Please describe your proposed solution.
Why supporting Cardano SPO’s is important
SPO’s are mission critical to the successful growth and development of the Cardano ecosystem. As a single stakepool operator ourselves at Fluid7 we know that to be viable as a long term sustainable operatation, small SPOs need to develop the business, commercial and cultural knowledge necessary to support their stakepool’s growth and maturity.
Background
Business coaching and mentoring for SPO’s
Since F7 we and other stakepool operators have been working with Edify Colabs as participants and contributors to their Catalyst funded SPO incubator programmes.
Leveraging existing Assets to build Value
SPO Business Growth SupportIn Funds 7, 8 and 9 Edify proposed and was successfully funded by Catalyst to build an Integrated set of educational materials and resources for SPOs.- This set of coaching and mentoring modules enable SPO teams to step change up into building viable, scalable business operations.
Edify Colabs SPO programme development to date:
- F7 SPO incubator MVP beta
- F8 SPO Incubator Productisation x2 - for Small SPO’s and SPO Associations
- F8 SPO Train the Trainer programme
These coaching and mentoring resources have been built, deployed and tested successfully; with around 30 individuals and 15 organisations having completed the programmes so far, with great results and outstanding feedback.
Link to feedback google sheet
However, although these programmes and the learnings shared added great value to the participants, the process is manual: they are at present provided primarily synchronously with live mentors and coaches, with limited time slots, and restricted participant numbers available - with programmes maybe 80% live, 20% automated.
We would like to change that, we would like to dramatically increase the number of SPO’s who can access our programmes, enabling them to get access whenever they want, and work on them at their own pace and level of interaction.
The opportunity - Automating coaching and mentorship for SPO’s
Edify and Fluid7 (and other stakepool operators) have developed a large amount of content through the SPO development programs and our work over the last 2 years on Cardano. The Edify programmes in particular are based upon Exponential Organisation growth (ExO) principles - focussed around how companies can solve ‘wicked challenges’ to harness ‘exponential opportunities’. Whilst Fluid7 have developed practical experience in areas such as pledge bootstrapping and delegation boosting programmes.
With blockchain technology and AI, there is a great opportunity to take our programmes delivery to the next level: by automating the process, while providing personalised high service as appropriate to teams and companies.
Our vision is to build an online SPO Academy that will overtime automate 80% of the coaching and mentorship process and keep 20% for specific areas where SPO’s need help.
With Web 3. there is also the opportunity to build out our solution to create a distributed, generative, SPO Academy and community supported by a dynamic learning environment - one where Alumni of the courses become tutors and course creators for the next generation of learners.
Our Solution for this proposal - An online development programme for SPO’s, based on the Andamio Project Based Learning platform
The main objective of this proposal is to build and deliver an SPO tailored, high value mentorship and coaching programme, aimed at supporting SPO’s on their journey from technology solution builders through to successful sustainable businesses. Where the programme itself, being delivered from the Andamio project based learning enabled platform, can be delivered asynchronusily, but with a rich learning experience and is both easily accessible, interactive, affordable and scalable.
The programme will be comprised of two Catalyst proven strands: the Edify, coaching and mentoring suite - that forms the basis of the Edify Exponential Organisation Growth platform, and the Fluid7 Funding and operations programme.
Edify Coaching and Mentoring programme overview:
SPO online business academy Programme details
There will be 24 unique, SPO Tailored, PBL Modules to create for this proposal covering the following subject areas:
- Programme overview and Business Audit
- Purpose and Intent
- Business Model
- External Business Environment
- Product Proposition
- Customer Proposition
- Positioning
- Channel Proposition
- Building Assets: Things, Leadership Teams and People
- Commercial Vision
- Business Plan development and Scenario Planning
- Next Phase - implementation
- Operational Forecasting
- Infrastructure Options
- Pledge bootstrapping
- Delegation boosting
- Alternate revenue streams
Link to miro board for full programme overview of modules and sessions:
https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVM5pTvn8=/?share_link_id=879693464337
Partnership details
About Fluid7
Fluid7, a proud member of the xSPO and CSPA stakepool alliances within the Cardano ecosystem, has been actively transitioning its small development agency from Web2 to Web3. By operating as a producer for the Cardano network, Fluid7 has demonstrated its unwavering commitment to this transition and has gained valuable insights into the underlying technology and decentralized services.
About Edify Collabs
Edify Collabs is the on-chain expression of The Edify Ecosystem (Edify) - an impact, innovation, investment-focused consultancy, coaching practice and partner Ecosystem. Edify Colabs was formed to work within the Catalyst community - and have been proactive members for over 18 months.
https://linktr.ee/edify_collabs
The Andamio platform (by Gimbalabs)
Edify Collabs is partnering with Andamio to provide the core technology required.
The Andamio Platform:
- Provides a Learning Management System (LMS) for onboarding new contributors to your project/organization
- Is built on Cardano with Plutus smart contracts and UI components for treasury management, skill accreditation, project contribution, and emergent reputation
The Andamio MVP was built and tested around the Plutus PBL - for more info check https://plutuspbl.io/
You can find an introductory overview of the Andamio platform here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12VLfrZVaqLqzRCv_4ME78t4JERxeCLN8/view?usp=sharing
As a result of the work Gimbalabs has done over the past years through the Plutus Project-Based Learning (PBL) program, Gimbalabs Playground, and Gimbalabs Live Coding, the Gimbalabs team created Andamio which provides an LMS platform for any organization to onboard and reward contributors. Contributors can earn skills that enable them to contribute to projects. Our Plutus PBL (https://plutuspbl.io/) is a good example.
