GTM Acceleration for Cardano Builders - STORM Partners

[Proposal setup] Proposal title

Please provide your proposal title

GTM Acceleration for Cardano Builders - STORM Partners

[Proposal Summary] Budget Information

Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA

59500

[Proposal Summary] Time

Please specify how many months you expect your project to last

8

[Proposal Summary] Translation Information

Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated

No

Original Language

en

[Proposal Summary] Problem Statement

What is the problem you want to solve?

Many Cardano projects struggle to effectively communicate their unique value, position themselves clearly, and engage optimal acquisition channels, limiting their market potential and adoption.

[Proposal Summary] Supporting Documentation

Supporting links

• https://storm.partners
,
• https://leanpub.com/buildingcardanoswitzerland
,
• https://qrco.de/bfkMqa
,
• https://www.storm.partners/case-study/operationalizing-decentralization-for-cardano

[Proposal Summary] Project Dependencies

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

No

Describe any dependencies or write 'No dependencies'

No dependencies

[Proposal Summary] Project Open Source

Will your project's outputs be fully open source?

No

License and Additional Information

We’ll openly share any reports or deliverables required by the statement of milestones. Any confidential or proprietary information of the Cardano projects remains their purview.

[Theme Selection] Theme

Please choose the most relevant theme and tag related to the outcomes of your proposal

Accelerator

[Campaign Category] Category Questions

Who you’re targeting, how you’ll reach them, and why this matters for Cardano.

We are targeting 3-5 technically strong Cardano builders and startups who struggle with market positioning, communication, and adoption. These projects often excel on the technical side but lack structured GTM strategies. We will reach them through onboarding surveys, ICP profiling, and targeted outreach within the ecosystem. For Cardano, this matters because underexposed but high-potential projects often fail to gain traction, limiting adoption. By accelerating their growth and visibility, we enhance Cardano’s ecosystem maturity, network effects, and usage of Cardano-native products.

Provide a list of key activities of your project?

• Conducting initial discovery surveys and market research with candidate projects.
• Developing Ideal Customer Personas and acquisition channel mapping tailored to each project.
• Designing execution-ready marketing and growth strategies, with clear KPIs.
• Running targeted marketing campaigns across selected digital channels.
• Tracking performance with real-time analytics and continuous optimization.
• Delivering a close-out report and video summary for transparency and community learning.

What are your success metrics?

Success will be measured through a combination of quantitative and qualitative metrics. Quantitatively, we will track engagement rates, conversions, user growth, and campaign performance across multiple channels. Qualitatively, we will assess clarity of value propositions, effectiveness of messaging, and improvements in market positioning. At the ecosystem level, success is defined as demonstrable increases in visibility and adoption of supported Cardano projects.

[Your Project and Solution] Solution

Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem

STORM Partners' Growth & Marketing aims to provide between 3-5 Cardano builders and technical implementors with sophisticated go-to-market strategies designed specifically for high-growth impact. Campaigns will encompass initial market research and competitor analysis, creation of targeted content across multiple media types, strategic search and social campaigns, developer-focused communications, and continuous testing and optimization. These elements are integrated into frictionless, conversion-oriented marketing campaigns that simplify complex blockchain concepts, driving accelerated adoption, user engagement, and sustainable growth.

Our previous Cardano-specific engagements have validated this approach. For example, in our F11 Catalyst-funded initiative “Grassroots: Positioning Cardano as the Swiss L1 of Choice”, we developed a comprehensive GTM strategy playbook tailored to increase Cardano’s visibility and brand presence within Switzerland. This 130+ page long book included a Swiss blockchain market analysis, Cardano’s unique value propositions, potential sales objections, regional audience profiling, a 6-month community activation plan, campaign blueprints, media strategies, and practical pilot case studies.

[Your Project and Solution] Impact

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

Delivering measurable market growth for Cardano projects is the foundation of our positive impact. Leveraging our extensive blockchain marketing expertise and successful track record with Cardano, we plan to architect growth loops that capitalize on Cardano's network effects, enhancing ecosystem visibility and user retention.

STORM Partners utilizes results-driven KPIs, including engagement rates, conversions, and user growth metrics, to continuously optimize marketing efforts.

Our approach ensures that marketing strategies align seamlessly with technical excellence, supporting sustainable growth, robust community engagement, and increased market presence.

