Some members of the community have been discussing ways to increase Polkadot’s competitiveness, particularly in relation to major consulting firms and strategic positioning within large institutions and corporations.
If you read it and want to be a part of it, please begin here: Global Partnership Sunset Labs Assessment
The primarly conclusion of those conversations is the Executive Summary that follows:
Executive Summary: Decentralized Consulting and Services for the Polkadot Ecosystem
1. Business Overview
Our consulting practice operates as a decentralized service hub within the Polkadot ecosystem, providing both off-the-shelf and customized solutions in education, technology, and business. Our mission is to empower public and private institutions with the essential tools needed to accelerate the adoption of Web3 technology.
Institutional customers need professional and reliable partners who can be their first contact point throughout the adoption process. They need someone who understands the technology ecosystem and their organizational needs and challenges—a trusted partner.
To meet this need, we are establishing a professional decentralized consulting practice to act as a strategic partner for institutional customers. We offer education, advisory, and technical services to lower adoption barriers and reduce time-to-market.
2. Strategic Positioning
We have built a B2B-ready, decentralized, and globally coordinated consulting network to assist institutions in adopting Web3 technology. Unlike traditional firms, we blend international expertise with a local presence, leveraging Polkadot-native governance and infrastructure. Our value proposition lies not in providing a generic “Web3 strategy,” but in delivering comprehensive, hands-on implementation through capable decentralized teams.
3. Target Market and Users
Our consulting services are aimed at:
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Medium and large enterprises (e.g., financial institutions, supply chain/logistics, telecom companies)
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Public sector entities (e.g., digital governance programs, ministries, city innovation labs)
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Academic and research institutions (with a focus on R&D and technology transfer programs)
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Venture capital and corporate investors (interested in exploring blockchain pilots and tokenization strategies)
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Innovation ecosystems (such as tech parks, incubators, and accelerators)
We also aim to support internal Polkadot stakeholders (e.g., ecosystem business development teams and parachain initiatives) by sharing knowledge, collateral, and other resources for initiatives like the Polkadot Business Development Plaza, thereby enhancing enterprise engagement.
3. Strategic Partnerships
The strength of our business model lies in our global network of key partnerships, including:
- SunsetLabs
- So So Scaled!
- Weever
- Argentina Collective
- Portugal Community
- (EUA Miami Community)
- (Mexico Community)
- Tense.network
- Poke
- Node/ CB
- Polkadot.Education
- Polkabiz
- International law firms
- Incentive firms (international grants)
- Web3 Foundation
- PBA (need to show)
- Universities and Research Centers (that can access incentives)
- R0GUE (technical partner)
- Trusted partners: Apillon, Braille (UX & branding), Zeeve (Infrastructure)
- Polkadot BD Plaza
- Deal Desk
- Ambassador Fellowship
These collaborations enable the creation of a robust and efficient ecosystem, providing access to services, resources, and specialized knowledge on a global scale.
4. Our Services (First Hypothesis, no limited on below)
4.1. Polkadot Education (Entry Point)
The journey begins with Polkadot Education, a CMS-based platform that offers a basic module for free, providing an accessible introduction to blockchain and Polkadot concepts in Portuguese, Spanish, and English. This serves as the primary funnel, increasing awareness and engagement within the ecosystem.
4.2. Paid Customized Classes
As more students enroll in Polkadot Education, there will be opportunities to create customized classes tailored to corporate clients, which marks the first paid service in the journey. These customized educational experiences allow companies to train their employees with content adapted to their needs.
4.3. Training, Workshops, and Technical or Strategic Consulting
Following customized education, companies can advance to specialized training programs, workshops, and consulting services that support both technical implementation and strategic planning for blockchain adoption. These services include:
- Technical training (Rust, Substrate, and Web3 Development)
- Workshops on decentralized governance, tokenomics, and blockchain security
- Consulting services for product roadmap planning and Web3 business strategies
- (Those are the first ones:
4.4. Hiring Squads, Software Development, and Outsourcing
At an advanced stage, companies that have benefited from training and consulting can move into direct execution of projects through:
- Dedicated squads: Hiring teams specialized in Web3 development to work on tailored projects.
- Software factory: Full-cycle product development from conceptualization to launch.
- Outsourcing: Providing specialized professionals from our network for direct placement in corporate teams.
Funnel-Driven Growth
This progressive service journey is designed to maximize adoption and expand business opportunities within the Polkadot ecosystem. The more users enter Polkadot Education, the greater the possibilities for converting them into paying clients at various stages of the funnel, ensuring a continuous and scalable business model.
4.5. Specialized Local Services (Strengths)
4.5.1. (Brazil and Portugal) - Example
- Research and Development: Partnerships with universities and science and technology institutions (ICTs) for Web3 innovation.
