Simple Summary
The 1inch Community Builders Program gathers 1inch supporters, users, and creators to support and grow its brand and community, making DeFi more accessible to the masses.
Abstract
This proposal presents the case for a dedicated community program, designed for users and advocates to rally around the 1inch Network. The Community Builders Program will provide a framework for 1inch supporters to contribute their skills, establish local hubs that build and grow the 1inch community.
The intended outcomes of this program that benefit 1inch are as follows:
- Greater brand awareness and understanding of the 1inch ecosystem and DeFi
- Localized, educational content resulting in an uptick of product onboarding/understanding
- Talent, diversity, and creative efforts uplifting and showcasing 1inch’s vision and mission
- In-person community formed through local events
- Increased opportunities to engage, connect, and network with Web3 enthusiasts
- Growth in the number of active users engaging with 1inch products
Motivation
With a 4.5M and growing user base, 1inch has access to a significant amount of untapped support and resources. The current product lineup includes a dex aggregator protocol, a wallet, protocols, and APIs, while the upcoming launch of the NFT marketplace and hardware wallet, signifies the incoming wave of users with various Web3 interests.
At some point, all Web3 projects require advocates to champion their survival during bear markets, product launches, and contribute to its evolution. It can provide them with opportunities and resources so that in turn, it is supported in its next phase of growth. Coincidentally, as 1inch celebrates its 4th birthday today, perhaps that opportunity to collaborate with its community in another fashion, is now.
Creating a community builders program will unite 1inch supporters and DeFi users under a common objective. The mission for those who choose to join? Shape how the 1inch Network supports and engages with its existing community, while sharing the possibilities of DeFi to those who are curious to know more. The Community Builders Program will mobilize the global support that 1inch has acquired over the years, while creating a greater sense of connection and belonging, which is increasingly needed in a hyper-digital world.
Specifications
Decentralized Contribution Model
The Community Builders Program** **is designed with dynamic roles that can be tailored to individual skill sets and structured so that outputs are trackable and impactful. Builders determine the contribution they want to bring to the 1inch community, set up tangible targets, and be known for their impact. Using a decentralized contribution model, community builders choose their preferred tracks, select their projects, and decide on a period they will require to complete the project. Once the project launches, it undergoes review, and once approved, the quest is marked as complete in the CRM, which allocates a number of XP (points) to the builder.
As for some examples, a builder may focus on marketing and coordinating a DeFi meetup at a speakeasy in Amsterdam. Another builder may want to dive into producing a short film project about 1inch. Or, a translator can tackle the Indonesian translation of blog posts on 1inch, push it to publishing, and witness an increased understanding of 1inch technology in their local community. The heads of the tracks will be there to ensure the automated platforms and systems operate while supporting builder needs.
Tracks
The program is categorized into the following tracks:
- The translation track focuses on translating written content about 1inch, playing a significant role in distributing the project’s information
- The creative track covers the production of visual content, social media posts, videos, and infographics
- The community management track answers user questions, channel management, generating quality online conversations relevant to 1inch, and hosting activities for various local communities, platforms, and groups
- The events track organizes and hosts local events that are educational and informative, ultimately increasing exposure for 1inch and DeFi
Builder Roles
Once a builder selects their track(s), they will receive roles on Discord that grant them access to dedicated channels, where role-related discussions can occur. It’s possible that a builder takes on multiple roles at a time or may take on various roles. To establish online rapport in the community, we recommend that Concierges remain on this track for some time, as it helps build up their knowledge of 1inch products and FAQ. These are the four roles that builders can take on:
Scribes
Create or translate written content to expand the blog’s collection of articles
Artisans
Produce visual content in the form of videos, tutorials, infographics, how-to guides on 1inch products, and content for social media
Concierges
Management and moderation of community channels and platforms, as well as organic discussion starters on relevant threads about 1inch
Activators
Event planning, assistance, booth set-up, product onboarding, networking
Special Projects
Content creators are encouraged to apply for single project grants through the Builders program to increase the marketing exposure of 1inch, strengthen its brand, and guide users to engage with 1inch products
Builder Incentives
The community builder program seeks to provide the following:
- Greater control and freedom over contribution methods
- Participate in the decentralized contribution economy by selecting your goals, achieving them, and receiving reward payouts. No hidden agendas, rules, or exceptions
- Opportunities to expand one’s Web3 experience
- Build with like-minded people striving for various facets of the overarching goal. Learn to harness your strengths and gain insight from those with different backgrounds
- Limited edition, eye-catching swag designed just for builders
- Have you seen what 1inch has been doing in the merchandise aisle lately? We’re slaying it (figuratively) with high-quality, swoon-worthy swag
- Team building, mentorship, gatherings at events, online and offline
- Take part in 1inch meetups and gatherings, and spend time with other builders and the 1inch team
Additional incentives include:
- Access to funding for events and programs via proposals
- Bonus rewards for quality and well-received outputs, as well as yearly token bonuses
- Connection with the team, sneak peeks of pre-released features and launches
- Mentorship and training on specialty subjects
- Opportunities for growth in DeFI knowledge from 1inch execs and potential to join the team if an appropriate fit should arise
- Shoutouts for outstanding contributions
Builder Tiers: New, Official, Senior, Head
The Community Builder program consists of tiers that maintain its operational structure and functional organization. Builders can be full-time employees of companies, students, or contractors, participating as little or as much as they wish.
