Work Courses: Onboarding The $142B EdTech Industry & The 70M Students Using Digital Learning To Cardano

[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] Co-proposers and additional applicants

Main Proposal Applicant

Sean Davies - the founder and lead developer of The Working Dead & Work Courses - is submitting this proposal to Project Catalyst on behalf of the Work Courses team.

Contact/Reference Information

Personal Twitter: https://twitter.com/seanworkingdead

Personal Email: sean@work.courses

The Working Dead Website: https://workingdead.io

Work Courses Website: https://work.courses

Work Courses Documentation: https://docs.work.courses/

[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)

The development and expansion of our White-Label Solutions & Features will empower many industries, businesses, and academia; unlocking capital from the $142B EdTech industry for Cardano.

[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.”

Work Courses ultimately does not have any dependencies on any organizations or third parties, technical or otherwise.

[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 decision not to fully open-source the project's output is a strategic move aimed at maintaining Work Courses' competitive edge in the rapidly growing $140 billion EdTech industry.

As an innovative platform leveraging Cardano's blockchain technology to revolutionize educational systems, Work Courses is well-positioned to capture a significant market share from established competitors such as Canvas, Moodle, Coursera, and Udemy and target entirely uncaptured industries altogether.

By protecting our proprietary solutions and innovative features from potential replication by those major players, we can sustain our competitive advantage that is capable of onboarding such capital and amount of students to this ecosystem, offering unique value propositions that set us apart from the competition for the benefit of the Cardano ecosystem.

This approach not only safeguards our intellectual property but also enables us to continue developing cutting-edge solutions that are tailored to the evolving needs of students, educators, and institutions worldwide without fear of being cheated by a major competitor once we establish market share.

[METADATA] SDG rating

N/A

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

Background Information on Work Courses:

Work Courses has proven to be a battle-tested educational platform with Web3 capabilities, revolutionizing the educational system with a Cardano-based Learn-to-Earn LMS platforml. The platform has been utilized by prominent content creators to release over 100 paid and free courses that has garnered the interest of large organizations such as the Cardano Foundation and looming partnerships with major businesses in the ecosystem such as Minswap; with some even planning to or already have uploaded courses onto the platform. Serving as the first platform of its kind with blockchain capabilities, Work Courses has developed revolutionary and proprietary technology that targets clients in a variety of industries and academic institutions.

For further information about the Work Courses platform and all that it provides, our team directs you to our comprehensive documentation linked here: https://docs.work.courses/ 

To visit our live platform to test its current capabilities, our team directs you to our platform linked here: https://work.courses

Key Data Metrics For Work Courses Platform

Total Users: 8750 Users

Total Courses Published: 124 Courses

Total Unique Visitors in 3 months: 17,046 Visitors

Total Page views in 3 months: 95,653 Views

Total Rewards from Daily Claim: 2,972,078 $WORK

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Background Information on the Work Courses White Label Service:

Work Courses recently introduced the ability to offer white-labeled and customizable platforms to content creators, SPOs, consultants, academic institutions, and organizations to utilize the core infrastructure built out by the Work Courses team.

Our White-Label Suite offers a wide array of capabilities and features, including:

• Token-gating content behind paywalls, staking requirements, or NFT ownership
• Tier-based reward systems using Cardano native tokens based on NFT/token ownership or task completion
• Cross-chain SocialFi components for user engagement and social media platform development
• Cardano native token sale features with dynamic market-based pricing
• Integration with Dex Hunter or Dex Aggregator
• Content monetization opportunities for creators
• Custom platform development for client engagement
• Course/content libraries from universities and academic institutions

The platform's infrastructure possesses a wide variety of features - many with Cardano applications attached - that make it fully flexible to a client's needs and desires for their own customized platform. Work Courses provides the tools and infrastructure virtually everybody needs but currently lacks: including content creators, stake pool operators, universities, firms, and organizations.

Our White Label Solution can not only service a wide variety of clients in Cardano and the blockchain industry, it can also service a wide variety of industries and institutions outside the realm of Web3 by developing educational platforms and training programs for clients, creating a very lucrative and promising development venture of Work Courses. Through fair licensing agreements of our comprehensive white-labeling service, our White Label Solution aims to be the core infrastructure provider for web-based applications for virtually all client bases in the crypto industry and beyond.

Our White Label Solution can not only service a wide variety of clients in Cardano, it can also service a wide variety of industries and institutions outside the realm of Web3 by developing educational platforms and training programs for clients, creating a very lucrative and promising development venture of Work Courses.

Thus far, our White Label Solutions and Flagship Product have attracted interest from various notable institutions and figures, such as:

• Minswap: Developing an educational platform for the leading Cardano DEX
• Cardano Foundation: The Foundation will be publishing Aiken Development Courses onto our platform
• IAMX: In very promising conversations about partnership opportunities
• Notable content creators, developers, and figures: Dapp Central, Learn Cardano, Jack Friks, El Raulito, and many others have either expressed interest in our WL product and/or published courses onto our flagship product

Based on the significant interest we have gauged and our current platform capabilities, our team has set an ambitious target of servicing a substantial number of clients with their own custom platforms, offering a wide array of features and branding options. We are confident in our ability to scale our White Label Solution to accommodate the growing demand and interest for our services, both within the Cardano ecosystem and across various industries. Through fair licensing agreements of our comprehensive white-labeling service, our White Label Solution aims to be the core infrastructure provider for web-based applications for virtually all client bases in the crypto industry and beyond.

Proof Of Concept: White Label Solution For DirectEd Development

Result: Onboarding Of 100+ Students To Cardano In 1.5 Months

Our first White Label Solution was built as a Proof of Concept for DirectEd Development Foundation, an educational organization that offers tuition-free training in essential digital skills for students in Africa. Partnering with schools across Ethiopia and Kenya, they're making an impact by offering courses to give opportunities to those who may lack them.

You can learn more about DirectEd Development on their main website linked here:

https://directed.dev/

Before working with us, their team had successfully trained over 300 students already as shown above. After we provided them their own custom educational platform just a month ago - that allowed token-gating of the courses by Cardano NFTs where students had to create a Cardano Wallet to interact - we have already been able to onboard 126 students to Cardano with their very first wallet to take courses from DirectEd. This is a near 50% increase in students trained through DirectEd's basic coding materials in just one month.

You can visit their live White Label Solution power by Work Courses here: https://directed.work.courses/

Cardano has long boasted about being able to empower students in Ethiopia and Africa, and Work Courses actually is in our first ever tested deployment of our educational solutions. With 126 students already participating in DirectEd's Introduction To Python Course and 104 students participating in DirectEd's token-gated Main Bootcamp Course, we have empowered students who lacked opportunities on a pro-bono basis in exchange for testing our technology and garnering feedback. This Proof of Concept showcases not only our ability to provide superior educational solutions that truly empower students, but that our solutions also serve as a hidden vehicle for Cardano adoption like never before.

