Quarterly Retro Letter — 2026 Q3: Phase 1, Honestly

Quarterly · 2,000–4,000 words · founder only · never delegated

This is our public track record. Four times a year I write down what we set out to do, what

actually happened, and where I was wrong — in numbers, not vibes. If you only read one thing

we publish, read these.

1. The quarter in one sentence

_[To be filled — one honest sentence. Not a slogan. e.g. "We launched, found out the protocol mattered more than the plays, and learned that community can't be scheduled into existence."]_

2. What we set out to do (the OKRs)

Straight from the Phase 1 plan (GA-08 input metrics). No retroactive goal-editing.

| Objective | Target | Source | |---|---|---| | Discord community | ≥ 300 members · ≥ 80 WAU | G1 | | Champions program | 5 confirmed + first call held | G2 | | Non-founder contributors | ≥ 5 with merged PRs | G3 | | First-reply SLA | Discord ≤ 24h · GitHub ≤ 48h | G4 | | Hackathon | ≥ 100 signups · ≥ 30 submissions · €5k awarded | G5 | | Newsletter | ≥ 1,500 subs · open-rate ≥ 40% | G6 | | Office Hours | 8-week run · ≥ 8 avg attendance | G7 | | Monthly AMAs | 3 held + recorded + summarised | G8 | | Quarterly Town Hall | first one held + recorded | G9 | | Community Challenge | first run · ≥ 5 submissions · winner featured | G10 |

_[Add a 2-3 sentence framing: what we believed at the start of the quarter and why these were the right bets — or weren't.]_

3. What actually happened (with numbers)

The honest part. Real figures from the stats CLIs + platform dashboards. Where we missed, the

number stays in the table — we don't hide it (MP-00 #5).

| Metric | Target | Actual | Verdict | |---|---|---|---| | Discord members / WAU | 300 / 80 | _[actual]_ | _[hit / miss / close]_ | | Champions confirmed | 5 | _[actual]_ | _[…]_ | | Non-founder contributors (merged PR) | 5 | _[actual]_ | _[…]_ | | Discord / GitHub first-reply median | 24h / 48h | _[actual]_ | _[…]_ | | Hackathon signups / submissions | 100 / 30 | _[actual]_ | _[…]_ | | Newsletter subs / open-rate | 1,500 / 40% | _[actual]_ | _[…]_ | | Office Hours avg attendance | 8 | _[actual]_ | _[…]_ | | AMAs held | 3 | _[actual]_ | _[…]_ | | Town Hall held | 1 | _[actual]_ | _[…]_ | | Community Challenge submissions | 5 | _[actual]_ | _[…]_ |

Sourced from: community-pulse / contributor-stats / newsletter-stats / ama-stats /

town-hall-stats / office-hours-stats / hackathon-stats / community-challenge-stats.

_[2-4 paragraphs of narrative around the table — the story the numbers tell, including the ones that disappointed me.]_

4. What we got right

_[At least 3 genuine wins. Specific, attributable, named where consent allows (G.012). Not a victory lap — the things that actually worked and why.]_

- _[win 1]_ - _[win 2]_ - _[win 3]_

5. What we got wrong

Mandatory and load-bearing. If this section is short, I didn't look hard enough.

_[At least 3 honest misses. Name the decision, not a faceless "we". What I'd warn my past self about. This is the section that earns the trust the rest of the letter spends.]_

- _[miss 1]_ - _[miss 2]_ - _[miss 3]_

6. What we learned

_[The durable lessons — the things that change how we operate, not just this quarter's patches. Tie each to a concrete behaviour change where possible.]_

7. What we'll do differently

_[Concrete changes, not platitudes. Each one should be falsifiable next quarter — I want to be held to these in the Q4 letter.]_

8. What we're committing to next quarter (Phase 2)

_[The Phase 2 commitments, stated plainly enough that the next Retro Letter can grade them. Link to the public roadmap.]_

- _[commitment 1]_ - _[commitment 2]_ - _[commitment 3]_

A closing note

_[Short, human, no spin. A thank-you to the people who showed up this quarter — by name, with consent. From the roots to the fruits.]_

— Pavleen 🍓

*The Quarterly Retro Letter is published every quarter, founder-only, never delegated. Read past editions on the blog. Subscribe to the Friday Letter for weekly updates between retros.*