During the initial phase of the builders’ journey, they are assigned the “New” tier in their tracks. For example, if a new builder focuses on event planning, their role is New Activator. They will complete quests on the CRM that support and grow the online and offline community.
Once they’ve achieved specific targets and have been part of the program for three months, the builder is given Official status, and their role changes to Official Activator. They’ll receive an NFT, which allows them to join the Official membership tier, and rewards are dispensed (special announcements on Discord, Twitter, unique swag, and tokens). If the builder consistently meets the targets for a year, the builder’s title changes to Senior Activator, which signifies reliability, impactfulness, and long-term membership in the program. Those who remain active in the program for one year are eligible for additional rewards on the day of their 1 year anniversary, 2 year anniversary, etc.
Senior builders have proven their impact in contributing to the community’s growth and demonstrate reliability over time, whether consistently meeting their community messaging quota or completing a video project at a designated pace. Quality contributions are valued, and those who continue to participate over time, meeting targets consecutively, will receive additional perks, as stated above.
The Heads of each track take on a consistent role and have demonstrated understanding of the track on a strategic and executional level, can facilitate projects, and problem solve. They approve builder projects, assist with builder needs, review builder applications, and maintain the track’s operations as necessary. They’ll serve as the point of contact for the track and communicate essential information with the program manager.
Builder Lifecycle
Applicants can submit an interest form detailing their Web3 experience, skillset, contribution types, and previous work. Those who seem like a good fit will be contacted for an interview, must sign an agreement, and be onboarded with the tools required to execute their goals as a New Builder.
- The applicant gets in touch with the 1inch team, fills out an interest form
- The program manager or track head schedules an interview with the applicant
- Determine roles and agree to the program verbally
- Signs NDA with 1inch Foundation
- Self registers info in the builder database
- Onboarding process starts - Add to community platforms, Kazm, TG, Discord, Slack
- New period, mentorship, education
- Review
- Official status awarded
- Builders continue to contribute
- Steady status is awarded after one year
- Bonus rewards are given
Thank you to the 1inch data and marketing team team, who provided analytics to help identify 14 community types, arranged by languages and countries. These are community building areas of interest it comes to community groups, events, and content translation:
Communities by Languages
- Russian
- Portuguese
- French
- Chinese
- Spanish
- English
- Korean
- Japanese
Communities by Country
- Netherlands
- Finland
- Indonesia
- Vietnam
- Nigeria
- Turkey
- Germany
Tools
Tracking the progress of content creation, social posts, translation, and special projects will require a few managing tools. Builders will use the GitHub project management page to organize, coordinate, and provide status updates on their tasks and projects. Builder and 1inch contributor communications will take place on Discord. Activities and projects will be incentivized in a membership feature on Kazm.xyz.
Program Branding & Promotion
The support for 1inch from the Community Builders Program could place 1inch under the DeFi limelight for good. To attract talented and passionate Web3 participants, design and marketing efforts will carve out a brand for the Community Builders Program. Current 1inch contributors will build a design that brands the program and comes with specially designed swag. PR and marketing efforts will also assist with the launch of the program. Furthermore, the program will be promoted at events.
Program Costs
Participation in the program is voluntary and is not considered work or a job. Therefore, the benefits are not a payment for services but are incentives or rewards. The outcomes of each builder’s quest can vary according to the target goal. Thus, builder rewards and incentives are distributed according to the effort and impact of the quest.
The estimated costs are outlined for one year includes:
- Community builder membership, dashboard & incentives platform: $50K (this is being finalized)
- Swag design and initial production costs: $20K
- Token rewards for builders include creative initiatives, translation, moderation, engagement activity, and events, and the amount depends on the number of builders contributing to the community, and the level of impact and effort required to carry out those tasks: up to $150K
- Community-led events in priority regions: $50K
A more detailed breakdown of what each builder can receive in terms of incentives per track:
Community Management
- $50-$400 1INCH tokens for monthly community management, depending on hour commitment, quality of conversations, and engagement activities held
Content
- $5-$300 1INCH tokens for each content creation, depending on quality and engagement (tweets, IG, YouTube, etc.)
- $10-$30 1INCH tokens for each translation piece
** Events**
- $30-$60 1INCH tokens for local meetups
- $100-$300 1INCH tokens for larger scale events
The program tracks are organized into different memberships, where builders can select their quests and move up in tiers. There’s an ongoing discussion with Kazm, the Web3 CRM platform of interest, that may be able to assist with the distribution of the token rewards with the required security measures.
Considerations
Program Management
There’s a request for the program be managed by the 1inch Foundation, as it contains the legal resources and human capital experience that can oversee the program long-term. Contributors of the 1inch Foundation are skilled in Web3 and DeFi community building know-how, best practices, and have built several communities from the ground up themselves. They will responsible for signing NDA agreements with the community builders, vetting local partnerships, interviewing the community builders, onboarding them to all required tools, providing support and mentorship to builders, and delivering incentives in a timely manner.
The contributors will be also be accountable to adhering to the budget allocation, approving individual projects, and maintaining the integrity of program as outlined in this thread.
Next Steps
- Determine CRM feature requests and token distribution workflow with Kazm
- Define specific quests for each membership tier
- Prepare program launch marketing materials
- Swag design and production
- Create community builder program NDA