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Problem Statement: The Cardano ecosystem has long been touted as having the potential to revolutionize various industries, particularly in the realm of education. However, despite its promising capabilities, Cardano has yet to establish itself as the premier blockchain for educational solutions. The lack of comprehensive, user-friendly, and feature-rich learning management systems (LMSs) and white-label solutions built on Cardano has hindered its adoption by academic institutions, businesses, content creators and multi-billion dollar industries such as EdTech.

Moreover, the absence of robust web-based infrastructure and products tailored to the needs of Cardano creators and businesses has limited their ability to engage with their audiences effectively, monetize their content, onboard new users, and contribute to the growth of the ecosystem. To address these challenges and unlock the true potential of Cardano, there is an urgent need for superior educational and web-based solutions that cater to the diverse requirements of academia, businesses, and industries while leveraging the unique features of the Cardano blockchain.

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Proposed Solution:

To address these challenges and unlock the true potential of Cardano in academia and various industries, Work Courses proposes a multi-faceted approach to expand our promising operations. Our proposed solution consists of three key solutions designed to deliver and showcase revolutionary learning management systems and web-based solutions with Cardano functionality: 

1. Expanding the Work Courses White Label Suite of Features will allow Work Courses to provide Cardano-based web platforms - with optional multi-chain functionality - and core infrastructure to content creators, stake pool operators, consulting firms, and businesses of all varieties in a much more scalable, efficient, and superior fashion. 
2. The development and expansion of a separate Cardano-based LMS (learning management system) and a wide variety of new features to expand our White Label Suite with an entirely new solution to be compatible with offering our services to universities, educational institutions, and businesses (for internal training programs).
3. The integration of our newly developed features outlined in our Proposed Solution into our flagship product Work Courses to help host educational content to onboard newcomers to Cardano with a wide variety of resources and showcase our white-label solutions.

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1.) Development of a New Cardano-Based LMS (Learning Management System) Product for Service to Universities & Business Training Programs:

Building upon the success of our current LMS product, which rivals platforms like Udemy and Coursera, we propose the development of a separate, state-of-the-art Learning Management System (LMS) designed to compete with industry giants such as Canvas and Moodle. This new LMS product will be built leveraging our existing core infrastructure while incorporating cutting-edge Cardano-based capabilities throughout the platform. By creating a distinct product tailored to the unique needs of academia, business training programs, and institutions, Work Courses aims to provide a comprehensive and unparalleled solution for managing and delivering educational content, as well as facilitating professional training programs.

1a.) Proposed Developments For the New Cardano-Based LMS Product

User Authentication, Integrations, and Customization:

• Integrate Digital ID (DID) support with Web2 and blockchain functionality
• Develop a white-label LMS suite on the backend for customizable, scalable platform production
• Enhance the user interface with customizable, visually appealing options
• Expand integration with cloud solutions, file storage services (e.g., Google Drive, DePin), and video-communication software (e.g., Zoom)
• Google/Social Media/Email login functionality
• Development of robust security and encryption mechanisms
• Development of additional bot prevention measures

User Experience, Gamification, and Adaptive Learning:

• Develop adaptive learning modules to personalize education 
• Include support and features for students with learning disabilities
• Introduce edutainment and interactive learning games
• Integrating lectures, audio, and video content for comprehensive courses
• Further gamification and enhancement of the Learn-to-Earn model for creation of a gamified learning experience similar to Khan Academy
• Integration of AI systems for adaptive learning programs
• Development of edutainment software to remain competitive and creation of educational games for interactive learning systems for young students

Communication, Notifications, and Interaction 

• Direct messaging features with students and instructors in the courses you enroll in
• Facilitate direct messaging, announcements, and alerts for course enrollments and deadlines
• Announcements/Messages Page for Instructors to communicate to the broader group of students in the course
• Comprehensive development to ensure full mobile-compatibility for all features
• Creating capabilities for virtual/video classroom capabilities where the instructor and students are together live 
• Implement interactive features like in-content quizzes and real-time classroom interactions
• Forum/discussion board feature for student-to-student interaction
• Incorporate comprehensive multimedia content including live streaming, audio, and video

Grading/Moderation:

• Implement AI-powered plagiarism detection and anti-cheating software to maintain academic integrity
• Create comprehensive and easy to use User Interfaces for course creation, management, moderation, and enrollment
• Develop course enrollment alert features, automated notifications for due course assignments, discussions, exams, etc
• Moderation and information collection capabilities to be aligned with safety/security practices of universities and educational institutions
• Develop robust grading systems, trackable by instructors with progress and final grade features, grading progression, and data collection
• Offer certification systems, optionally mint-able as NFTs, for course completions

Documentation and Legal Compliance:

• Produce detailed client meeting materials, licensing agreements, and marketing campaigns
• Create extensive tutorials on the LMS’s features and operation, specifically for the Cardano-based system
• Establish feedback loops with educational professionals to continually refine user and client experiences
• Create proper licensing agreements on the advice of counsel to ensure fair agreements are reached between us as the Licensor and our client as the Licensee

Quiz/Exam Content Creation:

• Creating assignment capabilities for courses
• Creating course quiz, test, and exam features
• Develop quiz feature during lecture/video/written content
• Developing software for cheating-prevention capabilities for students taking virtual courses and exams on their native device to comply with university standards
• Create advanced assignment, quiz, and exam functionalities within courses
• Creating multiple-choice, essay form, short sentence quiz formats

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2.) New Features For The Existing Work Courses White Label LMS Suite:

Our team proposes the development of a whole new catalog of features to our existing LMS product that are capable of servicing any individual or entity in the Cardano ecosystem. This aligns with our vision to provide core infrastructure to a variety of clients that enhances their engagement opportunities with their audience, offers viable monetization opportunities to creators and institutions, creates platforms that stay attuned to the aesthetic/branding of the individual/entity we are servicing, and implements SocialFi features for any client, revolutionizing the educational system for internal business training and academia.

