Cardano Center Poland stage 2 - SPO

[IMPACT]

The aim of this proposal is to launch and maintain high-quality Stake Pool to make Cardano Center Poland self-contained from external funding, in the meantime strengthening Cardano network by providing additional block producer.

We agree that Cardano Community Hubs should be self-sufficient on as early stage as possible to continuously improve and develop further. The Cardano network gives us a perfect tool for that - stake pools. By making Cardano Center Poland a SPO (Stake Pool Operator) we ensure that the Polish branch of Cardano enthusiasts will keep having a place to meet, find valuable content and share ideas focused on the Cardano ecosystem, also in a post-Catalyst stage.

Our team talked to a few existing Stake Pool Operators from our local community and they tend to support that idea. Thanks to these talks we are able to estimate our needs in terms of future tasks, required funding and manpower.

As spreading the word is the key to success, a great piece of our proposal is marketing funding. Please note that this is not going to be a pure SPO marketing but planned ads should play a big role in spreading the word about Cardano ecosystem possibilities in general, as well as the Polish Cardano Community Hub (Cardano Center Poland). One of the most important parts in it will be content created especially with focus on other blockchains' communities which is planned to be spread via local crypto media.

As mentioned in the challenge settings, Cardano Community Hubs should become independent from Catalyst funding. We came to the conclusion that thanks to Cardano network structure, Stake Pool is the best possible way to achieve it.

What is more, Stake Pool itself gives a lot of new possibilities to spread the word about Cardano and Polish Hub. We may target people not necessarily from Poland but also those who value and enjoy our country, in the meantime expanding our "local" hub to become more "global".

Apart from providing more decentralized network, our Stake Pool should also introduce interesting and innovative elements like participants badges (CNFTs) which later may be used online (for special access) or during live activities (see Cardano Center Poland Live: https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/399413/) and so on. Possibilities are endless.

1. As we, at least initially, plan to run our Stake Pool using Virtual Private Servers (VPS), we eliminated one of the biggest risks: the geo-political situation (EU Eastern border, so unpredictable).
2. Another risk is the ability to properly install and maintain the Stake Pool, with regular updates and close to 100% uptime. We have already found an experienced Linux Specialist who is willing to take part in our project.
3. Important factor is producing blocks - so the lack of active stake may be a serious risk. We assessed possibilities and came to the conclusion there is enough room on the market for mission-driven SPOs like ours.

[FEASIBILITY]

As soon as this proposal is accepted:

• contract with Linux Specialist regarding installation and maintaining Stake Pool
• acquiring appropriate servers
• launching Stake Pool within one-two weeks
• marketing activities

2nd month and further:

• keeping our Stake Pool up-to-date
• marketing activities (ads, influencers, cooperations with projects to provide additional incentives for stakers; CNFT drop for stakers)
• direct talks with big stakeholders
• growing active stake to produce blocks consistently (~2M ADA)

6 months:

• become totally independent from external funding as Cardano Center Poland, with all activities included as described in our successful Fund 7 proposal (work in progress) https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/381137

• VPS servers (3 instances, for block producer and relay nodes): $40x3x6 months = $720
• Linux specialist work: ~10 hours/month x 6 months = 60 hours; 25th percentile hourly wage according to Google: $26; $26 x 60 = $1560
• Marketing: social media targeted ads, giveaways, cooperation with influencers, banners, content creation and publications; $500x6 months = $3000

Any later or other activities should be covered from the Stake Pool earnings budget.

Kornel Gajewski - 4 years of experience as blockchain translator, writer and editor in top Polish crypto media outlet BeInCrypto.pl (focused mainly on "Learn" educational series, (https://pl.beincrypto.com/author/kornel/) Cardano Ambassador since 2018 (https://forum.cardano.org/u/cornl) - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kornel-gajewski-93508b165/

Nikodem Zegzda - podcaster, YouTuber, owner of Kryptowaluty Wieczorową Porą brand (https://kryptowalutywieczorowapora.pl) with focus on Cardano, entrepreneur, founder of Lideruj.pl, company focused on i.e. organizing online and offline trainings and workshops for professionals - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikodemzegzda/

Thanks to our assignments and passions we gathered a really diverse network of contacts which may be helpful in bringing this idea into reality. We have already managed to find an interested and trustworthy Linux Specialist who is willing to play a part in this project.

[AUDITABILITY]

• Our Stake Pool should be online, registered and visible on the blockchain around 2 weeks after Fund 8 finalization.
• Everyone can track our progress and active stake via https://pooltool.io or other publicly available tools.
• Marketing activities should be visible on social media pages associated with Cardano Center Poland: Telegram https://t.me/cardanopolskaADA, Discord https://discord.gg/SXSJtyfMtK, website in production: https://cardanocenter.pl and other partners (Kryptowaluty Wieczorową Porą, BeInCrypto etc.)

1. Operable Stake Pool ~2 weeks after Fund 8 completion.
2. Producing the first block during the first 2 months.
3. Acquisition of 2M+ active stake to provide stable block production.
4. At the same time growing the numbers on Cardano Center Poland social media and exploring contacts with other blockchain communities.

It is an expansion of the initial idea of Polish Cardano Community Hub - Cardano Center Poland, currently in production (https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/381137/). Community development on Telegram https://t.me/cardanopolskaADA, Discord https://discord.gg/SXSJtyfMtK. Website in production: https://cardanocenter.pl

We are here for the long term and finding our own funding sources is essential to keep the growth.

SDG Rating

SDG Goals

Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation