Frax DAO Grant for THE DEFI CLUB May 2024

1. Overview

Project Title: Frax DAO Grant for THE DEFI CLUB

Submission Date: May 17 2024

Applicant: THE DEFI CLUB

Website: https://www.0xdeficlub.com/

Members: Dimitri Orga (FraxGod), Samuel McCulloch, Anicet0, Lewy

2. Applicant Information

At THE DEFI CLUB, we are pioneering the creation of the first educational hub within the Fraxtal ecosystem.

Similar to how major protocols like Chainlink dedicate an annual budget to education through various bootcamps, events, and hackathons, and run comprehensive ambassador programs, we recognize the power of these initiatives to increase crypto awareness and foster a strong sense of community belonging.

By addressing the current educational void in the Frax ecosystem, we aim to leverage these proven strategies to enhance DeFi education and deepen community engagement, building on the foundation set by previous community outreach efforts.

3. Project Description

THE DEFI CLUB serves as a central point for learning and development, equipped with resources, tutorials, and interactive tools designed to simplify complex DeFi concepts. Our goal is to lower the entry barriers for newcomers, ensuring they can navigate and leverage the full potential of DeFi Protocols.

Our first release will be a 14-week paid DeFi Bootcamp, built for those who want to master the art of investing in decentralized finance. In each 2 hour lesson, one of our instructors will comprehensively teach and demonstrate various DeFi protocols (Frax, Curve, Convex, f(x) Protocol, Stake DAO, Prisma Finance, EigenLayer, Wombat Exchange, PancakeSwap, Pendle Finance & IQ.wiki). Each lesson will be interactive and allow for students to engage, ask questions, and learn functional training on how to use DeFi applications.

At the end of the Bootcamp, each student will be evaluated through an on-chain exam built on Fraxtal, with stablecoin rewards for top performers funded by the revenue from the bootcamp sales, which are deployed in DeFi protocols used throughout the course.

This is part of an EdTech primitive called Learn2Earn that FraxGod introduced with his previous LYTRYUM Academy, which successfully attracted talent to the Spanish-speaking community. The proof of concept, deployed on Polygon, can be viewed on Binance Live at this link.

Considering this concept and based on their scores, participants will receive an exclusive NFT Certification on Fraxtal, which demonstrates their completion of the program and validates their skills.

All of the educational materials have already been made in Spanish by FraxGod & Anicet0, and we are currently converting them for an English Audience. Some of the lessons taught live in Spanish can be found in this folder.

THE DEFI CLUB will also serve as a community gathering. Our goal is to empower and expand the Frax community.

Deliverables:

  • Free Training Program on Frax Suite Products.
  • Advanced Training Program on Decentralized Finance.
  • On-Chain Certification and Exams on Fraxtal.
  • Weekly Live Summary of Decentralized Finance Ecosystem including Frax protocol, new partnerships, products and everything related to Fraxtal.
  • Weekly Newsletters and Community Engagement through Discord.

4. Benefits to Frax

THE DEFI CLUB will address several critical areas for Frax:

  • User Onboarding: Simplifying the learning curve associated with Frax protocols.

  • Clarifying Use Cases: Increasing awareness of the utilities and benefits of Frax assets.

  • Building Trust: Providing reliable information to counteract misinformation in the DeFi space.

  • Ambassadorship Training: Empower community members to promote Frax and educate others. Ambassadors will receive training, resources, and support to become effective advocates within their networks. Also they will Organize virtual and in-person events like seminars, hackathons, and workshops to increase community interaction, provide hands-on learning experiences, and showcase real-world applications of Frax technologies.

Our #1 goal is to educate, train and increase the user base of Frax and its associated products. We are committed to being the #1 community for DeFi education and growth, helping onboard the next million users to crypto.