2a.) Proposed Developments For the Existing White Label Suite

Backend Infrastructure

• Developing a White-Label Suite on the backend to make the production of customizable platforms more cost-efficient and less labor-intensive, allowing for increased scalability
• Developing a cross-chain multi-wallet binding/unbinding feature for one account

Content Creation and Management

• Expanding the course layout/presentation possibilities to allow different types of courses to be configured to different formats, make them more interactive and effective
• Integrating articles, podcast, and video content
• Development of a comprehensive course preview feature for users to view before purchasing paid courses and allowing creators to customize their course preview page

Payment Options

• Expanding payment support to allow for a variety of additional cryptocurrencies such as Solana, Ethereum, and others to onboard more users to Cardano
• Expanding payment options to allow support for fiat-based payments for courses/content/subscriptions

Monetization Opportunities

• Donation/tipping feature for free/paid content/courses/etc
• Development of e-commerce capabilities for content creators, businesses, projects, and institutions to sell products, merchandise, and services with cryptocurrency payment integration
• Expanding monetization opportunities for content creators by creating a subscription-based model with Cardano/crypto payment integration for weekly/monthly/yearly access to token-gated content

User Engagement and SocialFi Features

• Enhancing already live SocialFi features on Work Courses
• Developing a wallet-to-wallet direct message feature mechanism based on our current SocialFi messaging features
• Developing a resume/profile page for consultants/marketers to create their own landing page with scheduling integrations, direct messaging capabilities, and paid scheduled meetings
• Developing capabilities to live stream directly off their platform, token-gated or otherwise

Marketing and Documentation

• Creating proper marketing materials and documentation for client meetings, licensing agreements, and marketing campaigns

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3.) Expansion of The Work Courses Platform

The development of the proposed solutions will be seamlessly integrated into the Work Courses platform, enhancing the end-user experience for both students and instructors. This integration serves as a valuable proof of concept for our White Label Clients when we approach them with our infrastructure and pitch deck. By showcasing the effectiveness of these features on our own platform, we can further solidify our reputation as a leading educational software provider in the blockchain industry and beyond. With our platform enhanced to new heights, we can effectively promote our brand and scale our White Label solution to a wider range of clients, leveraging the increased exposure and industry standing.

3a.) Proposed Expansion Of The Work Courses Platform:

Integration Of Newly Developed Features

• Implement user interface improvements to enhance the overall user experience, making the platform more intuitive and engaging for students and instructors alike.
• Introduce multi-wallet functionality, allowing users to seamlessly bind and unbind multiple wallets to their Work Courses accounts, providing greater flexibility and convenience.
• Integrate selected features developed in this proposal into the Work Courses platform, demonstrating their effectiveness and value to potential white-label clients.
• Educational/Onboarding Resources & Marketing Materials
• Expand educational resources, course libraries, and informational content to streamline the onboarding process for creators, making it easier for them to create and publish content on the platform.
• Develop official courses focused on onboarding creators and learners to the Work Courses platform, providing them with the knowledge and skills needed to effectively utilize the platform's features.
• Enhance marketing materials, advertising strategies, and pitch deck for the Work Courses platform to better showcase its capabilities and attract a wider audience of creators, learners, and potential white-label clients.

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EdTech (Educational Technology) Industry:

These proposed solutions allow us to capture market share in the educational technology industry - otherwise known as EdTech - is valued at around $146 billion and forecasted to expand to $549.9 billion in 2033, with projections for the industry to grow at a CAGR of 14.2% per year. (Market.Us, 2024) The demand of mobile compatible LMSs has also increased significantly, with a forecasted “CAGR of 36.45%” each year until 2027. A reported 90% of students using LMSs “prefer learning online to traditional learning methods” and “49% of students have taken at least one form of online course” through an LMS. 

With an estimated 73.8 million students across the world already using learning management systems, there is still a huge opportunity to capture the market in this ever-growing industry as this technology inevitably becomes accessible to hundreds of millions - and billions - of people all across the world. (51 LMS Statistics, 2024) Learning management systems will begin to be adopted by virtually all major companies and academic institutions in the years to come, and Work Courses will capture that market share throughout the duration of this industry’s massive growth throughout the next decade.

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Global Market Opportunities:

The need for learning management systems is an international issue, with emerging markets all across the globe. The expansion of our products and features enable us to target virtually all markets given the growing need for LMSs across the globe:

• North America: In the United States alone, the leading players in the LMS industry Canvas and Moodle combined have over tens of millions of students utilizing their systems; with the North American LMS Market expected to continue growing at a CAGR of 4% per year (51 LMS Statistics, 2024) as it dominates the global market in LMS adoption for universities and corporate training programs. (Learning Management System Market, 2017) 
• South America: In Latin America, it is estimated that “over 12 million adults in 20 Latin American countries are enrolled in some form of online education,” which unlocks another opportunity to capture market share by providing superior technology to this emerging segment of the globe. (E-learning Market Trends, 2020) Targeting Latin America Universities, educational institutions, businesses, and training programs is a highly lucrative avenue to target clients with our solutions and onboard students to Cardano. 
• Europe: Similar to North America, Europe is a leading market in EdTech, with reported annual LMS enrollment growth rates of 16.9%. (51 LMS Statistics, 2024) Given its dominance, Europe serves as yet another lucrative segment of the globe to target with our educational solutions for academia, businesses, and institutions.
• Asia: Asia leads as the fastest growing market in the world for LMS adoption with forecasted revenue growth at a 34.2% CAGR and enrollment growth rates of 17.3% annually. As the most lucrative and adolescent market of them all, Work Courses can easily capture market share with our superior technology. 
• Africa: Africa as a whole also proves promising as a market to target with our LMS educational solutions as countries turn toward e-learning programs, with the LMS industry growing annually at a rate of 15.2%. Targeting African universities, schooling programs, businesses, and institutions is yet another lucrative avenue to pursue to offer our LMS products to schooling programs across the continent. (51 LMS Statistics, 2024)

Given the global nature of the EdTech industry and its various niche client bases, there are vast opportunities to capture market share in a multitude of unconventional fashions.

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Target Client Bases:

These proposed features and expansion of the White Label Suite and creation of a Cardano-based LMS can target a variety of industries and client bases:

