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[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

When I headed the Yoroi help desk at Emurgo (and later the Milkomeda helpdesk at dcSpark) I found that every day queries would come in with users whose issue stemmed form some basic confusion or misunderstanding about Cardano itself. A large percentage of the tickets were solved by explaining the situation and directing these users to the relevant online resources. I will set up a community-funded help desk where users can send their questions and problems and get help from a trustworthy and reliable human with a track record of providing this service for the Cardano community.

This task will cover the initial set up of a Zendesk help desk and operation until the end of the next round of Catalyst funding. Funding for continued operation beyond that point (and eventual expansion if needed) will be provided in future Catalyst fund rounds.

[IMPACT] Please describe how your proposed solution will address the Challenge that you have submitted it in.

This will help every dapp and product in the ecosystem by providing somewhere to redirect support inquiries that pertain to Cardano itself instead of the product or service being offered.

[IMPACT] What are the main risks that could prevent you from delivering the project successfully and please explain how you will mitigate each risk?

The only potential risk is that the help desk gets flooded with too many inquiries too soon, while it is still in this initial phase and being run by one person. This is highly unlikely, however, since it will take time for knowledge of the help desk to spread and for people to start linking to it.

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed plan, including timeline and key milestones for delivering your proposal.

I will configure hosting, email, and Zendesk. The setup process should take less than a week, and updates will be posted on the lionmode.io website. Once the helpdesk is ready, we will also announce it on twitter and spread the word around in various Telegram and Discord chats as well as direct communications to key figures in the Cardano community. We will then operate the help desk with the remaining funds until the next Catalyst funding round ends.

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown.

Hosting (3 months, robust plan capable of handling Zendesk and supporting heavy traffic): $200

Zendesk license (cheapest license, 3 months): $150

Operation costs (low cost since usage will be low to start): 1800

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide details of the people who will work on the project.

This project is initiated by Leo King, owner of LIONMODE.io, a service providing localization and content services to companies projects related to Cardano. Leo King previously set up, managed, and operated the official help desk for the Yoroi wallet as well as the official help desk for the Milkomeda protocol as part of the Milkomeda Foundation.

[FEASIBILITY] If you are funded, will you return to Catalyst in a later round for further funding? Please explain why / why not.

Yes, to continue funding operation costs and adding additional support agents if and when necessary.

[FEASIBILITY] Are you or any member of your team working on any other proposals in this Fund9?

[FEASIBILITY] Are you or your team working on any other proposals from previous Funds?

[AUDITABILITY] Please describe what you will measure to track your project's progress, and how will you measure these?

The helpdesk in its initial form will be put online within a week of starting work on this task, and once online, it will be announced via the lionmode.io webpage and SNS.

[AUDITABILITY] What does success for this project look like?

There exists a community-funded help desk for Cardano, operated by skilled and trusted agents who can troubleshoot and assist with incoming Cardano-related problems in a friendly and professional way for the benefit of everyone in the ecosystem. The helpdesk is widely known and used by many users in the Cardano community.

[AUDITABILITY] Please provide information on whether this proposal is a continuation of a previously funded project in Catalyst or an entirely new one.

This is a new project