So, you didn't get funded. Now What?

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Sheraz Ahmed

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

Entity (Incorporated)

[GENERAL] Co proposers and Additional applicants

D.Jur. Nicola Massella, Legal & Compliance Dept.

Sophie Ivarsson, Marketing & Growth Dept.

Nara Babayeva, Branding & Design Team

Louis Beuque, Finance & Fundraising Dept.

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

5

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language.

No

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

We will put together a short series of webinars on how to get started with an idea, how to bootstrap, how to keep costs low, and how (and why) to start fundraising early.

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

No

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”

No Dependencies

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

Yes

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

Project will be fully open source.

[METADATA] SDG rating

SDG Goals

4 - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

8 - Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

9 - Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

SDG Subgoals

4.4 - By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship

Key Performance Indicator (KPI)

4.4.1 - Proportion of youth and adults with information and communications technology (ICT) skills, by type of skill

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution.

This will be a short series of webinars, accompanied by materials, that will be focused on how to be less dependent on a single source of funding so that projects can do more with less or get started with (almost) nothing at all.

Webinars will be taught by entrepreneurs with both Web3 and Startup experience, sharing their knowledge on testing ideas without a budget, bootstrapping, how to cut costs, where not to cut corners to avoid getting in trouble, and different sources of early funding as well as how to pitch something that might not have revenue, users, a product, or even a finalized idea.

The content will focus on:

• Pragmatic approaches to entrepreneurship
• Learning from the experience of others
• Creating opportunities to share resources or get them for free
• How to know when to call a lawyer
• Evaluating ideas, recovering from setbacks, and knowing when it’s time to start
• How to start networking and gathering well ahead of when the funds are needed
• Working remotely, and building a team that complements each other's strengths and weaknesses

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community.

The difference between a normal person and an entrepreneur isn’t necessarily a perfect idea or rare skills and education, but rather the ability to consistently shorten the time between having an idea, acting on it, and above all persevering.

Our program will be focused on the real experience of entrepreneurs as well as frameworks used in successful startups. This should allow community members to map where they are on the entrepreneurial journey, know how to build a team to complement their strengths and weaknesses, and recognize the moment to “just do it.”

When it comes to early fundraising, the team’s ability to overcome challenges and find alternatives is a key element in angel and early-stage VC investors’ evaluation of a startup’s potential. Attending our events or accessing the materials after the fact will increase the number of entrepreneurs working on making Cardano a more successful ecosystem.

Our growth marketing team will discuss how to build brand recognition and community support with low to no budget.

Finally, our legal experts will help frame a set of safe boundaries so that potential builders and founders can know where safe waters are, which will decrease risks for founders and increase the credibility of the ecosystem.

This is not about the easiest way to start a project, but it is about getting started even when the deck is stacked against you.

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

STORM Partners has spent the past years building its capability to promote ecosystems like Cardano in the Web3 way, through community-driven engagement and by making the value of Web3 clear to more traditional stakeholders. 

Legal & Compliance Department has extensive experience with the legal recognition (and related regulation) of DAOs, as well as other regulatory requirements related to Web3 projects. We have incorporated several DAOs in Switzerland and abroad, registering them either as foundations or as associations (depending on the intrinsic characteristics of the projects and the different governance structures), and we are always up-to-date on regulatory changes to mitigate our clients’ regulatory risks.

Marketing & Growth Department has helped curate high-level go-to-market strategies while providing the affiliated brand research and guidance needed to become a leading dApp or DAO, helping with long-term communications, social media, public relations, growth hacking, personal branding, and influencer programs.

Finance & Fundraising Department has a successful track record in developing articulated fundraising strategies and financial planning. Areas of expertise include tokenomics mechanisms, nurturing investor relations, pitch deck structuring, etc.

We are also highly active in the Cardano ecosystem and have contributed through various initiatives and events to strengthen and shape its community and ecosystem. Some of our Cardano contributions and initiatives include:

• Sheraz Ahmed as Master of Ceremony at the Cardano Summit 2022 in Lausanne.
• Host at the Crypto Valley Conference 2022 & 2023, welcoming Frederik Gregaard.
• Executive Leadership at Crypto Valley Association coordinating activities with Cardano Foundation to promote the ecosystem in Zug and abroad.
• Participated in various Cardano side-events / meetups such as the London Masterclass and Meetup on 9th May 2023.
• Contribution to CIP-1694 workshop in Zug in June 2023.
• Early-stage private investors in Cardano projects such as MELD.
• Nicola Massella Conducted a Legal Masterclass on Legal and Regulatory Aspects of Staking Mechanisms at the Cardano Summit 2023
• Sheraz Ahmed Judged the hackathon at the Cardano Summit 2023, and also contributed to the prize pool.
• Influencer campaigns for Cardano Spot

We understand the importance of financial planning, budgeting, processes and accountability for the engagement we perform. Specifically, we will deploy progress updates. The team will regularly update each milestone with detailed explanations of a given task, with hours employed, outcomes and measurements. The updates will include reports on KPIs and metrics reached and strategic and implementation adjustments due to emerging issues or changes in the Cardano DAO ecosystem.

[Project Milestones] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

The first step of the project will be to reach out to some of the projects that were not selected by Catalyst Fund 11 and find out what their plans are to pursue their projects in the absence of funding. We’ll look at getting a good cross-section of the community without incurring too high a cost.

Milestone output(s)

• Calls and messaging on Linkedin or TG to the Fund 11 applicants who did not get funded.