• Businesses/Corporations: Businesses require LMSs both for internal training programs and educating their customers/clients. A variety of industries utilize LMSs for training of employees that account for a huge segment of the market. These include the real estate industry (3%), nonprofit organizations (3%), technology/software companies (16%), manufacturing facilities (9%), as well as healthcare and consulting firms (7%). (51 LMS Statistics, 2024) “30% of LMS purchasers are large companies” and “almost 42% of Fortune 500 businesses” now use some kind of LMS. (Learning Management System) 
• Universities/Academic Institutions: In the EdTech industry, Academia-based clients make up “21% of the entire global LMS market” as universities begin to offer digital learning programs or integrate digital learning in their course materials across the globe. Students throughout all levels of education who endure digital learning often do so with outdated and inefficient software. During the pandemic, students all across the globe suffered tremendously by being forced to transition to awful methods of digital learning. Regardless of their age or where they are receiving education, a Cardano-based LMS with superior features can provide the solution Academia has needed for decades, and specifically over the last few years. 
• Cardano Ecosystem: Stake pool operators (SPOs), Cardano NFT/Defi projects, content creators, marketing/consulting firms, and development agencies operating within Cardano are a truly underserved and uncaptured client base that desperately requires our existing and proposed solutions. As mentioned repeatedly before, providing a variety of web-based application features with Cardano functionality enables us to become the ultimate service provider to any individual or entity conducting business on Cardano.
• Broader Blockchain Industry: Services provided to those operating within the Cardano ecosystem also extends its utility to the broader blockchain industry and the same demographics lacking tooling in our ecosystem. Our cross-chain functionality allows our White Label Products to service clients within the industry and outside of Cardano, empowering creators in a similar albeit more limited fashion than our clients in Cardano.
• Broader Content Creation Industry: Our services are also empowering for content creators outside of the blockchain industry on platforms such as Medium, Substack, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, and many others. By providing various content monetization opportunities and personalized platforms with their branding, we can offer creators better ways to engage with their community and further build their brand.

By targeting a variety of uncaptured industries and existing client bases with our revolutionary technology, increased capabilities, and effective training LMSs; we can generate multiple revenue streams for several lucrative avenues in environments that desperately need our solutions. We are confident our LMS can target all of these markets and industries within them, unlocking Cardano to a $140+ billion dollar industry with projections for exponential growth over the next decade along with many other industries.

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References:

“Edtech Market Statistics, Size, Share: Cagr of 14.2%.” Market.Us, 23 Apr. 2024, market.us/report/edtech-market/#:~:text=How%20big%20is%20the%20education,period%20from%202024%20to%202033.

“Learning Management System.” SkyPrep, skyprep.com/lms/what-is-an-lms/. Accessed 7 May 2024.

51 LMS Statistics: 2024 Data, Trends & Predictions | Research.Com, research.com/education/lms-statistics. Accessed 7 May 2024.

“Mobile Learning Market Size, Share, Trends, Opportunities & Forecast.” Verified Market Research, 22 Sept. 2023, www.verifiedmarketresearch.com/product/global-mobile-learning-market-size-and-forecast/.

“New Data Show How the Pandemic Affected Learning across Whole Communities.” Harvard Graduate School of Education, www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/news/23/05/new-data-show-how-pandemic-affected-learning-across-whole-communities. Accessed 7 May 2024. 

Zion Market Research (2017). Learning Management System Market. Zion Market Research.

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

Our Impact For The Better On Cardano By Revolutionizing Academia

Our Proposed Solution provides a positive impact to this ecosystem as a whole in terms of (1) onboarding new users, (2) establishing a global economy around ADA, (3) empowering a wide variety of demographics in the ecosystem, (4) attracting more capital and (5) institutional interest to Cardano, as well as (6) establishing Cardano as the premier blockchain for educational solutions.

Overall, the outlined proposal aims to benefit Cardano in these key ways:

a.) Onboarding academic institutions to Cardano-based LMSs for their learning management systems

b.) Onboarding new users from many other ecosystems to Cardano through our enhanced Work Courses platform, onboarding solutions, content libraries, and White Label Solutions.

c.) Attracting institutional interest and capital to this ecosystem for its potential to revolutionize academia and web-based platforms.

d.) Empower Cardano-based content creators with powerful technology that can increase their success in onboarding newcomers to Cardano and help educate the masses in a more interactive fashion

e.) Enhancing the relationship between stake pool operators and their delegators through advanced SocialFi components, leading to increased loyalty, trust, and growth of the Cardano network.

f.) Enabling consulting firms and development agencies to better showcase their services, attract clients, and collaborate more effectively, fostering growth within the Cardano ecosystem.

g.) Providing a comprehensive suite of tools for businesses to develop efficient and effective internal training programs, leading to better-educated and more productive teams.

h.) Contributing to the development of a skilled and knowledgeable workforce within the Cardano ecosystem by providing accessible and high-quality educational resources.

i.) Positioning Work Courses as a leader in the EdTech industry, establishing Cardano as the leading blockchain for educational solutions virtually overnight

j.) Offering a censorship-resistant and decentralized platform for educators and learners, ensuring the free exchange of knowledge and ideas.

The successful implementation of our White Label Solution and Cardano-based LMS will not only revolutionize the educational landscape but also demonstrate the real-world applications and benefits of Cardano to a global audience; positioning it as the leading blockchain for educational solutions and attract a diverse range of projects, institutions, and users to the ecosystem. Not only that, our focus on empowering stake pool operators, content creators, and businesses within the Cardano ecosystem will foster a thriving, interconnected community that drives value creation and network growth.

Our Proposed Solution, through its comprehensive suite of tools and services, will drive unprecedented growth, adoption, and collaboration within the Cardano ecosystem and beyond. By connecting academia, businesses, content creators, and developers with the power of Cardano's blockchain technology, we will unlock a new wave of innovation, liquidity, and opportunity.

Quantifying & Measuring Our Impact

Our team will be able to truly quantify and measure our impact as we showcased in our Proof of Concept White Label Solution with DirectEd Development Foundation, where we onboarded 126 students to Cardano for their Introduction to Python Couse and 104 students for their token-gated Main Bootcamp Course where students gained access by obtaining a Cardano NFT from DirectEd Development.

Metrics & Quantifying Our Impact With Work Courses

For Work Courses, we primarily look at these key metrics in terms of adoption to this ecosystem based on our Cardano-based Learn-to-Earn model:

a.) Total Users

b.) Total Page Views

c.) Total Unique Visitors

d.) Total Courses Published

e.) Total Users From Other Chains

f.) Total $WORK Daily Claim Distributed

g.) Total $WORK Learn-to-Earn Rewards Distributed

h.) Total Esteemed Content Libraries Acquired & Published

Metrics & Quantifying Our Impact With Our White Label Solutions

For our White Label Solution, we primarily look at these key metrics to quantify our White Label Solution's impact on furthering adoption of Cardano:

a.) Total Businesses Using Our Products

b.) Total Universities Using Our Products

c.) Total Content Creators Using Our Products

d.) Total Stake Pool Operators Using Our Products

e.) Total Students Enrolled Across All Platforms

f.) Total Courses Across All Platforms

g.) Total Students Trained

h.) Total Unique Visitors Across All Platforms

i.) Total Page Views Across All Platforms

j.) Total Courses Completed Across All Platforms

k.) Delegator Increase For SPOs After Using Our Products

l.) Follower & Engagement Rate Increase For Content Creators After Using Our Products

[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?

