Splash - Simplifying Catalyst Proposal Discovery for Token Holders & Stake Pool Delegators

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

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

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

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

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

A dedicated dashboard in Splash showcasing all proposals related to projects that users support through token holdings or stake pool delegation to simplify the voting process and empower voters.

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

[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?

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

The software and code are proprietary in nature and therefore project outputs will not be open source.

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

Currently, there are two ways to discover Catalyst proposals on Ideascale: 

1. Users go onto the voting app and scroll through all of the proposals within a selected category trying to figure out if they’re interested in exploring a proposal purely based on its title.
2. Projects advertise their proposals and which category to find them in via Twitter/Discord or their own website.

Voters who are tokens holders/stakers of a project will often miss these communications, leading to poor voting turnout and support for communities that wish to rally voting power.

Splash will help Projects/Communities better showcase their Catalyst proposals (current and past) in a single dashboard. Once the Community is created, the Community owner will be able to pull in all of their Ideascale proposals with a few clicks. Additionally, they will be able to add other media-rich files to support their proposal. 

Token holders and stake pool delegators using Splash will be able to view all proposals that are linked to any token they own or stake pool they are delegated to in a single dashboard. 

Moreover, we plan on allowing the user to be able to see the status of all previous proposals that were linked to the Community so they can see how effective the project was at completing their proposals.

Our proposed solution addresses the challenges faced in the Catalyst voting ecosystem through several key components:

Proposal Discovery:

• Intuitive Search and Filtering: Users can search and filter proposals based on categories, brand keywords, and most notably, token holdings.
• Personalized Recommendations: The platform provides recommendations based on user preferences, spotlighting proposals from communities that are connected to those they already support.

Proposal Tracking:

• Proposal History: Users can access detailed information about a project’s previous/past proposals.
• Progress Updates: Projects can provide regular updates on their progress and milestones achieved, keeping users informed about the status of proposals they helped vote in.

Community Engagement:

• Community Profiles: Projects can create and manage profiles to showcase their track record, team members, and community engagement initiatives.
• Social Outreach: Projects can utilize community engagement tools to keep their supporters informed about developments regarding their entire ecosystem and promote their proposals through the Splash Events and Posts Modules.

Unified Dashboard:

• One Platform For Everything: The platform is a one-stop solution for projects and voters to promote and discover proposals.

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

The overall Cardano ecosystem stands to benefit both its voters and projects in several ways:

The benefits for voters:

• Enhanced Accessibility: Users can easily access and track proposals relevant to their interests, token holdings or stake pool delegation through a unified dashboard.
• Improved Information Visibility: Users gain access to comprehensive project information, enabling informed decision-making during the voting process.

The benefits for Cardano projects:

• Increased Visibility: Projects can reach existing token holders directly by adding their proposals to the platform.
• Improved Track Record Visibility: Projects can effectively showcase their track record and community engagement efforts, fostering trust and support from users.
• Additional Sales: While users are viewing proposals they can also learn more about the Community and all of their related tokens and collections, which might convert to additional sales for the Project. 

[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?

Splash already has a functioning desktop app with hundreds of monthly users who are using our community directory to discover thousands of communities, games and apps.

With all of this connected information serving as the go-to for community discovery on Cardano, we will be leveraging a strong foundation to add on a Catalyst proposal module that will provide users with a comprehensive library of information to make better decisions for the entire Cardano ecosystem. 

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

Develop Proposal Module, Optimization & Testing (Month 1)

• Catalyst Proposal Module - Develop input form for projects and Proposal layout for end users along with API integrations to pull in proposals from Ideascale.

Acceptance Criteria & Evidence of Milestone Completion

• Fully functioning module that allows every Cardano project to display its proposals in their Splash listing. Cardano project owners who are listed on Splash can claim their listing and access the proposal module in a unified dashboard to easily load up their proposals manually using the input form and pull in all previous proposals via the Ideascale integration. We will provide screenshots and video evidence of the functioning proposal module.

Develop Token & Collection Module, Optimization & Testing (Month 2)

• Token and Collection Modules - Develop an input form for projects to add tokens/collections to their listing.

Acceptance Criteria & Evidence of Milestone Completion

• Fully functioning module that allows every Cardano project to represent how their tokens/collections are linked to their project and proposals to provide a comprehensive view of how everything is connected in their ecosystem. We will provide screenshots and video evidence of the functioning token and collection module.

Develop Stake Pool Module, Optimization & Testing (Month 3)

• Stake Pool Module - Develop an input form for projects to add their stake pool information and connect their stake pools to a proposal.

Acceptance Criteria & Evidence of Milestone Completion

• Fully functioning module that allows every Cardano project with a stake pool to add their stake pool information and connect their stake pools to a proposal. We will provide screenshots and video evidence of the functioning stake pool module.

Marketing Campaign To Onboard Projects and Users (Months 4-5)

• Produce Marketing materials on the benefits of the service and how-to guides to manage project proposals.
• Reach out to 500+ Cardano Communities to add their proposals for Fund 13.

Acceptance Criteria & Evidence of Milestone Completion

• Roll out a social media marketing campaign targeted at the Cardano community that showcases the advantages of the proposals module for projects and voters in our ecosystem. Publish how-to guides on getting the most out of the module and platform and reach out to 500+ communities to add their proposals for Fund 13. Conduct onboarding calls with all interested projects to familiarize them with Splash and to invite their communities to make use of the platform and its features.

Final Milestone: Project Close-out Report and Video (Month 6)

• Compile the project close-out report detailing the number of projects/communities onboarded, number of proposals linked and assess the percentage of proposals that receive funding or support from the community to indicate the platform's impact on proposal success rates.
• Create a video that showcases the proposals module and greater Splash platform as well as highlighting the key findings detailed in the close out report.

