new workflow for Client-First
The Board of Directors will now be responsible for all updates and decisions related to Client-First. System-wide decisions will be made collectively by influential Client-First users, top Client-First communities, and the general public.
"Company Members" will have the ability to initiate a "Vote Request" proposing a new update, which will trigger a community-wide vote. The outcome of the proposed change will be decided by the summed votes of the Board of Directors.
We are releasing the autonomous control that Finsweet previously had on Client-First, and empowering the community to make decisions. What was once a "Finsweet decision" is now a "community decision."
Updates, roadmap versioning, official cloneable changes, and any revision to Client-First must be voted on and approved by the Board of Directors.
Everything will be subject to a vote, with each board member receiving votes based on their impact on the Client-First community.
The Founding Board Members
The founding members of the Client-First Board of Directors include Finsweet, Relume, Finsweet+ Community, Relume Community, Client-First Translators, and a public Twitter vote.
The Board of Directors will follow a weighted voting system, where the amount of votes each member gets will be based on their influence and contribution to the Client-First ecosystem. This ensures that voting power is proportional to their impact on the system. See the vote values on the Board of Directors agreement.
These members can cast their votes to shape the future of Client-First. We anticipate the growth of the Board, the communities, and the users as Client-First continues to expand.
We want to give a big shoutout to Relume for their valuable contribution to the Client-First product and for being a driving force behind the creation of the Board of Directors. We appreciate their involvement in this journey.
Transparency is the future
The introduction of the Client-First Board of Directors is a significant step towards embracing transparency in product development. This thinking is in-line with our Open Source initiative and aligns with our belief that transparency the future.
Managing product roadmaps in a community-driven transparent manner is how we want to approach products like Client-First.
We believe transparency is the future of successful businesses. Finsweet will adopt this mentality across all product offerings.
Conclusion
Our goal of putting decision-making power in the hands of the community is completed through the Client-First Board of Directors.
We are excited to see how this new approach will shape the future of Client-First and how the Board of Directors will grow with it.
The Client-First Board of Directors agreement is live and public on the Client-First documentation: https://finsweet.com/client-first/docs/board-of-directors