Our Team's Capability & This Proposal's Feasibility

We have prided ourselves on our battle-tested commitment to delivering a project that embodies the highest levels of delivery, trust, and accountability. Our unwavering confidence in our capabilities stems from a solid foundation of experience, expertise, and a proven track record of delivering a comprehensive platform like none other. With a clear vision for our plans to revolutionize the way we educate with an established platform built out, we are capable of navigating any challenges that may arise, sustaining our promise of transparency and excellence: 

• Reputable team building for years with no legal disputes, controversies, etc.
• Core infrastructure of the Work Courses platform is thoroughly built out already
• Lead developer with vast amounts of experience and knowledge of the way Cardano operates
• Proven track record of development capabilities building out a successful educational platform utilized by prominent figures in the content creation space and large institutions/foundations
• Proper support from freelance developers/development agencies to thoroughly review and support our efforts
• Concrete and clear vision to build out each of the features highlighted in this funding request
• Consistent updates and monitoring by the Project Catalyst Fund Grantors to ensure progress in our development efforts, and a timely distribution of funding to make this process as transparent as possible.
• Deliverable Funding Allocation Reports to Grantors made available upon request
• Reputable entity developing for years with no legal disputes, controversies, etc
• Reputable Professor as an advisor for consulting/feedback purposes to ensure features are delivered in a way that truly enhances the end-user experience for both students and teachers
• Concrete marketing campaign in place to ensure the success of the white-labeling service once features are ready for deployment on our client's custom-tailored platforms

If our proposal is successfully funded, we are immensely confident in our abilities to deliver the features we have outlined with our collective development expertise combined with adequate funding to outsource the development of certain features to streamline the process of delivering every ambitious thing we have detailed above. This funding will ultimately enable Work Courses to act with a faster pace in delivering these features and enhance the end-user experience in a way never seen before. Moreover, it will allow us to develop features we have lacked the resources for - funding-wise for hiring developers to collaborate with us - that will serve the benefit of this ecosystem and Work Courses in tremendous ways.

Finally, our objectively ambitious proposal to develop a proper Cardano-based LMS is not as difficult for our team given the core infrastructure has been built out and battle-tested, requiring far less work for Work Courses to develop than if a separate entity had to start entirely from scratch. Our core infrastructure serves as a very solid foundation to build a proper LMS, making our vision to fully develop it entirely feasible and within our capabilities.

With thorough communication with Project Catalyst Grantors throughout each Funding Milestone with comprehensive materials as evidence for each Project Milestone being completed, along with our team's esteemed reputation for operating as a good faith actor in compliance. We stand firm in our commitment to transparency, willingness to communicate at the Grantor's convenience, and maintain our good-faith operations. As outlined below in our Project Milestones, we have a clear and comprehensive approach to allocate funding efficiently and transparently with voluntary oversight by the Grantors if they so please.

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

First Milestone: Establishing Legal/Marketing Framework & Platform Design Layout Phase (1 Month)

The first milestone will be achieved when several factors are met:

1.) Creation of a more comprehensive legal framework far superior to our existing framework with the collaboration of counsel for the Cardano-based LMS solution and white-label suite solution, especially given the severity of the client bases we aim to target. This includes ensuring compliance when engaging with clients and academic institutions from across the globe, creating legally binding, comprehensive, and fair licensing agreement templates to engage with clients in good faith and confidence, and better navigating the ever-changing and complex landscape of the blockchain industry with ease.

2.) Finish the design phase of the project with the collaboration of our trusted design agency we've worked with repeatedly to properly build the UI/UX, realize the vision and put it on paper, develop the layout of the white-label suite based on the client bases we target, develop the layout of the LMS to ensure it will be compatible with universities and user-friendly for students, teachers, and the university staff, and create proper branding/aesthetics for each solution. This phase will ensure we develop UI/UX layouts for every feature/graphic/page we plan to develop as outlined in our proposed solution.

3.) Analyze our new requirements for the white-label solution expansion so we can provide the optimal user experience/interface for users to leverage this new platform with a design structure put in place where the design is mobile-first ensuring our solution can cater to all device sizes. It is not a requirement to do a mobile design for each, as our current infrastructure and design guidelines for Work Courses structure pages in a way that makes it easily adjustable for all device sizes

4.) Prepare marketing/sales/informational materials on the UI/UX, presentation of features for the LMS and traditional White Label solution, and integration with Work Courses to showcase its potential to clients, students, and teachers, and attract institutional interest with our revolutionary technology.

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Output: The output from this milestone is (1) fully functioning Figma documents with designs/UIs/visuals for our LMS, White Label Solution, and Work Courses, (2) establishment of a compliant legal framework and appropriate documentation for our new features and platform(s), and (3) production of sales/branding/informational materials and graphics.

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Acceptance Criteria:

1.) Fully built-out Figma with all UI/UX and designs for proposed features and separate LMS products is complete, including mobile-based UI configurations

2.) Full production of comprehensive marketing materials, pitch deck, client/user documentation, etc. is complete.

3.) Full completion and establishment of legal framework, documentation, and contractual agreement templates

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Evidence Of Milestone Completion:

1.) Our team will provide a comprehensive Figma document showcasing all of our UI designs for each of the outlined features in our Proposed Solution for review of our progress by the Grantors

2.) Our team will provide a comprehensive catalog of the marketing/sales materials and pitch deck we have created for review of our progress by the Grantors

3.) Our team will also provide our legal documentation and agreements for White Label Products for review by the Project Catalyst Grantors on request

Second Milestone: Development Phase Of The White Label Suite and Cardano-Based LMS (6 Months)

The second milestone will be completed when the following has been fully developed:

1.) The development of the superior White Label Suite and all features mentioned in our Proposed Solution has completed. The development phase and second milestone will be responsible for the production of the entire catalog of features for our White Label Suite to enhance the customization options for our clients and Cardano ecosystem participants.

2.) The development of the proprietary White Label Backend Suite for further scalability options allows Work Courses to offer more efficient, scalable, and customizable platforms to Cardano ecosystem participants. The development phase and second milestone will also be responsible for the production of the Backend Suite for both the traditional White Label Solution and Cardano-Based LMS White Label Solution.

3.) The development of the second Cardano-based LMS product and all features mentioned in our Proposed Solution will also be produced during the second milestone in its entirety. The learning management system combined with prior and newly built features will be fully developed, customizable, user friendly, and versatile. The entirety of the platform, its customizable features, and UI/UX will be fully prepared for testing and deployment.

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Output: The output of this development milestone is (1) the creation of all features outlined in our Proposed Solution for the traditional White Label Solution and (2) the creation of the entire Learning Management System and all the features we outlined for the Cardano-based LMS in our Proposed Solution.

