Economic Restaking Pod: Onboarding new users to Cardano, through the delegation of value

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Philipp Zimmerer

[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

Brandooor - Creative Lead

Ham - Head of Business Development

Primordial Truth - Project Manager

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

4

[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)

PERQ enables EVM users to generate yield with their idle capital, with no fees or lockups. The exchange of yield for token allocations bootstraps Cardano projects, and fosters true user retention.

[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?

No

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

PERQ has chosen not to make the code open-source for several strategic reasons:

1. Security and Risk Mitigation: By keeping PERQ's codebase private, the project can reduce the risk of potential vulnerabilities being exploited by malicious actors. Open-source code can be scrutinized by anyone, including those with malicious intent, so a private codebase helps safeguard the platform and its users.
2. Competitive Advantage: The underlying technology and innovations behind PERQ offer a unique market position. Keeping the code proprietary ensures that competitors cannot easily replicate or copy these innovations, preserving PERQ's competitive edge in the market.
3. Development Control: A closed-source model allows the project team to maintain complete control over the development and evolution of the platform. Ensuring a consistent vision, development timeline, and implementation of new features without external influences or forks.
4. Licensing and Commercialization: Not making the platform open-source enables PERQ to explore future monetize opportunities, including licensing the technology or specific features to other projects or businesses. This can create additional revenue streams without the risk of others using the technology freely.

Though not open-source, PERQ remains committed to transparency and will provide public audits and security assessments to ensure user trust and platform integrity.

[METADATA] Horizons

DeFi

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

PERQ and its economic restaking model enables the creation of a Cardano ecosystem wide launchpool, a Cardano Pod.

Pod Mechanics

1. A vault is created and co-incentivised by each of the participating Cardano projects
2. Users on Ethereum Mainnet that want exposure to the Cardano ecosystem deposit base assets in the vault - ETH, USDC, DAI, USDT
3. Deposited capital is then routed by Yelay to DeFi bluechips (Yearn, Gearbox, Morpho, Curve etc.) where it will start earning yield
4. The yield is split away from the deposited capital and routed to our Cardano Pod partners treasuries, and in return depositors receive incentives on Cardano either as live tokens from post-TGE projects or as easy and transparent TGE allocations to pre-TGE projects

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

The Cardano pods ability to on-board new users to Cardano is based on the fact that we are fishing where the big fish are - Ethereum Mainnet. While their deposit and the yield strategies remain on Ethereum, all rewards will be received on Cardano, meaning we are providing one click user onboarding and the economic alignment of liquidity from Ethereum to Cardano.

Looking at this more granularly, we are not just on-boarding users to Cardano but more specifically to your ecosystem's strongest upcoming projects, solving the cold start problem by assisting with community building and supplementing go to market strategies. Our economic restaking model is also beneficial to the wider Cardano community as it democratises access to pre-seed and seed projects at a time usually reserved for institutional investors.

A successful Cardano Pod campaign may also attract new builders to the ecosystem. As they will be able to leverage the Cardano Pod to build their community and economically align Ethereum liquidity at a very early stage, mitigating a lot of cold start problems start-ups face.

[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?

While the economic restaking model is a new concept not currently live on any other chains, PERQ has operated its standard launchpool model for over 6 months now and from a bootstrapped MVP we have seen great success; 2200+ unique depositors, a peak TVL of $25 million, $400,000 distributed to our project partners and $500,000 worth of incentives distributed to depositors.

From preliminary discussions with both ecosystem participants and Cardano native builders there is appetite for a Cardano Pod given the benefits to the community, native projects and the ecosystem as a whole. After these discussions we feel the Cardano Pod offering is feasible and the PERQ core team are capable of making this happen.

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

Cardano Pod Design

Output:

1. Figma file with the design mockup

2. Economic restaking document, explaining the concept in detail

3. Communication / branding package

Acceptance criteria:

1. The Figma file will include fully interactive design mockups with all core screens and user flows, adhering to the Cardano ecosystem theme and spotlighting participating projects.

2. The Economic Restaking document will provide a comprehensive explanation of the restaking concept, including key principles, practical applications, and use cases, with supporting data and references, written in a clear and concise manner suitable for both technical and non-technical readers.

