This proposal is a continuance and an extension of Fund 7 proposal Easy Engagement - New Members - AIM <https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/381856>
Phase 1 status (as of the submission date of the proposal):
- The proposal plan is on track with the research and analysis phase
- We conducted sync meetings with related catalyst projects to align efforts and integrate the new development needed with the platform that is already under development (Proposals Mentors Marketplace -Cont <https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/369749>)
- The UI and UX was assigned as well the development team
- Initial interviews are being conducted with new members and proposers to analyze their needs
As stated in the initial proposal:
“The goal is to finish an initial working version in 3 months which could generate the POC and already bring value to new members and proposals.”
This is on track
“Following the POC, the next phase will include marketing activities to promote the platform as well as maintenance & improvements. We will work together with affiliate proposals’ teams (more below) to facilitate the technology integration within complimentary community platforms. We are also considering revenue opportunities (i.e. fee for matching) with the objective to make the platform self-sustained.”
This is also on track as we are coordinating with the Proposal Mentor Marketplace (PMM) teams. We will also be working together on the business model so the initiative could become self-sustainable. This could include a basic fee from funded proposals as well as success fee parameters.
“A matching platform would also support a more targeted approach for onboarding more members/mentors/accelerators networks into Catalysts based on analyses of tasks requested by funded proposals such as regional focus/industry/stage of activities. Such a database could be connected for example to a bigger corporation with Seedstars.com and connect with their mentor network (which is not yet part of their 7 proposals for Fund 7).”
We are conducting ongoing discussions with entities onboarding them to Catalyst. Seedstars.com are one example and they got funded with 3 proposals in Fund 7. We are involved with ongoing discussions on how to onboard a company like Seedstars and their mentor network in collaboration with IOG and Catalyst teams as well as connecting to various relevant communities such as Wada. Through this process, which includes 2-3 weekly meetings for the last month we are also learning on the touch points and how to engage and onboard mentors and mentor networks.
This current phase 2 will continue the work and aim to integrate some of the learning into the technology platform we are developing. For example opening a company and providing them the tools to communicate and onboard their mentor networks
Solution (as described in initial proposal):
This proposal is focusing on matching the needs of the funded projects with NEW members of the community. As the catalyst community is growing fast, the ability to help projects with various needs is also growing. The amount of information a new member needs to grasp can be overwhelming and time-consuming, which limits members' involvement. Members could learn more by actually doing tasks, feeling helpful, and integrating faster into the community.
Let's make it easier for newcomers to participate and support the community efforts.
The following are examples of some of the tasks we foresee the platform can facilitate to match:
- Task 1: Join the team.
The project needs a B2C social media expert, 50% capacity, part of the proposal budget
- Task 2:: Brainstorming session about the proposal tech development.
1 hour, a blockchain developer
- Task 3: UI/UX expert
One week workshop
- Task 4: Network connection.
For proposals looking for pilot leads or leads to relevant investors
- Task 5: Legal support.
An international lawyer, one hour per week, support for funded proposals
The Solution of phase 1 includes
1. A task generator to be used by funded proposals
2. Tasks centre - where all tasks are presented and can be filtered
3. New members expertise - the platform for new members to add their expertise and availability
5. Communication between members and tasks owners
This proposal focus:
Once funding for this proposal will be approved POC should be completed.
This proposal will then focus on:
- Scaling usage through communication to new members
- Promoting the link to the platform in multiple channels
- Meetups for new members
- Breakout rooms at the multiple town halls and community meetups
- Providing informative and educational resources
- In collaboration with the Catalyst school
- New features to cater for multiple users such as companies - this part will get some focus for this proposal. The team already started onboarding few mentors and accelerator companies which will serve as the learning for this phase
- Seedstars.com
- Accelerate2030.net
- Technology improvements from POC learning
“How might we make it faster and easier for new Catalyst members to take on suitable roles and responsibilities in 2022?”
This is obviously the core of the suggested solution
“What does success look like? A well-oiled open innovation platform where people fulfil roles that are meaningful for them and that contribute to shared success.”
The matching platform will increase the support points between members and projects. It will reduce the time that passes between a new member registering to catalyst and actually supporting projects. It will make members feel they are playing an important role whilst contributing to the community. Key Metrics to measure
General onboarding:
- TownHall attendance - we will conduct post Town Hall meeting inviting new members (also in LATAM, Eastern & Western Hemisphere, and Africa TH)
- Catalyst School session attendance - we will work closely with Catalyst school for content and to direct new members
- Swarm session attendance - part of post Town Hall meetups
- Applications to leadership positions (e.g. Circle) - will be added as potential tasks to do for newcomers
Innovation process:
- Number of referrers
- Reduction in the number of unprepared proposals
- Growth in the number of 4-5 star proposals
- Growth in the number of Community Advisors and Veteran Community Advisors
- Percentage of proposals with Excellent assessments
- Growth in the number of voters
- Growth in total number of votes given
All of the above KPIs could be achieved through the integration of the new members platform to the Proposal mentor marketplace platform. Part of the reason working together is valuable.
There will be challenges on the way to success, here are some:
Challenge 1 - getting attention from the community
This will be a key challenge and key success factor as we need to attract new members or members that are less active as well as the funded proposals. This proposal phase will directly focus on this challenge through educational materials and promotion activities.
Challenge 2 - getting the UI right and communication
The UI for tasks as well as for member profiles is very important to make sure the process gets adoptions. Making it simple and easy to use. We have selected a strong product team with which we are already collaborating on other proposals so we increase efficiency.
Challenge 3 - ongoing operation
Once POC is successful, we need to guarantee the ongoing operation through integration with other platforms, more funding and revenue opportunities. Also here we will mitigate this risk by working together with Proposal Mentor Marketplace and will evaluate other platforms as well.