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Acceptance Criteria:

1.) Full development of new features for our current LMS Product are completed and able to be showcased in live demos to Project Catalyst Grantors

2.) Full development of our newly proposed Cardano-based LMS product is complete with all features outlined in our Proposed Solution and able to be showcased in live demos to the Project Catalyst Grantors

3.) Development of White Label Backend Suite for more scalable and streamlined delivery of our White Label Products is released and able to be showcased in live demos and utilized in alpha phases to build test platforms for review by the Project Catalyst Grantors

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Evidence Of Milestone Completion:

1.) Our team will be able to showcase live demos of the expansion of our current LMS product before security testing by an external firm to the Project Catalyst Grantors as evidence of completion of our expansion of our current LMS product

2.) Our team will be able to showcase live demos of the development of our new Cardano-based LMS product to the Project Catalyst Grantors as evidence of completion of our development phase of our new LMS product

3.) Our team will be able to showcase live demos to the Project Catalyst Grantors of our White Label Backend Suite to display our improvements for scalability of our development services through a streamlined process for more rapid delivery

Third Milestone: Testing, Deployment, & Auditing Phase Of The LMS & White Label Suite (1 Month)

After the most difficult and second milestone is achieved, the third milestone will follow suit once a variety of criteria have been met successfully: 

1.) Before deployment, our developed platforms and features will undergo a security testing phase with our in-house team and a reputable security firm (responsible for locating exploits in DApps from major brands such as Chilled Kongs and TAS) to ensure the platform is operating properly, securely, and easily for the end-user.

2.) Our team will conduct a thorough integration of select features newly developed during this project into our flagship platform Work Courses to enhance the user experience, offer new features, and empower our platform overall. This overall development work will allow for easy integration on a wide array of features with ease once the development phase been completed.

3.) Creation of feature catalogs for each White Label Solution, deployment of backend White Label Suite, to ready them for service to our client bases.

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Output: The outputs of this final milestone are (1) the expansion of our current LMS product is ready for client service, (2) the deployment of the outlined new features for our traditional White Label Solution in a product testing environment, (3) the integration of select new features to Work Courses, (4) proper testing/maintenance before deployment and gradual roll-out, and (5) successful security tests and audits.

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Acceptance Criteria:

1.) The expansion of our current LMS product will be completed, deployed in a product testing environment, and ready for live service to clients

2.) The development of our newly proposed LMS product will be fully completed, deployed in a product testing environment, and ready for live service to clients

3.) A select group of features newly developed during this Proposal are live on our flagship product Work Courses ready for use by our users to enhance their experience on the platform

4.) Our flagship product Work Courses and our White Label solutions will be thoroughly reviewed for security and functionality concerns and conduct a security report and/or audit that concludes our products have virtually no exploit opportunities or security risks

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Evidence Of Milestone Completion:

1.) The deployment of our LMS in a product testing environment ready for review by the Project Catalyst Grantors AND/OR the deployment of the expanded version of our current LMS product in a client's platform to showcase to the Grantors

2.) The deployment of our new LMS product in a product testing environment ready for review by the Project Catalyst Grantors AND/OR the deployment of the expanded version of our current LMS product in a client's platform to showcase to the Grantors

3.) The deployment of select newly developed features mentioned in our Proposed Solution onto Work Courses will be live and ready for review by the Project Catalyst grantors

4.) The completion of security testing and/or audits will be followed by a comprehensive report on the security and functionality of our White Label Features, our team will make this freely available to the Project Catalyst Grantors upon request without issue or hesitation

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

In-House Team/Development Resources:

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Sean Davies

Email: sean@work.courses

Twitter: https://twitter.com/seanworkingdead

(Founder of The Working Dead & Work Courses) - Lead Developer

Role: Sean is the invaluable leader of the Work Courses platform and team, serving as the lead developer for the project while displaying a wide array of talents and skill sets suitable for any aspect of the platform. Sean will serve as the Lead Developer for this ambitious proposal in coordination with Max, the Director Of Operations.

Background: Sean Davies is an ambitious developer pushing the limits of education and cross-chain in web3 using Cardano as the core technology under the hood. He was one of the first in the United Kingdom to become a certified cross-platform mobile app developer using Xamarin.Forms. In his career, he has been working commercially leading the development of production-ready mobile applications and websites for almost a decade. He started his career working at an e-learning company building powerful e-learning courses for large brands in the hospitality sector. He has been actively involved in the Cardano community since 2021 and is the creator of Work Courses, an innovative cross-chain, mobile compatible, Learn and Earn platform leveraging both the Cardano and The Working Dead ecosystems. Previous experience as a developer at the prominent Cardano NFT project Ape Society.

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Max or 'The Cardano Times'

Email: max@work.courses

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mxm_us or https://twitter.com/TheCardanoTimes

(Founder of The Cardano Times, Real Estate Manager) - Director of Operations

Role: Max serves as the director of business operations of Work Courses; managing a variety of tasks to scale the business. Max was responsible for the production of this proposal and and its corresponding plans for development. As Director of Operations, Max will also coordinate with Sean to oversee the successful deployment of our white label suite solutions and LMS solutions as well as the creation of the legal framework and production of marketing materials.

Background:

Max - better known by his pseudonym The Cardano Times - is a real estate manager with tens of millions of dollars under management and ownership through his real estate company, managing dozens of tenants and hundreds of thousands in revenue annually. Max has overseen a variety of succesful development projects that were funded for hundreds of thousands of dollars in the real estate industry, making him a reliable executive director of the proposed project to ensure funding is allocated appropriately and the plan is executed to completion. Max is also the sole founder, investigator, and writer for The Cardano Times; one of Cardano's most recognized media platforms for quality tutorials, news content, and controversial investigations. Max & The Cardano Times were nominated for Cardano Educational Influencer of The Year at the 2023 Cardano Summit Gala Awards as recognition for their efforts to help keep people educated, informed, and safe in the ecosystem. 

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Rodrigo Gomez

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rodg_drmz

(Founder of DRMZ Academy, Professor) - Strategic Academic Advisor

Role: Rodrigo (better known as Rod) serves as the strategic academic advisor for Work Courses, offering years of experience in academia as a Professor for our educational solutions. Rod will be responsible for offering consultation from the viewpoint of academia and our target client bases, ensuring our features are compatible for teachers, students, and universities we service. Offering invaluable expertise, Rod will serve to create feedback loops and proper user testing practices to ensure our features outlined in this Proposal actually benefit the client bases we aim to target.

Background: Rod is an esteemed Cardano community member, founding DRMZ Academy years ago to better provide educational solutions given his experience as an esteemed Professor at a notable University. Rod has years of expertise in Academia that enables him to understand what solutions teachers, students, and universities require to be empower with digital learning solutions.

