DV-Light Application — Jimmy
GM everyone, hope you’re doing great. This is my application for Decentralized Voices Cohort 5 DV-Light.
Why I’m Stepping Up (Again)
I’ve already served as a DV in the original cohort — back when this program was built on individuals, not DAOs. I’m stepping forward again as a DV-Light candidate, and I’m not here to play nice with inefficiency. I’m here to protect the Treasury from waste, refocus funding around demand and utility, and ensure that Polkadot’s public goods actually serve the public — not a closed circle.
I was one of the original DV delegates in Cohort 1, back when delegates were individuals and ecosystem agents, not DAOs and collectives. I know what this role demands. I’ve been deeply involved in this ecosystem since 2020 — not as a passive observer but as someone who’s built communities from scratch, shipped results in the real world, and spoken up when others were too busy protecting their bags or friends.
Where I’ve Been Active in 2025
This year alone, I’ve:
- Represented Polkadot at ETHPrague and CryptoExpo Bucharest, staffing the booth and evangelizing Polkadot to new audiences.
- Organized Treasury-funded Polkadot events in Poland: NBX Warsaw Polkadot Sponsorship and NBX Fun Night, Polkadot@CodeEurope, and the Roots Warsaw meetup series (under Events Bounty).
- Contributed to ecosystem initiatives like the Polkadot Ambassador Program, Polkadot Hungary DAO framework, and community-building efforts across Europe.
The Polkadot Treasury has become a soft landing pad for undercooked projects, “public goods” that stay permanently public-funded, and media collectives who’ve been milking OpenGov for years without ever escaping the subsidy model.
This has to stop.
We need to start treating proposals the way startups are treated in the real world — not “is this a cool idea,” but:
- Who is the user?
- Where is the demand?
- What happens after the money runs out?
- Will this add measurable value to the ecosystem or just burn tokens to maintain an illusion of activity?
The era of “build it and they will come” is over. You want Treasury funding? Show the demand. Show the model. Show us you’re not just applying because it’s easier than raising real money.
That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t fund experiments — in fact, we need more experimentation. I’d love to see bold proposals exploring:
- Smart contracts (ink! or Solidity) tied to real UX problems, not just tech demos.
- Multichain dApps using XCM that are usable by non-developers.
- AI agents, automation layers, and privacy solutions with clear use cases.
- User-facing mobile or indie games that bring new audiences to DOT.
- Dev tooling and UX frameworks that reduce time-to-launch for builders.
But Treasury shouldn’t fund vibes. If you’re pitching innovation, you’d better include:
- Market research
- Target audience breakdown
- Demand validation
- Adoption strategy
- Go-to-market plan
- Sustainability roadmap
If you’re asking for community money, you should operate like a startup.
Only this kind of vision + discipline will bring truly valuable products to Polkadot — ones that solve real-world problems and attract new users, developers, and attention to the network.
Treasury shouldn’t protect you from failure. It should fund you because you’re prepared to succeed.
What I Stand For
- Demand-Driven Spending: If you can’t show traction or a pathway to it, you’re not ready for Treasury funds. Period.
- No More “Just Build” Grants: Stop funding MVPs that no one asked for. If your product has no adoption, the problem is not funding — it’s relevance.
- Kill the Free Ride Mentality: If you’ve been receiving Treasury support for more than a year and still have no sustainability model, you’re no longer a public good; you’re a publicly-funded lifestyle.
- No More Double-Dipping: Too many contributors are quietly collecting from bounties, tips, grants, and partnerships at the same time, across identities. Enough. DV-Lights need to call this out and abstain if conflicts aren’t addressed.
- Outcomes, Not Optics: “Community impact” doesn’t mean a Twitter thread or a YouTube video that 400 people saw. If you’re pitching exposure, you’d better show conversion. If you’re pitching content, you’d better show influence.
How I Evaluate Proposals
| Criteria | What I’m Looking For |
|---|---|
| Problem Definition | Clear, real, urgent — not just “we thought this would be cool to build.” |
| Demand Evidence | Has this been validated by users? Has it solved a real pain point or market need? |
| Execution Track Record | Can the team ship? Do they have receipts? Or is this another promise machine? |
| Milestone Accountability | Concrete deliverables, public check-ins, clawbacks if necessary. |
| Sustainability Model | What happens after this money is gone? Are you building a lasting product or a grant treadmill? |
We need more dapps, more users, more builders, and fewer telegram groups and grant farmers. Vision is great — but it needs discipline to be funded.
Domain Expertise & Focus Areas
Events
Ecosystem and Community Development
Product Development
User Experience
Advocate for end-user applications and builder incentives. Polkadot must prioritize real products with DOT-based utility. We need better funnels, documentation, starter templates, and grants — and I will prioritize the proposals that provide those values.
The Treasury should be funding:
- User-facing dApps with real-world potential.
- Onboarding tools that make Polkadot easier to build on — templates, SDKs, tutorials, hosted infra.
- Dev experience work that brings in the next 1,000 developers.
We’ve funded dashboards no one uses, tooling no one ships with, and media projects living off the Treasury for years with no revenue model. Meanwhile, actual builders struggle to find support, and user-facing apps remain scarce. This is not sustainable.
We need to shift governance from grants for insiders to funding outcomes for users
Ok. Now why elect me as a DV - Light? Because I’ve already lived the DV role. Loudly, publicly, and with integrity. Because I’ll say the hard things out loud, and still show up the next day to help fix them.
If elected, I’ll continue what I’ve been doing for the last three years:
Protecting the Treasury.
Supporting proposers who create real value.
Calling out inefficiencies, insider deals, and passive grifting.
With respect — but without compromise,
Jimmy
Final Note: Conflict Policy
I am also a member of Polkadot Poland DAO, which is applying as a full DV in this cohort.
If Polkadot Poland is selected as a DV, I will not serve as a DV-Light to avoid overlap.
If Polkadot Poland is not selected, I will continue as DV-Light if eventually elected, and reflect the Polish community’s voice in every vote I cast.