Link to example Plutus PBL course, which is the Andamio MVP:
<https://plutuspbl.io/>
Fig 1. The PBL Framework. A high overview description of a PBL module.
Project based learning courses (PBL):
Edify Collabs will use the Andamio platform to develop the following courses:
- ExO programme for mentoring developers and businesses to begin and succeed on their journey to sustainable exponential growth
Andamio features to be used by SPO Online Business Academy:
- The Project Based Learning Platform
- Proof of Completion
- Register skills and knowledge acquired by completing PBL course module
- Register contribution generated by each partnership generator (partnership generated)
- Smart contract for skills and credentials
- Web interface
This partnership has benefits for the ecosystem:
- Demonstrate how organisations can collaborate to build and use open source tools that both solve problems and open new opportunities.
- Reduce time to viability for Cardano SPOs by supporting operators to focus on building and delivering value that differentiates them.
- Promote both the collaboration for the ecosystem and growth of the network Building on Cardano and showcasing real-world application of blockchain technology
Relationship between Fluid7, Edify Collabs and Andamio:
This will be a long term partnership where Andamio will provide key elements of the technology and Fluid7 and partners will provide the business and revenue. Through this proposal some funding will go to the Andamio team for their support and development. In the future Andamio will receive a revenue share from any external companies that book onto this or any future course programmes- which will be contracted at a full professional services rate.
Future plans
This programme is the foundation (MVP) of our online digital PBL offering for SPO’s.
We plan to use this platform and programme to expand out delivery of our service offerings, both in terms of depth and breadth of programmes offered and our business model offerings.
Planned future product, market and business developments will include:
Product
- More courses based upon our proven ExO growth offerings - such as programmes focussed more tightly on scalability, effective leadership, effective asset growth and community build and management.
Market
- Expanding market reach to include operators currently on other networks, and external enterprises of all sizes who would like to understand more about engaging in this area.
Business platform expansion and integration
- We plan to use this platform as the basis from which to develop our own business model to support the building of Web3-enabled, blockchain-based communities:
- 1) supporting our proposed Dapp for our Full Value Dashboard.
- 2) supporting our coach community business that supports coaches in using our IP and Systems.
All of these programmes and initiatives will serve members of the catalyst community and bring potential cardano service users into the community.
How does your proposed solution address the challenge and what benefits will this bring to the Cardano ecosystem?
Our proposed solution directly addresses the challenge of supporting the SPO ecosystem and community in the Cardano ecosystem. By delivering the SPO Academy and incubator program, we provide comprehensive support and resources to SPOs, enabling them to develop the necessary business skills, commercial knowledge, and cultural understanding to succeed.
Benefits to the Cardano Ecosystem
The benefits of our solution to the Cardano ecosystem are multifold. Firstly, it enhances the overall reliability, security, and performance of the Cardano network by supporting SPOs in building viable and sustainable stake pool operations. Strong and successful SPOs attract more delegators, increase decentralization, and contribute to the overall health of the ecosystem.
Fostering Innovation and Collaboration within the SPO Community
Our solution promotes innovation and collaboration within the SPO community. Through the online SPO Academy and its interactive learning environment, SPOs can connect, share ideas, and collaborate on projects. This fosters a sense of community and facilitates conversations among SPOs, leading to the development of new solutions, standards, and initiatives.
Measurable Success Indicators
The key metrics mentioned in the challenge statement, such as the number of SPO projects actively building on Cardano and the number of new Cardano SPO-related proposals in Catalyst, serve as indicators of the success and impact of our solution. These metrics demonstrate the growth and engagement within the SPO ecosystem.
Contributing to the Long-Term Sustainability of Cardano
Our solution contributes to the long-term sustainability of the Cardano ecosystem. By providing SPOs with the necessary skills and knowledge to operate successful stake pools as businesses, we increase their chances of viability and growth. This, in turn, enhances the overall resilience and continuity of the Cardano network.
In summary, empowering SPOs through the SPO Online Business Academy addresses the challenge by supporting effective and impactful SPO projects and initiatives. The benefits include improved network reliability, increased decentralization, community collaboration, innovation, and the long-term sustainability of the Cardano ecosystem.
How do you intend to measure the success of your project?
We plan to measure the following KPIs
- Number of SPO’s developers/companies engaging with the teams about the programme
- Number of SPO’s entering the programme
- Number of participants completing the programme
- Review the feedback process for measuring the success of the programme - from a participant's point of view
Additional programme metrics will be developed with Andamio, but will typically include the following:
- Successful business audits completed
- Successful vision and business plans completed
- Number of business and product ideas per member
Finally as we did with our previous F7 and F8 programmes, participants will be asked to complete a review survey of the programme - which is also used to iterate the programme structure, content and delivery.
Please describe your plans to share the outputs and results of your project?
As with our previous F7 and F8 projects all KPI’s and reviews are included in our project close out reports and the community will have access to it.
Also as this is an MVP, and we have used online Learning Management Systems before we understand how complex and time consuming this process can be. Therefore we plan to compile a brief set of - train the trainer videos explaining the main elements of the programme development initially as a guide for - for use by online SPO academy team members and partners. We plan to make this open access as well, to support subsequent members of the Catalyst community that may wish to use the Andamio platform.
We also plan to run multiple taster sessions during the programme development and delivery period to both build on the MVP and also build awareness of the programme within the community.