Hi everyone. This is Tricia from AngelHack!
We are submitting our proposal on this forum after much discussion with Parity to ask for community feedback on our intention to focus on developer initiatives in APAC for the latter half of 2024.
This would include synergising efforts with the Polkadot Blockchain Academy, as well as Parity teams in Asia, to build out and execute the following 2 programs:
- Relayers 2024 (APAC focused)
- PolkadotSocial at Devcon Bangkok 2024
We strongly believe that Asia has the potential to become a strong foundational backbone to grow Polkadot and its influence around the world. Through seeing successful traction in Asia, based on our past efforts, we believe the attention on these events will continue to grow exponentially with consistent effort and initiatives.
This proposal hence focuses on our efforts to engage developers and builders across all levels of maturity to continue their journey in Polkadot.
The two programs we are looking to run are:
1. Polkadot Relayers 2024: APAC
The Polkadot Relayers is a community-first early-stage incubator programme that seeks to grow talented builders in their endeavour to build dApps on Polkadot’s parachains. This is the third edition of the Polkadot Relayers, with its inaugural launch taking place in 2022. The main objective of this program is to bring together developers and entrepreneurs, as well as providing individuals with a platform to actualise their innovative ideas. This would focus on nurturing committed project teams looking for mentorship, investment, and ecosystem support whilst they build on Polkadot.
As mentioned, this edition also aims to work closely with the Polkadot Blockchain Academy (PBA) to help funnel PBA graduates to community-centric initiatives to help them build their presence and their tribe within Polkadot.
With PBA having taken place in both Singapore and Hong Kong across the past year, we believe that there is a gap between educating strong talent on the fundamentals and that of committedly contributing to the ecosystem itself. This would be something Relayers can help to accomplish.
2. PolkadotSocial: Devcon
PolkadotSocial: Devcon builds on our existing PolkadotSocial event brand that we first introduced in 2023, with successful events launched in both Europe and APAC, and currently in progress for North America as well. The main aim of PolkadotSocial is to be a community-driven event initiative to expand outreach to developer communities globally and this goes beyond our existing developers who are familiar with Web3. The format of PolkadotSocial serves to highlight the characteristics of our parachains, as well as the underlying infrastructure behind these chains. We believe this will help build interest and in the long run, grow the number of builders and dApps within the community itself.
For this edition, we aim to leverage Devcon in Bangkok 2024 to expand Polkadot’s community and network within the larger Web3 ecosystem.
Target Audience: Relayers 2024
As the Relayers program requires full commitment and intensive participation across 10 full weeks, we are looking to work with committed teams with genuine interest in the Polkadot ecosystem.
These teams would potentially be:
- Alumni finalists/ participants of past Polkadot Hackathons
- Externally sourced teams i.e. participants of other Web3 Hackathons but are looking to build on Polkadot
- Teams building/ looking to build on the participating parachains
Beyond this, teams will also need to fulfil the following criteria before they are considered eligible for the program:
- Genuine interest in Polkadot (existing Polkadot community)
- Teams coming into Polkadot Relayers should have a functioning MVP
- Have a basic technical understanding of Polkadot and blockchain
- Projects without prior funding (either VC or private capital)
- Able to commit 15 hours a week over the course of Polkadot Relayers 2024
Expected Outcomes: Polkadot Relayers 2024
The goal for the 2024 iteration of the Polkadot Relayers remains the same – we are still focused on creating a conducive environment for participating teams to interact with each other and receive comprehensive support both during and after the program itself. Numerically, we aim to achieve the following outcomes based on our success metrics above:
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8/10 graduating teams: Based on last year’s results, we sized down the number of teams participating as a whole to promote a closer-knit community. We also want to ensure that both participating teams and ecosystem team mentors’ time are respected fairly as all stakeholders have to commit a large amount of time to participate in this program. However, we would still be unable to foresee unexpected circumstances that might be faced by participating teams during the length of the program. As such, we are targeting to have minimally 8 teams to graduate from the Relayers program. The criteria to graduate would be to attend at least 80% of all the sessions planned.
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6 positive participating team testimonials: Participant Testimonials are invaluable for gaining an understanding of how successful an event was and how participants felt about the experience. Testimonials can also provide useful ideas for our program improvement and can help identify areas that may need more attention.
Target Audience: PolkadotSocial at Devcon
For PolkadotSocial, our main goal would be to introduce and expand the Polkadot ecosystem. Therefore, our target audience can afford to more generic, but still resonate with the following characteristics:
- Genuine interest in Polkadot and the existing Polkadot community
- Open to finding out more about the Polkadot ecosystem
- Have a basic technical understanding of Polkadot and blockchain
- (Great to have) Have an idea of what they want to build, or have an existing functioning MVP to share with the rest of the ecosystem
Past Works and Ecosystem Fit
We consider ourselves to be one of the key developer growth engines in the Polkadot ecosystem in itself, providing opportunities for both incoming and existing developers, as well as the parachains and all community builders, to connect and grow together as a unified community.