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

Dee Boshoff - Linkedin

Ops Manager

Dee Boshoff is a digital marketing expert and blockchain enthusiast who spent a decade studying, living and working in Asia with a leading digital marketing agency. He is currently helping to conceptualize, build and grow Splash, a gamified NFT minting and data aggregation directory looking to onboard the next wave of Web3 projects and users into the creative ecosystem.

Ramon Vos - Linkedin

Marketing

Ramon Vos is a cross-chain NFT degen, crypto trader & Investor since 2021. He has over a decade of experience in the luxury hospitality industry working in Asia, Africa, and Europe. He is Dutch by nationality, multilingual, and currently is based in France. He has a Master's Degree in marketing and finance.

Aaron Arfman - Linkedin

Product Design

Aaron Arfman is an entrepreneur with 20 years of operations experience in China and a Cardano supporter since 2018. He is passionate about developing products that make blockchain more accessible to the masses by leveraging his cross-industry experiences from private equity, fintech startups to wine production and distribution.

Jacques Bosch - Linkedin

CTO

Jacques Bosch, a tech entrepreneur from South Africa, loves the way harnessing software can reshape the real world. With a quarter of a century career spanning a diverse range of industries, from Blockchain and Auctioning to Education and Insurance, Jacques has a wealth of experience in implementing successful systems across many countries. For over 18 years, he has led competent teams founded on strong and respect-based relationships. Currently, he is concentrating on developing blockchain products and generative AI solutions for enterprise scenarios, highlighting his love of innovation and progress.

Piro Vorster - Linkedin

Developer

Piro Vorster is a skilled tech professional and founder of 2 successful software startups, Inversion and Pink Fish, with 17 years of experience in technologies like .NET, Azure, C#, and more. He's worked in a broad range of sectors, including Auctioning, Insurance, and Reinsurance, and relishes the thrill of solving complex challenges. Piro's credentials include a BSc (Hons) Computing degree and a wealth of leadership experience. He also boasts an unusual asset — a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, reflecting his commitment to discipline and strategic thinking.

Paul Cowan - Github

Developer

Paul Cowan is a seasoned programmer with over 20 years of experience, largely with C# .NET. He's worked across multiple industries, most notably in online retail, gaming, and now in the emergent fields of blockchain and NFTs. Working in both private and open source spaces, and a keen problem solver, Paul brings a blend of expertise, lateral thinking, and collaborative spirit to every project.

Vitaliy Kydon

Designer

With over 10 years of dedicated experience, Vitaliy Kydon specializes in crafting immersive and user-centric interfaces that redefine the digital landscape of blockchain and crypto technologies.

From sleek and secure wallet interfaces to intuitive decentralized exchanges, each project exemplifies my commitment to creating visually striking, yet functionally robust solutions tailored for the crypto ecosystem.

Danielle Erasmus - Portfolio

Creative Director/Senior Video Editor

Danielle Erasmus is a Creative Director, Senior Video Editor and Copywriter with 13 years industry experience. Dani’s Honours graduating film won a SAFTA amongst many other international awards which launched her into the best of the industry. After spending many years as a freelancer, creating video content for local and international brands including CROCS, Supersport, DSTV, Jaguar Land Rover and many more, Dani joined the Splash/CUR8/Cardano Center team full time to dedicate her skillset to showcasing their platforms.

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

Milestone 1: Proposal Module, Optimization & Testing (Month 1) 90K ADA

Development cost:

• Proposal Module -4 weeks, 2 dev: $800/day = $32,000

Operations cost:

• Direct sales and community onboarding: $3100

Contingency/servers/data cost:

• Server and data fees: $1,000
• Contingency: $2000

Marketing cost:

• Splash community marketing campaigns: $2200

Total: $40,300

Milestone 2: Token & Collection Module, Optimization & Testing (Month 2) 90K ADA

Development cost:

• Token & Collection Module -4 weeks, 2 dev: $800/day = $32,000

Operations cost:

• Direct sales and community onboarding: $3100

Contingency/servers/data cost:

• Server and data fees: $1,000
• Contingency: $2000

Marketing cost:

• Splash community marketing campaigns: $2200

Total: $40,300

Milestone 3: Stake Pool Module, Optimization & Testing (Month 3) 50K ADA

Development cost:

• Stake Pool Module -4 weeks, 1 dev: $800/day = $16,000

Operations cost:

• Direct sales and community onboarding: $3100

Contingency/servers/data cost:

• Server and data fees: $1,000
• Contingency: $2000

Marketing cost:

• Splash community marketing campaigns: $2200

Total: $24,300

Milestone 4: Marketing Campaign To Onboard Projects and Users (Months 4-5) 37K ADA

Marketing cost:

• Splash community marketing campaigns over two months: $4400

Operations cost:

• Direct sales and community onboarding over two months: $6200

Contingency/servers/data cost:

• Server and data fees over two months: $2,000
• Contingency over two months: $4000

Total: $16,600

Milestone 5: Final Deliverable (Month 6) 3K ADA

• Project Close-out Report and Video

Total: $1330

Total Budget of 270,000 ADA (~USD121,500) @ $0.45/ADA

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

Creating a unified dashboard that aggregates all of the important information voters need to make better-informed decisions represents immense value for money for the Cardano ecosystem. This makes it easier for more users to participate and shape our future, and actively supports Cardano projects that struggle to promote their proposals to their target audience.

As a result of all of this, perhaps the most significant point is the proper allocation, use, and tracking of how funds are spent from the Cardano treasury. Our ecosystem is only as strong as the communities and projects that participate in it. By creating a more transparent voting and funding environment, projects building on Cardano will play on a more equitable playing field and be motivated to see funded projects through to completion.