[Your Project and Solution] Capabilities & Feasibility

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

STORM Partners has a proven track record of successfully executing marketing initiatives within Cardano and the broader Web3 ecosystem, bringing tangible growth outcomes and verified campaign successes. Our Growth & Marketing team comprises channel-specific experts with relevant experience and proven achievements:

Within Cardano, we’ve successfully delivered F11’s Grassroots initiative (“Positioning Cardano as the Swiss L1 of Choice”), producing a comprehensive GTM playbook with audience segmentation, regional brand strategies, and campaign frameworks We also participated as partners and mentors in both the Venture Hub and CV Labs accelerator programs, including Demo Day prp.

More recently, STORM Partners has been supporting the Intersect Product Committee with direct enterprise outreach and discovery calls. Recent conversations include enterprises/NGOs like Hublot, Vodafone, Médecins Sans Frontières, the International Committee of the Red Cross, among many others. In parallel, we have been collecting insights from emerging Cardano dApps on behalf of the Committee. Early sprints have focused on teams such as Strike Finance, Bodega Market, and Flow, with more to follow as we expand coverage.

In addition, STORM Partners is delivering both an off-chain and an on-chain impact analysis of Project Catalyst fund distribution and performance for selected proposals throughout funds 9 to 12. These funded initiatives are in progress with milestones published and tracked on Catalyst, which shows our capability to produce rigorous reporting and provide valuable data-driven insights for the community. Some case studies include Catalyst proposals from Rare Evo, USDM, MLabs CTL and Plutarch, Socious, and Lido Nation.

Outside of Cardano, we’ve supported leading blockchain projects such as:

• MultiversX (Elrond)
• Alien Worlds
• Telcoin

The work we’ve done across these includes branding, public relations, token launch planning, user acquisition strategy, interim CMO support, media relations, campaign execution, and community activation, among others.

For this proposal, the scope is narrower and clearly defined: we’ll support 3-5 Cardano builders with ICP profiling, acquisition channel mapping, and execution-ready campaign strategies. Outputs are tied to concrete deliverables in each milestone. We’ll track and report everything transparently, using frameworks that have already worked in similar contexts.

[Milestones] Project Milestones

Milestone Title

Project Initiation & Strategic Alignment

Milestone Outputs

• Project onboarding document with clear project overview.
• Initial market research survey.
• ICP ranking document outlining responsibilities, readiness analysis, and prioritized growth potential of candidate projects.

Acceptance Criteria

• A structured Project Onboarding document (minimum 3 pages in length) that provides a clear overview of the project initiation stage. This document should outline the specific responsibilities of each team member, the milestone timeline, the deliverables format, and the communication channels that will be used throughout the project. The purpose of this document is to ensure that all contributors and stakeholders are aligned on expectations from the beginning.
• A ranked list of potential projects that is produced according to predefined criteria focused on marketing readiness and overall growth potential. This list will be presented in .pdf format and must include a transparent explanation of the scoring logic used, so that the reasoning behind the ranking is understandable to readers.
• Evidence of the discovery survey process, demonstrating that the survey form was shared with a minimum of 10 projects. This evidence should include a direct link to the survey form itself.

Evidence of Completion

• Link to project initiation via pdf
• Link to Marketing Readiness and Growth Potential via pdf
• Link to discovery survey form.

Note: Documents and links will be hosted on a public Notion page. We may additionally consider providing the evidence in other media to facilitate milestone reviewer access, but this shall not be the basis of a milestone rejection.

Delivery Month

2

Cost

17500

Progress

20 %

Milestone Title

Persona Profiling & Channel Strategy Development

Milestone Outputs

• Persona profiles with acquisition channel mapping, detailing motivations, adoption barriers, and engagement triggers
• Marketing execution strategy outlining KPIs, channel rationale, and campaign feasibility

Acceptance Criteria

• A PDF document with at least four pages of lenght that develops at least three distinct Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) personas. Each persona must include an analysis of motivations, potential barriers to adoption, and specific engagement triggers. Each persona should be tied to a ranked list of acquisition channels.
• A comprehensive marketing strategy document delivered in .pdf format and no shorter than 5 pages. This strategy should describe the execution plans in sufficient detail to demonstrate feasibility. It’ll include execution plans, performance KPIs, and a rationale for channel selection and messaging.

Evidence of Completion

• Link to ICP personas via pdf
• Link to marketing campaign execution strategy via pdf

Note: Documents and links will be hosted on a public Notion page. We may additionally consider providing the evidence in other mediums to facilitate milestone reviewer access, but this shall not be the basis of a milestone rejection.