- Grant Applications: Project submissions to obtain governmental and institutional funding.
4.6. Products adn Solutions:
- Acurast Cloud
- Phala Tee
- BuB (whitelabel tokenization)
- PBA
- Polimec
- Pop CLI
- Others…
5. Recommended Global and Local Consulting Team
5.1. Global Structure
Method Guardian - Responsible for planning of archifacts of method toolbox
POs - Responsible to create and coordinate white label products that can replicable on local unites
Legal Advisor - Mentorship on legal worldwide and leadlink with local legal officers.
Branding - responsible for the brand and strategic positioning
Community - leadlink with local community - similar to an ambassador fellowship.
5.2. Suggested Local Structure
| Role | Function | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Coordination | Oversees consulting operations in the local | Internal |
| Education Specialist | Manages training and Polkadot Education customization | Internal |
| Business Consultant Lead | Coordinates the method of consultancy | Internal |
| Consultant | Assists in product modeling and strategy | |
| Web3 Project Manager | Coordinates implementation roadmaps | External |
| Grant Acquisition Specialist | Identifies and secures funding inside and outside Polkadot | External |
| Business Developer | Create relationships with companies, labs, institutions, and the government. | Internal |
| Web3 Developer (Partial) | Provides minor technical support | Internal/External |
| Legal & Compliance Expert | Web3 regulatory and contract specialist | External |
| Advanced Technical Teams (Squads) | Execution of Web3 projects | External |
| Software Factory | Development for enterprise clients | External |
| Outsourced Web3 Professionals | Talent placement for corporate projects | External |
5.3. Global Governance Structure: Holacracy
https://www.glassfrog.com/ (reference)
The consultancy’s management follows the Holacracy model, which enables a distributed organizational structure based on roles and responsibilities.
How It Works:
- Work Circles: Each area has autonomy to define goals and execution.
- Defined Roles:
- Facilitator: Ensures alignment with Holacracy rules.
- Secretary: Records decisions and organizes meetings.
- Circle Manager: Coordinates task execution and distributes responsibilities.
- Circle Lead: each for every circle. Go to other groups and establish communication.
- Distributed Decision-Making: Each circle can deliberate on its execution, promoting agility and innovation.
Holacracy Matrix: Interaction of Groups
Each Local Consulting Unit (e.g., Brazil, Europe, LATAM) operates autonomously while being connected to a global service network. Within each unit, there are three main circles:
- Education & Training Circle → Manages Polkadot Education and corporate training customization.
- Consulting & Planning Circle → Provides business consulting, strategy development, and project planning.
- Tech Execution Circle → Oversees project management, team hiring, and outsourcing coordination.
Interaction Between Groups (Holacracy Model)
Each Local Consulting Unit is linked to the global framework but retains operational autonomy, following the holacratic principle of distributed decision-making.
| Circle | Responsibilities | Internal/External |
|---|---|---|
| Education & Training | Customizing courses, Polkadot Education content, and local training | Internal |
| Consulting & Planning | Business strategy, product roadmap, and grant acquisition | Internal |
| Tech Execution | Managing squads, outsourcing, and software development | Internal/External |
7. Socio-Economic Structure: Valocracy
Although the Holacracy model provides a solid basis for decentralized operation, it does not provide specific mechanisms on how to distribute revenue and how to ponder individual weight on governance.
Valocracy is a governance protocol that defines on-chain mechanisms to address both issues, and that can be employed as an extension of a Holacracy. Full documentation can be found at https://valocracy.xyz.
In a Valocracy, individual contributions to the organization are pondered, registered and awarded via a dual-token system, which aims to separate economic and governance powers within the organization:
- Stones: Stones are Soul-Bound NFTs that count as governance points, and weigh each individual’s own governance power when voting on proposals.
- Badges: Badges are NFTs that count as economica points, and they work as shares of a common treasury, in which revenue can be deposited.
Whenever the organization needs something to be done, it issues a lot of stones/badges, which are awarded to the individuals who performed the task.
As time passes by and individuals work, they amass a corresponding amount of voting power and claiming rights over the treasury that are proportional to the individuals relevance of contribution.
As such, those who aggregate more value to the organization over time, are also the ones with most voting power and the ones eligible to a bigger share of the organization’s revenue.
8. Strategic Hypothesis and Next Steps
This initiative is currently creating, testing, and validating hypotheses. Our current priority is to test the value proposition and positioning through public content, stakeholder interviews, and selected pilot engagements. The service offering, governance model, and operational design may evolve based on what we learn. Our goal is not just to create a consulting firm, but to build replicable, productizable solutions based on real institutional interactions. These may take the form of toolkits, delivery playbooks, or reusable service templates for the wider Polkadot community.