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Danny or 'ItzDanny'

Twitter: https://twitter.com/itzdannyADA

(Community Manager At Liqwid Finance) - Community Manager & Core Team Member

Role: Danny serves as an invaluable core team member since Work Courses' inception, providing valuable community engagement opportunities and assisting in the core operations of the business from the very beginning. In this project specifically, Danny will serve as a junior developer working under the leadership of Sean Davies, and assist in community management and marketing of our newly deployed/released features.

Background: Driven by his passion for educating others about the opportunities presented by Cardano DeFi, Danny advocates for financial literacy within the community often highlighting ways of generating a yield within the ecosystem. He firmly believes that empowering individuals with the knowledge and tools to participate in decentralized finance is crucial for fostering adoption of crypto assets and decentralized finance. Danny is an apprentice software developer undergoing university training and serves as a community manager at Liqwid Finance, a leading decentralized lending protocol built on Cardano. In this role, he plays a pivotal part in fostering engagement, providing support within the Liqwid community. With his multifaceted role as both an educator and a community manager, Danny embodies his strong belief in the importance of education as a catalyst for driving adoption and innovation within the Cardano ecosystem.

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

Cost Breakdown/Allocation Summary

Conversion Rate: Conservative $0.50 Per ADA

Total Funds Requested: 230,000 ADA

Milestone One: 75,000 ADA

Milestone Two: 110,000 ADA

Milestone Three: 45,000 ADA

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Work Courses Responsibility Notice

Our team wants to recognize the esteemed honor and responsibility an entity has when receiving funding in the form of a grant from Project Catalyst and the Cardano ecosystem. Not only have we made tremendous efforts to ensure transparency in our funding allocation as outlined below in our Proposal, our team is committed to transparency for how the funding is allocated and spent throughout our Project Milestones, Funding Milestones, conversations with Project Catalyst Grantors throughout our development process, and our community. Our team is also firmly committed to making ourselves readily available for and releasing Funding Allocation Reports upon request to the Grantors to ensure transparency throughout the process. Our team has prided itself on operating in good faith over many years with transparency, legal compliance, and commitment to streamlined delivery of our goals; and our Funding Request will further that commitment to operating as a good-faith actor in an industry filled with malicious actors.

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Development Of The Cardano-Based LMS: 90,000 ADA

We are requesting 90,000 ADA specifically for the full-scale development of our Cardano-based learning management system. Given the scale of required upgrades, additional features, and development of an entirely new white-label solution; the development of the Cardano-Based LMS accounts for a majority of our funding as we contract the development agency we have used since the inception of Work Courses and hire other part-time developers to assist us in our efforts until the completion of the LMS white label solution. With the allocation of this funding, our team and contractors will be easily capable of implementing comprehensive and revolutionary features that develop superior LMSs in comparison to the major competitors. This funding will be allocated towards the development of features such as grading management, enhanced course layout, management, creation of assignments, exam, and quiz features, integrating lecture, audio, written, and video content, as well as making this solution compatible with universities as a superior alternative to major LMSs such as Canvas. With proper funding, expertise, and external resources; the development of the Cardano-based LMS becomes a much more streamlined and feasible endeavor Work Courses can embark on. This initiative would establish Work Courses as the leading blockchain-based (powered by Cardano) educational software provider in the globe, serving as a massive benefit to our efforts to revolutionize the way we educate and to this ecosystem, making Cardano the de facto leading blockchain for educational software.

Cost Breakdown:

1.) 90,000 ADA For Hiring Of Three Full Stack Developers:

Rate: $80/HR

Maximum Hours: ~560 Combined Hours Over 6 Months

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Development Of New Features For The White Label Suite & Expansion Of Work Courses: 50,000 ADA

We are also requesting 50,000 ADA to allocate for outsourced development work from the trusted development agency Work Courses has worked with since its inception to develop the features outlined in our Proposed Solution for our traditional White Label Solution based off of our flagship product Work Courses. These features include a wide variety of user-friendly features that enhance the customization opportunities for content creators, businesses, artists, firms, development agencies, and more. This allocated funding will enable our team to collaborate with the aforementioned development agency to build an entirely new catalog of features for businesses, creators, and institutions within the Cardano ecosystem that can empower them even further than our current solution is capable of. A small minority of this allocated funding will be utilized for the integration of select features we develop outlined in our Proposed Solution to our flagship platform Work Courses to showcase it as a proper proof of concept, enhance the experience for our students and creators, and further legitimize our standing as a leading educational software provider. The outsourcing of development work will allow us to remain competitive with the major players such as Udemy by developing these features in a more streamlined fashion, and this specifically allocated funding will enable this to occur for the benefit of Work Courses and this ecosystem.

Cost Breakdown:

1.) 50,000 ADA For Hiring Of Three Full Stack Developers:

Rate: $80/HR

Maximum Hours: ~315 Combined Hours Over 4.5 Months

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Legal Consultation For White Label Contract Generation and Client Compliance: 40,000 ADA

We are requesting 40,000 ADA to be allocated for legal consultation and services by an established law firm with expertise in academic-based technology companies to generate fair, legally binding, and comprehensive white-label agreements that protect our clients as well as Work Courses as a whole. Furthermore, we are requesting this funding to ensure these universities/businesses/creators will be compliant with local and federal regulations involving the usage of blockchain technology and/or cryptocurrencies when using our white-label solution and collaborating with our company. It's incredibly important to ensure that our development of white label solutions does not open us up to our intellectual property being stolen, the white label solutions we develop effectively becoming alternatives to our very own platforms, solutions for when clients do not pay, and ensuring compliance throughout the entirety of our relationships with academic universities and institutions. We understand the need for additional funding required to allocate legal resources to the creation of a Cardano-based LMS given the responsibility we have as an entity to ensure compliance for these solutions when providing them to significant clients. The establishment of a proper legal framework for our White Label Suite Solutions and White Label LMS is key to allowing this entire proposal to thrive.