Acceptance criteria 

• A report on the status of those projects while respecting the privacy of the participants, and identifying the best options to keep those projects alive and funded between now and the next round.

Info provided to verify the milestone achievement 

• Documentation of the projects contacted and the report on the conversations.

Based on our outreach to the community and our team’s expertise, we will put together a series of webinars to be conducted during the next months, at a rate of about one a month, based on the topics determined to be most important. While we really want to focus our efforts on what is going to be most useful to the community, topics might include:

• Lowest-cost ways to get the project rolling (or keep it rolling), especially in a high-cost country like Switzerland.
• Areas of business or development that are riskier from a legal and compliance, and ways to defer or avoid them (at least temporarily) without creating more problems.
• Alternative sources of funding, their upsides and downsides, and longer-term fundraising strategies.

Milestone output(s)

• Webinars, in-person events, digital campaigns, and other forms of engagement.

Acceptance criteria 

• At least three webinars addressing the top areas of concern or opportunity identified in the initial outreach to the community.

Info provided to verify the milestone achievement 

• Pictures, recordings, and summaries.

A wiki or Notion page containing the knowledge and lessons learned from the surveys, the webinars, and interactions with the community.

Milestone output(s)

• A wiki or Notion page divided into the different topics and sections containing the information, (links to the) videos, and project results.

Acceptance criteria 

• At least one page on the survey results, each workshop, and the outcome of community interaction.

Info provided to verify the milestone achievement 

• The wiki itself.

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Legal & Compliance Department - Legal risks and when to call a lawyer

Nicola Massella - Partner & Head of Legal

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolamassella 

D.Jur. Nicola Massella is an expert on crypto-assets and blockchain technology regulation with a commitment to decentralising and democratising capital markets. He is the head of STORM Partners’ Legal & Compliance Department. Additionally, he is engaged pro bono as Legal Research Officer at the Blockchain & Climate Institute and as a member of the Regulatory Working Group at the Crypto Valley Association. He developed specific expertise concerning DAOs by assisting multiple decentralised organisations in establishing a sound legal structure.

Marketing Department - Idea validation and growth on a shoe-string budget

Sophie Ivarsson - Marketing Director focused on Growth

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-ivarsson-815491b1/ 

Sophie has spent the last ten years becoming an expert growth marketer on the road to mastery. She has worked for large organisations like Lego and also helped launch two startups, both of which have transitioned to stable and profitable concerns. She’s an expert strategist and team builder, which translates directly into how to structure and 

Nara Babayeva - Graphic Designer

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nara-babayeva-797251119 

Nara, an accomplished designer based in Istanbul, has worked on international projects related to web3 and the metaverse. With six years of experience in graphic design, Nara specialises in brand identity, social media, and UX/UI. They hold an MBA degree in Visual Marketing, which enhances their ability to approach design strategically. Their designs seamlessly blend global trends with localised aesthetics, resonating with audiences across borders.

Finance & Fundraising - small and fast bridge financing

Louis Beuque - Fundraising Manager

https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-beuque-4153b0104 

Co-founder of a DAO focused on entertainment, Louis has been operating as a Head of Investor Relations and Fundraising Manager for more than 13 projects over 2022 cumulating more than $60M. Originally focused on top-tier projects such as Polygon, he has been more recently raising for upcoming blockchain-based projects and DAOs, which he recognises as more exciting and as a future trend in Web3.

Project Coordinator - 

Sheraz Ahmed - Managing Partner

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherazahmed1/

Sheraz Ahmed has advised hundreds of organisations on the implementation of modern Web3 practices to further their business objectives. As the Managing Partner of STORM Partners, an all-in-one service provider, and as the Co-Executive Director of the Crypto Valley Association, he drives growth, collaboration, and integrity across the global blockchain ecosystem!

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

We're planning to run pretty tightly on this one while also providing value to entrepreneurs who need to make things work. If we can successfully use the methods in the webinars to reduce costs, we'll use that to talk to more of the community and increase the reach and attendance of the program.

Community outreach (Milestone 1):

• Outreach 30%
• Event coordination 40%
• Survey creation, data analysis, report creation 30%

Subtotal (20 weeks): 13000 ADA

Webinar research, creation, and delivery (Milestone 2):

~20000 ADA per webinar

Subtotal (3 webinars): 60000 ADA

• Marketing the webinars and providing final report (Milestone 3):
• Outreach and surveys to get feedback on the events: 50%
• Design work: 50%

Subtotal (Follow up and final report): 20000 ADA

Grand Total: 93'000 ADA

[VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

As showcased, STORM Partners comprises highly skilled individuals who are leaders in their respective areas with multiple years of experience on Web3 projects and involvement in the Cardano Ecosystem. Furthermore, the project would not only directly benefit the participants in the online workshops but would also serve as a trampoline to increase the reputation and awareness of Cardano DAOs in Switzerland and internationally.

By leveraging our existing network in Web3, social media presence and marketing efforts, we will contribute to the betterment of the reputation of the Cardano DAO ecosystem. We want it to be the go-to place for DAO builders and collaborators. Most importantly, the cost associated with the project will democratise information which is often hard to obtain and scarce in the market. 

STORM Partners have applied competitive market rates for the types of expertise and quality of the delivery in the context of a leading Web3 consultancy firm.

[IMPORTANT NOTE] The Applicant agrees to Fund Rules and also that data in the submission form and other data provided by the project team during the course of the project will be publicly available.

I Accept