The aggregator will definitely not be a competitor to Sphere, but rather complement it. We won’t be a marketplace, so we also won’t have the fancy game-developer focused features like a customizable and detailed collection pages. There will be synergy, though. Sphere can integrate the smart contracts that have been developed by the aggregator. If we find a new way to save on gas fees, then we will also share this with the MC dev team.
Regarding value for the DAO, I think there are two value-adds here. Firstly, people that go to the aggregator might or might not know Sphere. They might just want to buy an Axie and buy this on Sphere via the aggregator. This means that Sphere generates fees, which will be used to buyback MC. Secondly, the MC DAO has a 50% stake in this aggregator. When the valuation of the aggregator appreciates, so will MC DAO’s stake.
Regarding the (technical) team, I will do the smart contracts and (most of) the frontend code. Later it will likely be necessary to hire another frontend developer. A backend developer will be needed to code the API and order indexers. I do have a couple of smort backend developers from past jobs that I can approach to join the team. Additionally, we’ll need a UI/UX designer. With the $50,000 we can hire someone for a small period of time to join the team and recruit more once we have closed a funding round. For investors I will likely rely more on the Merit Circle team’s connections.