Our past works are as follows:
- Polkadot Hackathon Global Series: APAC Edition (2021)
- Learn and Earn for the Polkadot Hackathon Global Series (2022)
- Polkadot Hackathon Global Series: North America Edition (2022)
- Polkadot Relayers (2022)
- Polkadot Hackathon Global Series: Europe Edition (2023)
- Polkadot Hackathon Global Series: APAC Edition (2023)
- Polkadot Hackathon Global Series: North America Edition (2024)
Due to forum restrictions, we are not able to upload the links to all of the above proposals. Do let us know in the comments if you’d like them!
The Team
While AngelHack is chain-agnostic, we see the need to have consistency and credibility across the board. This also helps us to better understand the needs of ecosystem team players and how to best help them.
As such, we have assembled a dedicated team that seeks to serve all Polkadot-centric initiatives.
Levene Chai - Project Lead
Levene brings a strong project management background and a proven track record of delivering successful initiatives within the Polkadot ecosystem. Having managed and successfully delivered the Polkadot Relayers program, as well as the Polkadot Hackathon Global Series in North America, APAC, Europe regions, she has forged partnerships with key stakeholders in over 20 ecosystem teams, including Polkadot Blockchain Academy and Parity. Sne has also been actively involved in organising various Web3 events since 2022. Currently, she plays a vital role in the project team for the Polkadot Hackathon: North America Edition 2024, leveraging her expertise to drive growth within the Web3 and Polkadot ecosystem.
Gladys Yuen - Programs Lead
Gladys brings a wealth of experience in program management and ecosystem development to our team. With a background as a Program Manager at Tribe/AngelHack and prior roles at Enterprise Singapore, she has been instrumental in shaping and advancing startup ecosystems. Notably, her strategies at Enterprise Singapore have fueled the growth of Singapore’s startup landscape through initiatives like incubator/accelerator programs and venture build initiatives. In her role, Gladys led and organised the highly successful program for Polkadot Relayers 2023, engaging with 14 teams and 7 parachains from the Polkadot ecosystem. Her collaborative approach extended to working closely with key players such as Polkadot Blockchain Academy, Astar, Moonbeam, Oak Network, Zeitgeist, HydraDX, Interlay and Unique Network. Currently, she contributes her expertise to the project team for Polkadot Hackathon: North America Edition 2024, showcasing her commitment to driving innovation and community engagement within the Polkadot ecosystem.
Zayle Aunn - Operations Lead
As the Operations Manager at Tribe/AngelHack, Zayle has spearheaded operations for the globally recognized Polkadot Hackathon series since 2021. His role involves not only overseeing seamless execution but also ensuring optimal infrastructure for a positive participant experience. With a track record of successful event management and leading operational efforts for diverse in-person and virtual hackathons, Zayle now focuses his expertise on ensuring the success of the forthcoming Polkadot Hackathon: North America Edition 2024.
Felicia Tan - Head of Project Delivery
Felicia brings a strong track record of client delivery and operational excellence to the main AngelHack team. As the Head of Client Delivery at AngelHack, she oversees the seamless execution of projects, drawing from her previous roles as Head of Operations at AngelHack and Head of Business Accounts (Tech) at Tribe. Her expertise was pivotal in handling the end-to-end operations for Polkadot Relayers 2023, overseeing all organisational tasks including coordinating in-person engagement activities in Singapore for 14 teams. These events facilitated networking opportunities, investors and mentors introduction and fostered collaboration among teams, enabling the exchange of valuable insights. Additionally, she provided strategic direction and guidance to the operational team in running a series of Polkadot hackathons and PolkadotSocial events throughout the year, further contributing to the growth and community building within the Polkadot ecosystem. Her extensive experience in operational roles equips her with the skills needed to navigate complex projects and deliver results that exceed expectations.
Tricia Neo - Ecosystem Growth Lead
Tricia is no stranger to the Polkadot ecosystem, supporting AngelHack’s collaborations with Parity and Web3Foundation since 2021. While she is not involved in the main day-to-day operations of these various initiatives, she is the key contact person for all proposed initiatives. She is also the primary AngelHack representative in most grassroots events i.e. Attempts at Governance and the Polkadot Singapore Meetup Group.
Conclusion
This forum post is a quick summary as to what we hope to achieve in the latter half of 2024. The main takeaway is to demonstrate our commitment to continue growing the Polkadot ecosystem – but with a dedicated focus for Asia, especially in H2 2024.
We understand that the community will have questions and we are more than happy to answer them as well! Do leave us feedback or a note in this topic and we will get back to you as soon as we can.