5. Project Strategy and Execution

Educational Approach:

  • Free content will be hosted on YouTube while the Advanced Training Programs will be on our website https://www.0xdeficlub.com
  • We adopt a flexible approach, listening to the needs of the market and community, and based on that, we prepare our content
  • We are building a user base that contributes to the DeFi space, equipped with knowledge gained through our bootcamps and skills validated by our on-chain exams.
  • The creation of certificates encourages users to take action and start building their own reputation and resume.

Community and Outreach:

  • We know community is an important part and we will develop a Global Ambassador Program in next phases
  • Implement a multi-channel marketing strategy to promote educational content and community events, leveraging platforms like YouTube, Twitter, and specialized DeFi forums.
  • Collaborate with other DeFi projects and platforms to cross-promote activities, enhancing the visibility and reach of Frax-related educational initiatives.

Path to Profitability:

  • Introduce paid features for advanced courses and professional coaching.
  • Develop a comprehensive marketing strategy targeting social media platforms and DeFi communities.
  • We are looking to be a self-sustained project that keeps delivering educational content in the future without the need of funding.

6. KPIs

We will develop a correlation model between the number of weekly active users in THE DEFI CLUB and the Total Value Locked in Frax and Fraxtal, as well as the number of unique daily active accounts. To achieve this, a weekly mapping of these metrics will be conducted:

(TVL, DAA) = function (Weekly Active Users THE DEFI CLUB)

Another key metric for THE DEFI CLUB will be the revenue from selling paid training programs, initially focused on two specific bootcamps. These will cover ‘Mastering the Art of Investing in Decentralized Finance Applications’ and ‘Programming Smart Contracts in the EVM Environment’

7. Budget and Funding Requirements

The following is a disclosure of the annual cost of Human Resources and Community events.

To minimize risk for the Frax community, we are requesting funding for one quarter, totaling USD 53,750. This will provide an initial demonstration of what THE DEFI CLUB can deliver, allowing the community to decide whether to continue funding in subsequent grants.

Some of the impact of the activities of THE DEFI CLUB will be visible in the long term such as formation and development of the Ambassador Program, Conference events, Meetups and Hackathons.

8. Conclusion

By funding this project, Frax will invest in a strategic educational initiative that not only broadens its user base but also strengthens the overall ecosystem. THE DEFI CLUB is committed to fostering a knowledgeable community that is well-equipped to utilize and advocate for Frax and other DeFi protocols.

9. Proposal

  • For: Approve THE DEFI CLUB Funding of $53,750 for 3 months activity
  • Against: Do Nothing
7 Likes

Personally I am strongly against this until we get a direct marketing official in the core team. Such a person is critical in the development and direction of the whole Frax ecosystem, and to make sure there is cohesion. Other than that, I think the proposal has a few weaknesses.

  1. You ask for 215 000,- USD in one year, but first 53 750,- USD in one quarter. Many of the points you say you will deliver is part of your organizations suite, and can easily be included to sell similar products to other protocols as well. Therefore, I think you instead should give us a fair price for your “suite solution” which is resellable, then do a new funding request/budget for what is the value add specifically for Frax.
  2. Considering your site is aimed at all of defi, measuring weekly active users on your website and comparing it to TVL on Fraxtal will be a bad measurement point and not accurate. It will potentially overestimate your impact on Frax/Fraxtal growth. Especially if you start to sell similar suite solutions to other protocols.
  3. Considering your website is aimed at DeFi as a whole, and not Frax specifically like Flywheel before it pivoted, it makes me think continious funding is wrong. This project positions itself to fill the gap after Flywheel, but gives a quite different offering and not a complete tailormade solution. After considering the Flywheel and how it ended, marketing should not be outsourced to third-party.
  4. I think initial funding to create the organization and structure to align with Frax makes sense, with later on being able to apply for specific ad-campaigns for Frax. But seeing the current offering, it does not make sense for me to support continuously funding it. We should rather seek to use funds internally, and build out an internal marketing team.

My first initial thoughts. Will let you know if I think of any more after thinking and reading it again later.

3 Likes