Turning Devs into Blockchain Devs

At Gimbalabs, we are pioneering the work of onboarding "experienced developers who are new to blockchain" to the Cardano ecosystem. In the last three months, we:

• released open source tools like Dandelion APIs and LIFT Wallet to support devs to build on & tinker with Cardano
• created education materials like Coding on Chain and Cardano Starter Kits for devs to learn what's possible on Cardano
• piloted live, project-based learning experiences where devs who are new to blockchain can work together to wrap their minds around the new implications of building on distributed and decentralized platforms
• fostered opportunities for new and experienced developers to collaborate on real projects
• supported dozens of projects within Catalyst and beyond to start to bring their ideas to life

All of this we've done by asking developers to volunteer their time and energy in hopes of an eventual payoff. With this proposal, we seek the approval of the Catalyst Community to launch the next phase of our work by supporting four developers to commit full-time to Cardano development at the dawn of the Alonzo era.
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This proposal addresses the Developer Ecosystem Challenge from two angles:

1. Growing expertise: we will directly increase the number of developers actively building on Cardano. In our work already, we are onboarding talented developers who want to understand more about blockchain in general, and Cardano in particular. We've worked hard already to "show" these devs how building on blockchain is different: what old rules still apply, and which are thrown out the window. For example, what is the role of a centralized database in a decentralized app? How can we handle user authentication using metadata and/or decentralized identity?
2. Creating tools and documentation for developers: in addition to the developers we train directly, we will create tools and documentation so that others can engage more deeply and build on Cardano. We are focused on primitive components that can applied to many use cases: authentication, storage, digital rights management, tokens with real utility like event tickets, proofs of donation, and more. This is not an exhaustive list, just a sampling of what we've been working on. As we continue to build these tools we will release documentation and learning resources so that additional devs can build specific use cases.

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What is challenging about this work is that each of our concerns depends on another:

1. In order to build end use cases, we need to have new tooling and people who understand those tools.
2. In order to understand what tooling we need, we must have end use cases in mind and people who understand the design problems we're solving.
3. In order to build dapps and tooling, we need people who are not only technically savvy, but also deeply understand the system of big ideas, technical and otherwise, underlying Cardano's implementation.
4. In order to attract these developers, we need to be able to provide clarity about what they're building in the first place, even as the Cardano platform continues to roll out.

On top of this dynamic array of concerns, we recognize that talented developers are valuable and command high salaries wherever they choose to go. We already have the experience of onboarding two very talented developers who have been unable to stick around because they need the assurance the new full-time jobs they were offered while working with us. That's why we're writing this proposal. 100% of the budget of this proposal is for developers, and represents an investment in the long-term health of Gimbalabs and the Cardano developer community.
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Once Catalyst Funds are distributed, the "Execution Phase" begins. Catalyst Fund 5 is special because when the execution phase starts in late June, the Plutus Testnet will be in full swing, and Cardano's Alonzo era will be weeks away. It is hard to overstate how much work is coming our way as the full functionality of Cardano goes online, and our global community needs more people who are prepared to do it. Our goal is to have a team in place before that happens, and we think that it's essential to build that team by growing the overall pool of Cardano developers.
Plan:

• Use the funds for this proposal to pay four developers a full-time salary for three months of full-time work
• Devs will focus on creating well-documented tools and example use cases so that more people can continue to learn what Cardano can do
• Our intention is for these developers to become leaders in Cardano blockchain development who can in turn support more devs to come aboard

--- For Example ---
In the current work of the "Gimbalabs Playground", we are diving into a series of development questions. One such question is, "How can we use metadata, native assets, smart contracts, and decentralized storage to create an event ticketing service?" As you can imagine, there are all sorts of smaller, focused questions that emerge from this big one. In the shared work of answering it, we are creating tools that will apply to a variety of use cases, and we are piloting several of those use cases. Even more importantly, we are building a community of experts who will be able to support others to use these tools. If funded, this proposal will directly support the growth of expertise in our community. We will continue to deliver the tools, accompanying documentation, and in-person opportunities to engage with our development team.

--- Summary ---

We will continue to build and refine the "Gimbalabs Playground" process for experiential, project-based learning into a product that will help organizations of all sizes to join us in the Alonzo era.

There's work to do, we have people to do it, and we'd like to pay them to do so. During the Refinement Phase, please let us know in the comments what else you'd want us to deliver, and we will incorporate that into these plans.

--- Budget ---

Total of $100,000 USD
$25,000 each for four developers to commit to 3 months of full-time development work.

--- Success Metrics ---

• 3 Months: All four developers are up to speed on how to build Dapps and tooling on Cardano, and have contributed to open source tooling and documentation.
• 6 Months: Our initial work was engaging enough to keep these developers around and the resulting tools are being used by additional devs across the Cardano ecosystem
• 12 Months: These "first four" developers are leading teams and continuing to onboard newcomers to the Cardano developer community. The tools they've created are being used in production Dapps worldwide.