3. The branding package will include a complete set of visual assets (logos, colour palettes, fonts, etc.), a brand style guide, and three adaptable communication templates (social media, presentations, emails), all consistent with the Pod identity and the Cardano ecosystem’s theme.

Evidence:

1. Link to figma prototype with navigation capability showcasing the UI/UX of the Pod

2. Docsend link to a Economic restaking document explaining the concept in detail

3. Link to a Google Drive file containing the branding package

Technical Implementation of Pod

Output:

1. Cardano Pod deployment to staging / testnet for testing and validation

2. Business to business framework (project onboarding document complete with incentive distribution plans)

3. Developer support channel set up on Telegram

4. Ticketing bot live in Discord to assist with community troubleshooting

Acceptance criteria:

1. The staging/testnet environment must allow for full functionality testing, and must pass initial validation checks, including smart contract execution, transaction handling, and integration with required network services.

2. An onboarding document will be created, clearly explaining the workflows for the incentive distribution plan and project onboarding processes, including flowcharts, step-by-step guides, and definitions of key variables and conditions, ensuring all stakeholders can follow and execute the workflows.

3. The support channel will be set up and monitored by the development team in order to ensure all bugs and feedback is carefully collected and documented for further review

4. The ticketing bot will be concurrently set up in the PERQ community Discord to support depositors with their queries. 

Evidence:

1. Link to the staging environment 

2. Link to the on-boarding document 

3. Link to the Support Telegram channel

4. Link to functional ticketing bot in the PERQ community Discord

Project Onboarding

Output:

1. Successful onboarding of three Cardano Pod participating projects.
2. Each project’s profile setup and integrated into the platform.

Acceptance Criteria:

1. Walkthrough sessions will be conducted with each project team to familiarize them with the platform's functionalities, including yield strategies, user interactions, and incentive distribution. The walkthrough will confirm that each project is ready for participation. A public announcement of each participating project will be made via their own social media channels, indicating their official alignment and participation in the Pod.
2. Each project will have its profile created and integrated on a mock-up of the Cardano pod, complete with key information and branding, with the help of the on-boarding document. The information submitted by each project team will be reviewed and validated, ensuring all necessary documents are correct and in line with the platform's standards.

Evidence:

1. Link to social media posts for each of the three participating projects, confirming their alignment and future participation in the Cardano Pod at launch as well as an educational post that explains the economic restaking concept to their community, confirming that the walkthrough and on-boarding process has been successful.
2. Links to onboarding documents and profiles for each project, stored in a shared folder.

Pod Launch

Output:

1. Cardano Pod deployment on production

2. Social channels announcements

3. Final report

Acceptance criteria:

1. The Pod code will be audited in order to deploy with zero critical errors, meeting all functional and security requirements.The deployment process will include validation of smart contract execution, system integration, and operational readiness, with a rollback plan in place.

2. Pod launch announcements will be posted across all designated social media channels, including Twitter, Discord, Telegram, and any relevant platforms at the time of launch. Each announcement should align with both the Cardano Pod’s and each project’s communication strategy, providing clear and consistent messaging, and include visual assets, links, and key details to engage the crypto community.

3. The final report will be delivered in 1 month’s time after the Cardano Pod launch, detailing all the metrics generated up to that point, including but not limited to: total TVL, peak TVL, number of unique depositors and yield generated.

Evidence:

1. Link to a fully functional PERQ app, with a live Cardano Pod section

2. Links to social media posts from all participating projects (including PERQ) that the pod is now live and ready to accept deposits

3. DocSend link with the final report in .PDF.

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

Phil - Founder

Phil leads the venture builder at Faculty Group, after developing the concept and designing the product in house he has launched PERQ as a personal initiative, and currently serves as project lead. With over a decade of experience spanning all aspects of the crypto market, they have built, advised, and overseen numerous successful projects.

Brandooor - Creative Lead

With over a decade of experience spanning global creative agencies and startups, Brandooor brings a unique blend of storytelling, branding, and UX/UI product development expertise. They have worked with S&P 500 brands and led campaigns for deep tech and AI startups. In recent years, Brandooor has transitioned into the web3 space, collaborating with disruptive brands to craft impactful narratives and innovative user experiences.