Cost Breakdown:

1.) 30,000 ADA For 2-3 Attorney Legal Fees:

Rate: $200/HR

Maximum Hours: ~75 Combined Hours Over 1 Months

2.) 10,000 ADA For Misc. Government Legal Fees

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Part-Time Hiring Of Graphic Designers & Front-End Developers For Enhanced UI Functionality/Appearance/Materials For The White Label Solutions & Cardano-Based LMSs: 35,000 ADA

We are requesting 35,000 ADA for the part-time hiring of well-established graphic designers to help enhance the course creation UI/UX, and refine the UI/UX of our developed and newly developed features for the LMS and white label solution. We aim to allocate this segment of funding to build out a proper layout of how the features will be structured and appear on the white-label solutions and LMSs that look aesthetically pleasing and enhance the end-user experience. With the expertise of proper design agencies to translate the vision to paper before we begin the development process, we can develop a clear plan to best approach the development of this massive yet feasible project. This process in the beginning will be invaluable for us to clearly outline the vision of the features and LMS we plan to build. A portion will also be allocated for the production of marketing, sales, and platform preview materials to make them digestible for the client bases we target. This minority portion will be fully allocated towards the temporary hiring of freelance graphic designers/marketing agencies for the creation of branded marketing/sales materials for our team to utilize. This allocation of the funding will be of crucial benefit to allowing our hard work of delivering the proposed solutions we've highlighted in this proposal to gain exposure and acceptance by students, teachers, businesses, universities, stake pool operators, and so much more.

Cost Breakdown:

1.) 15,000 ADA For Hiring Of 3 Freelance UI/UX Graphic Designers

Rate: ~$50/HR

Maximum Hours: ~150 Hours Over 1 Months

2.) 10,000 ADA For Hiring Of 2 Freelance Sales/Marketing Designers

Rate: ~$70/HR

Maximum Hours: ~70 Hours Over 1 Month

3.) 10,000 ADA For Hiring Of 1 Freelance Branding Digital Artists

Rate: ~$100/HR

Maximum Hours: ~50 Hours Over 1 Months

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Hiring Of Security Firm To Ensure Security & Reliability Of The LMSs & White Label Solutions: 15,000 ADA'

Our final request for funding is in the amount of 15,000 ADA for the hiring of a former security firm we have collaborated with in the past to ensure no exploits existed with our infrastructure, new platform, and newly developed features. We are tremendously confident in our abilities to secure our platform with no reported exploits or breaches in any form throughout the entirety of our development and deployment of Work Courses, but we do believe this final allocation of funding will allow our team to approach clients with confidence knowing they can feel comfortable seeing our infrastructure, features, and technology have been reviewed for exploits by a well-established security firm who has proven valuable each time we coordinate with them on our development efforts. This allocation of 15,000 ADA empowers our platform, technology, and project for the betterment of the Cardano ecosystem, serving as the metaphorical "final piece to the puzzle." External review for security purposes will be tremendously valuable given our current and planned blockchain-based features, and this funding will enable us to obtain just that.

Cost Breakdown:

1.) 15,000 For Hiring Of Firm For Security/Functionality Testing

Rate: ~$200/HR

Maximus Hours: ~35 Hours Over 1 Month

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

The expansion of the White Label Solution provides a concrete representation of value for money by empowering various stakeholders in the Cardano ecosystem. Entrepreneurs, educators, consultants, businesses, and stake pool operators will gain access to tools they desperately need to engage with their communities, monetize or token-gate their content, and educate their audience. Our White Label Solution can serve as their own website/platform, become an extension of their ecosystem, or empower them in hundreds of other ways. It can seamlessly integrate a variety of SocialFi components that enhance and personalize the engagement experience between the end-user/audience and the creator/business. By providing these tools to people in the Cardano ecosystem, our White Label Solution creates value for money by making businesses more efficient, creating monetization opportunities for creators, empowering consulting firms and development agencies to attract new clients, and empowering stake pool operators to onboard new delegators, ultimately contributing to the growth and adoption of the Cardano network.

We can empower stake pool operators and provide the tools they need to engage with their delegators is a unique and powerful experience that those who stake or delegate on other chains would never have. We can provide marketing/consulting firms and development agencies powerful infrastructure that attracts new businesses, talented developers and consultants, lowers prices, and provides more resources for companies to outsource in Cardano. We can increase audience sizes of content creators within this ecosystem by offering them personalized platforms with endless capabilities; translating into more eyes on the Cardano ecosystem, the projects, and the native tokens they cover, and becomes a vehicle for onboarding like never before. Onboarding new course materials for Cardano with an enhanced and superior version of Work Courses that contains thousands of courses is another avenue that serves to bring value to Cardano by contributing to this ecosystem's growth in terms of users and educational resources. Collectively, this infrastructure can power the web-based applications of a majority of Cardano projects, creators, and businesses in a versatile manner that empowers them all in different fashions. 

The development of a separate LMS product with Cardano functionality also creates an opportunity to capture the educational industry in a rather unique fashion in a time of immense opportunity and adolescence. Cardano has prided itself on its potential to power students across the world with enhanced learning experiences where they own their data. The development of this learning management system makes that dream a reality that can revolutionize the academic sector and solidifies Cardano's position as a leading blockchain for educational systems unlike any other.

Accelerating real-world adoption of Cardano through the academic sector by servicing universities with an LMS is a superior and novel concept that serves to great value of the ecosystem by onboarding millions of students across the world. These collective efforts also can attract massive institutional interest and capital from various industries to utilize our infrastructure and Cardano's capabilities. Creating a learning management system that has blockchain capabilities - such as Digital IDs, certificates earned and minted as NFTs, wallet log-in capabilities, token gating, and so much can establish Cardano as the premier blockchain for Academia and their digital learning platforms as well as high-profile institutions for internal training programs.

Moreover, the development of a Cardano-based LMS can provide immense value to businesses operating in and outside of the Cardano ecosystem. The learning management system will be tailorable to develop internal training programs that properly train employees, outline their roles in the business, share the company's values and goals, share crucial information about the work environment and structure, and whatever else the businesses who seek our services desire. This Cardano-based LMS can enable projects to pursue structure and organization within their company, develop proper hiring practices and orientation programs, and create a far superior working environment that empowers the team to work at their best and generate more revenue.

Overall, this funding opportunity will allow us to capture significant market share across various industries by leveraging Cardano's blockchain technology to develop a wide array of new features/capabilities. Our initiative aims to onboard millions new users to Cardano solutions over the next decade, attract tens of millions of dollars in capital, empower a wide variety of demographics in Cardano, and provide unparalleled value to the ecosystem.

The value proposition of our detailed proposal lies in its ability to empower virtually every segment of the Cardano ecosystem while also targeting many industries beyond it. The funding will enable us to streamline our development process, ensuring seamless integration with universities, educational institutions, and businesses. If approved for funding, we strongly believe this initiative will become one of the most lucrative and impactful ventures Cardano has ever witnessed and transform the educational landscape entirely. With the potential to unlock capital from various multi-billion dollar indsutries - primarily the $142B EdTech industry - and onboard the hundreds of millions of students who will use digital learning platforms over the next decade, as 'Ada Whale' stated: Work Courses is the type of platform "that will come to define Cardano."