Since the transition to Ecosystem Support Program Since EF Grants, we’ve talked about defining “support” more comprehensively, thinking beyond just grant funding. But what does a more comprehensive definition of support actually mean?
In practice, this means something different for each project and it starts with a conversation. ESP was designed to make a wide range of EF resources more accessible to the community, which starts with making our process accessible to anyone who may need help. We take the time to think critically about each investigationunderstand the project and explore ways we could help you. Of course we can’t fund every project, but we often can somethingalthough it recommends additional resources to investigate, such as incubators or other funding sources.
The point of this change in mindset is to make the process more flexible and tailored to individual needs – which is a good thing! At the same time, the results of this personalized process can be difficult to quantify or catalog as we can with traditional grants; so we thought it was better to show than tell. We’ve rounded up some examples of projects (and the great people behind them!) that went through the ESP survey process, received different types of support, and made it very far.
Archive node
The idea of Archive Node was born as a tweet. The hardware required to run an archive node, or the monthly fees to access archive data via an API, can be prohibitive for small projects with little or no funding. Hunter and Chase, aka DeFi dude And MystiqueRyuujin respectively, are long-time contributors to Ethereum and fully understand the challenges developers may face in gaining affordable access to necessary resources; so they looked for a way to provide access to archive node data to developers who need it.
The team needed a place to host the first node, so we provided AWS credit to get a node up and running. This will give them a good lead; but as DeFi Dude wrote in the announcement blog postOnce the project is better established, the hope is to eventually move towards a more sustainable and decentralized approach of running nodes from hardware rather than cloud services. Since the project’s unveiling in late June, the team has implemented additional nodes (with help from a community member Dan Matthews) from PieDAO, and began accepting access requests, growing a community of developers able to access the necessary data without incurring the considerable cost of setting up their own node.
Although access is currently free, the team hopes that in the long term it will be a community-funded project, with developers who need the service paying a small fraction of what they need. would cost to manage an archive node themselves. In the meantime, we’re excited to be able to help provide this valuable resource as the community around it grows!
Learn more and request access to https://archivenode.io/or follow Archive Node on Twitter @archivenode.
SaveDAI
SaveDAI started as a hackathon projectbut the team had bigger plans: it continued developing with the long-term goal of facilitating the creation of self-insured versions of decentralized assets, allowing users to better protect savings held in decentralized assets. SaveDAI passes DAI through Compound and automatically purchases insurance through the Opyn protocol to create insured, interest-bearing, dollar-pegged ERC20 tokens that can be transferred, bought, sold, and integrated into other protocols. The saveDAI team is building this architecture into a front-end platform, but the contract has been open source so that everyone can use, adapt, integrate or contribute to the code.
The team’s most immediate concern was ensuring their code was secure and stable to minimize risk to user funds. We were able to connect them with a technical expert for a code review, and they used the comprehensive feedback they received to refine their launch strategy and continue development with more confidence. They are preparing to launch a public alpha and are looking forward to receiving feedback from early users!
If you want to know more, you can consult the documentationfollow us on Twitter @save_dai or get involved on GitHub.
BILUS collegiate
Joe Wesley is new to Ethereum and technology in general, a former NFL player turned motivational speaker – not necessarily what people think of as a typical ESP researcher. But the truth is, we love getting to know new people, and Joe is exactly the type of builder we want to hear from: creative, driven, a passionate learner, and inspired by the potential of distributed technology. He approached us with a project to create a platform on Ethereum that would solve a problem he experienced firsthand as a college and professional athlete from a low-income background: college athletes get little from ‘advantages of the way their brand, image and likeness. are used by others for profit. Joe wanted to help athletes build relationships with advertisers in which they would have more control over their brand, data and finances – allowing them, in Joe’s words, to “win today and tomorrow with their brand and to their fame.”
The biggest initial hurdle for Joe was simply getting to know Ethereum, its community, and its technology. We gave him some initial feedback on his idea and he came back two weeks later with a draft of his white paper. We knew that his dedication and enthusiasm, as well as his unique perspective, could only add value to the ecosystem; so we sent him to ETHDenver for a crash course in all things Ethereum. There, he lived the Eth life to the fullest: networking, attending conferences, exploring the landscape, meeting Bufficorn and winning the Exploration Track sponsored by CryptoChicks.
From ETHDenver, Joe has stayed in touch with the contacts he made at ETHDenver and continued to consult with FE members and other experts as he works to build a prototype that he can share with customers and potential investors. Until now, Joe has been a one-man team, but is now looking to expand by hiring a CTO who can help bring Collegiate BILUS (Brand, Image and Likeness US) to testnet and beyond.
Contact us or learn more about Collegiate BILUS on Instagram @collegiatebilus!
Ethereum Push Notification Service
EPNS was just an idea when we first met Harsh Rajat. He saw a need for push notification features within Ethereum, both for public service announcements to Ethereum users and for app builders who wanted a new way to engage customers. We saw a motivated and innovative builder, deeply committed to the growth and success of Ethereum.
Harsh didn’t need much more than encouragement and feedback to help him refine the concept and discuss next steps. He pitched his idea to HackMoney, where Richa Joshi joined the team. Together, they developed the basic concept of EPNS into a multi-tiered, constantly evolving architecture in which critical information can be disseminated to Ethereum users; Dapp creators can target users they know want to hear from them; and dapp users can both choose their engagement level and be rewarded for opting for a higher engagement level with their favorite dapps.
Since HackMoney, Richa and Harsh have devoted incredible energy to making EPNS what they call “a missing piece of Web3.” They have spearoffering early access and alpha dapp; been accepted on Gitcoin KERNEL Scholarship; and are now expanding their team and developing a business model that will allow them to build a self-sustaining platform without compromising their commitment to keeping users’ interests at the forefront.
Check and follow EPNS progress on Twitter @epnsproject.
We love the many builders we work with for their commitment to finding the best path forward, even if it isn’t the simplest or most obvious. Although funding is often the simplest thing to ask for, it is not necessarily the ideal solution: a grant will not allow a project to achieve its goal if we do not dig deeper to find the true heart of the project challenges. faces.
Just because a project is not funded by an ESP grant does not mean we are not willing and able to provide meaningful and sometimes material support. That said, we cannot offer support to every team that contacts us, as much as we would like! And just like grants, recipients of other types of support we offer only reap the rewards by taking responsibility for their own success and working hard.
All of the teams featured in this article pursue very different goals, but they have one thing in common: They came with the openness and insight to work with us to find the best intersection of their needs and our capabilities.
We have been fortunate to know all of these remarkable builders and are very proud of the hard work they have accomplished. We can’t wait to see what they do next!
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