Andy - Designer

With over a decade of experience building and scaling startups, Andy brings a deep understanding of product design and brand strategy to the team.

Guilherme - Lead Dev

An accomplished software architect and developer, who has 20 years of experience leading development teams into building scalable, market ready solutions.

Primordial Truth - Project Manager

Versatile problem-solver with a strong focus on human relations and effective communication. Over 5 years of experience in project management, business development and sales pitching.

Ham - Business Development

An adaptable and motivated individual actively engaged in crypto since 2020 with a background in hospital medicine. Now focussed solely on forging strong partnerships with ecosystems, their native builders and their projects to bootstrap treasuries, improve token distribution and build community well before token launch.

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

Total Budget Request: ₳408,036

1. Developer Costs: ₳177,161 (43% of total budget)

A significant portion of the budget will be allocated to our technical team to expand our existing codebase to facilitate pod functionality and design. This development phase will also include a audit to ensure the security of the depositors’ funds, mitigating any potential risks.

• Milestones:
• Month 1-2: Initial development (40% of dev costs)
• Month 3-4: Codebase completion & audit (60% of dev costs)

2. UI/UX Design: ₳ 70,864 (17% of total budget)

Our design team, consisting of two full-time professionals, will implement the pod design with a focus on both UI and UX. This will ensure seamless integration of the Cardano pod within our app, aligning with Cardano's ecosystem and brand.

• Milestones:
• Month 1-2: UI/UX wireframe and initial design (50% of design costs)
• Month 3-4: Final design and implementation (50% of design costs)

3. Community Management: ₳17,716 (4% of total budget)

A dedicated community manager will engage users throughout the pod’s lifecycle, addressing queries via Telegram and Discord. This role will include educating the community about yield strategies, security measures, and troubleshooting, as well as managing a ticketing bot for user support and being the first point of contact for technical queries, collecting information on bugs and business development.

• Milestones:
• Month 2-4: Ongoing community engagement and support (distributed evenly over this period)

4. Marketing Team: ₳59,053 (14% of total budget)

To drive community engagement and ensure a successful pod launch, a portion of the budget will be allocated to our social media marketing team. This team will generate awareness and excitement on both our channels and those of our project partners, fostering deeper engagement.

• Milestones:
• Month 1-4: Marketing and engagement campaigns (distributed evenly over this period)

5. Project Management: ₳44,290 (11% of total budget)

A project manager will oversee the coordination and execution of the entire project, ensuring smooth operations, timely delivery, and communication across teams.

• Milestones:
• Month 1-4: Project oversight and management (distributed evenly over this period)

6. Business Development: ₳44,290 (11% of total budget)

Our business developer will support efforts to establish partnerships and collaborations with Cardano projects, in order to on-board them into the Pod. Once the Pod is live, the business developer will generate further business opportunities to maintain a healthy pipeline of future Pod partners.

• Milestones:
• Month 1-4: Business development activities and partnership outreach (distributed evenly over this period)

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

Sustainability and Longevity:

• The one-time setup cost ensures long-term use and value, as the Cardano Pod is designed to operate in perpetuity.
• Projects can join and exit the pod based on their needs, creating a continuous cycle of user engagement without recurring setup costs.

Efficient Resource Allocation:

• Once established, the pod system allows multiple projects to participate and benefit without the need for repeated infrastructure investments.
• The cost of onboarding new projects is minimal, providing ongoing value as the pod can accommodate fresh projects indefinitely.

Maximized User Engagement:

• The pod creates a seamless entry point for EVM users into the Cardano ecosystem, ensuring new user flow and engagement with minimal ongoing costs.
• This maximized user onboarding delivers long-term network effects, benefiting all Cardano-based projects over time.

Yield Distribution:

• Projects benefit from yield and users as soon as they join, representing immediate value generation relative to cost.
• These yields provide measurable financial benefits for participating projects, justifying the initial investment.

Ecosystem Growth:

• By supporting emerging projects, the pod fosters innovation and diversity within the Cardano ecosystem, helping it remain competitive and continuously evolving.
• The economic restaking model can be seen as a way to support Cardano builders which if successful will see an influx of new projects driving ecosystem expansion, increasing the overall network value.