Delivery Month

5

Cost

17500

Progress

50 %

Milestone Title

Campaign Execution & Optimization

Milestone Outputs

• Marketing campaign implementation across selected channels with clear tracking of spend and engagement
• Real-time analytics and optimization including reports, dashboards, and performance-driven pivots

Acceptance Criteria

• A detailed performance report in .pdf format with a minimum length of six pages. This report must present analytics drawn from at least two different marketing channels, and include engagement rates, and conversion metrics. Qualitative summary of learnings and pivots, tied to the original ICP assumptions.
• A collection of screenshots, links, or analytics dashboards that provide verifiable proof that campaigns were actively run. This evidence should also include a basic breakdown of marketing spend, alongside a description of the optimization changes

Evidence of Completion

• Link to “Campaign performance data and insights” via pdf
• Link to a pdf compiling campaign execution

Note: Documents and links will be hosted on a public notion page. We may additionally consider providing the evidence in other mediums to facilitate milestone reviewer access, but this shall not be the basis of a milestone rejection.

Delivery Month

7

Cost

17500

Progress

80 %

Milestone Title

Project Conclusion & Reporting

Milestone Outputs

• Project close-out report summarizing execution, results, challenges, and lessons learned for community reuse
• Project summary video (2–3 min) presenting key findings and outcomes, hosted on a public platform

Acceptance Criteria

• In accordance with the Catalyst guidelines, a written report must also be included that clearly documents the project execution. This should present an honest account of successes and challenges, reflect on both the strengths and the areas where improvements were needed, and set out conclusions that would be genuinely useful for other community members or proposers. The goal here is not to present only positive outcomes but to provide a balanced and transparent review that strengthens collective learning.
• In accordance with the Catalyst guidelines, a short video summary of at least 2-3 min, containing the closeout report, hosted on a recognized platform like YouTube, with a link included.

Evidence of Completion

• Link to a .pdf Public Close-out Report summarizing campaign execution
• Link to a public YouTube video

Note: Documents and links will be hosted on a public notion page. We may additionally consider providing the evidence in other mediums to facilitate milestone reviewer access, but this shall not be the basis of a milestone rejection.

Delivery Month

8

Cost

7000

Progress

100 %

[Final Pitch] Budget & Costs

Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

Milestone 1 – Project Initiation & Strategic Alignment (17,500 ADA)

Covers onboarding, internal kick-off, market discovery surveys, and analysis of the marketing readiness of candidate projects.

Milestone 2 – Persona Profiling & Channel Strategy Development (17,500 ADA)

Funds the design of ideal customer personas, mapping of effective acquisition channels, and drafting of execution-ready campaign strategies.

Milestone 3 – Campaign Execution & Optimization (17,500 ADA)

Supports the actual roll-out of targeted content and channel campaigns, as well as real-time analytics and iterative improvements.

Milestone 4 – Project Conclusion & Reporting (7,500 ADA)

Includes the creation of the final impact report, marketing performance summary, and distribution of learnings to the Cardano community.

Billing rate logic:

Services are calculated based on role-specific rates:

• 300 ADA/hour for specialists (content, growth, research)
• 500 ADA/hour for project and account managers
• 750 ADA/hour for directors involved in high-leverage strategy, oversight, or ecosystem alignment

Estimated hours per milestone: ~40–50 hours, depending on complexity and team composition.

Value safeguard: Time is deployed with cost-efficiency in mind. Senior contributors are only involved when necessary to unblock strategic bottlenecks or deliver high-impact components.

[Final Pitch] Value for Money

How does the cost of the project represent value for the Cardano ecosystem?

This proposal offers high leverage for the ecosystem by accelerating the go-to-market capabilities of underexposed but technically strong Cardano projects. STORM Partners brings senior Web3 growth expertise at below-market rates, thanks to our strategic commitment to Cardano.

• Directors are only engaged when necessary to unblock high-leverage strategic decisions, with most execution handled by specialists and managers to ensure cost-efficiency.
• Our campaigns directly contribute to increased visibility, adoption, and usage of Cardano-native products, with on-chain growth as the ultimate KPI.
• The structured milestone model ensures transparency, delivery accountability, and community-facing reporting at each step.

Ultimately, this is not a general marketing budget; it’s a professional intervention to unlock traction for high-potential Cardano projects and boost ecosystem maturity.

[Required Acknowledgements] Consent & Confirmation

Terms and Conditions:

Yes