Polkadot Growth Strategy

[alice_und_bob]

1. Introduction

This document presents a strategy outline on how we (a decentralized network of agents) can better coordinate to grow the ecosystem.

Why? The broader Polkadot eco has not had a shared strategy so far. OpenGov has no common path to align on. Agents lack coordination. Everything is patchwork, which is very inefficient compared to centralized ecosystems.

This strategy aligns our efforts by setting out one common mission for the Polkadot ecosystem:

Polkadot is the best place to build Web3!

This builder-first strategy proposes six programs to make Polkadot significantly more attractive for builders and make the existing builders in the ecosystem more successful.

How you can contribute

This is a first version draft. It is an exploration to see if people gather behind this mission and if we can achieve a critical mass to have an impact.

We need your honest criticism of the general direction, the mission statement, the programs, and the implementation plan outlined below.

Specifically, the following points need feedback:

• Who should we recruit for the program manager roles?
• What budget should we assign to those programs?
• What timelines should we give ourselves?

If you want to be part of making this strategy happen, please comment below with how you can contribute!

Yes, this draft has many imperfections. It was released early to optimize for speed and gathering feedback. If you spot things that are bad, please just point them out and we will get them fixed.

2. Mission

Our vision: Make Web3 a reality
Our mission: Make Polkadot the best place to build Web3!

Polkadot is the ecosystem most closely aligned with Web3 values. Polkadot should also become the eco where you get sent by everyone when you want to build Web3 products.

Building on Polkadot has to be easy, powerful, fast, and fun. The more we achieve this, the easier it will be to convince people to build on Polkadot. The more people we get to build on Polkadot, the closer we get to critical mass.

3. Strategy

Programs

To achieve our goal of creating the best place to build Web3, we launch 6 programs. Each program is led by a program manager and has a budget attached. They operate in public! (but don’t have to share all details non-disclosure is helpful)

1. Builders - “Developers, Developers, Developers”
   • Objective: Grow the number of builders using Polkadot tech
   • Why? Best bet to see Web3 adoption
   • How? Improve developer journey, facilitate creation of new products
2. Mindshare
   • Objective: Grow mindshare across all target groups
   • Why? Increase surface area top of funnel
   • How? Coordinating outreach, targeted strategies for main target groups
3. Relationships - “Building Bridges for Trojan Horses”
   • Objective: Build relationships with Web2, Substrate chains, other ecos, out-of-eco protocols
   • Why? Increase our relevance, create more high-value opportunities
   • How? building targeted relationships
4. Success - “Verticles like Tentacles”
   • Objective: Help projects in our eco succeed
   • Why? Validates our eco
   • How? Actively support existing verticals/products to get their issues resolved and find adoption
5. Economy - “My first on-chain billy”
   • Objective: Grow our on-chain economy
   • Why? develop domestic on-chain capital base
   • How? Strategically support creation and integration of value-additive DeFi products, support with OpenGov-owned liquidity and incentives
6. Services
   • Objective: Develop our ecosystem services to provide projects with the support they need
   • Why? Provide builders with the support they need
   • How? Develop existing services, introduce new ones like HR, Success

Implementation

• Form coalition of agents to get broad support for strat
• Harden support for the coalition
  • Agents Summit
  • Whale support
  • WFC approved
• set up programs
  • recruit qualified leader for each initiative
  • dedicate budgets
• New Collective: Ecosystem Development Agency: small initial team, further develops strategy, coordinates programs, provisions resources

4. Programs

Let’s look at the individual programs.

4.1. Builders - Developers, Developers, Developers

Our flagship program is focused on improving the overall builder journey.

To make sure our tech is actually adopted, we need to get it into as many hands as possible. The more builders we have, the more apps we get, the denser the network is, the more composability we have. Developing must become: easy, powerful, fast, and fun.

The program manager’s job is to ensure the resources outlined below are made available to builders, to identify current issues, and to work with all relevant eco teams to solve them.

We consider 3 target groups:

• Tinkerers: Independent developers or small teams and Web3 native protocols. Very independent. Mostly supported through docs, tools, community
• Small and Medium (Web2) Businesses: Onboarded through regional dev shops
• Enterprises: Onboarded through our global BD infra

Tinkerers

Self-service mindset. We need to provide high-quality resources so that they can help themselves:

• Docs: Tutorials, HowTos, Discussion, Reference
• Dev Tooling
• Communities
• Chaotic Kusama

Small and Medium (Web2) Businesses

Long-term likely the biggest target group for Web3 businesses. Might or might not have the capacity to build themselves. Good chance of brand loyalty once they commit. The services/resources they consume are similar to the Enterprises listed below but in smaller quantities. If they can’t build on their own, regional dev shops might be their best choice.

Enterprises

Need a dedicated key account, dedicated ecosystem services, long cycle times. Might want to run solochains/non-public ledgers, but willing to spend $ for services.

• In the sales phase, they have a dedicated BD person to talk to
• Once they start building, they have two dedicated people
  • Success, to cover the whole business side
  • DevRel, to cover all technical matters

Auxiliary Services

There is a range of ecosystem services that work closely to support the processes mentioned above:

• Acceleration: Work with high-potential tinkerers, SMBs
• DevRel: moderate communities, work with teams of any size, push issues to where they can be solved
• DX: solve developer experience issues
• UX: solve UX issues
• Legal: legal consultation for tinkerers and SMBs
• Auditing: various security services through PAL, vCISO
• Marketing: co-marketing/promotion, conference coordination etc.
• Resources: Funding (Grants, Investment), Talent, on-chain TVL, User pool, institutional knowledge

Actions

• Create coordination layer between teams to align efforts with strategy
• Streamline builder journey through onboarding, acceleration, success stages
• Create Cloud Services Map to show what we have
• Develop showcase applications and chains that work as proof-of-concept for prospective builders
• Productize our stack of Web3 Cloud primitives: DA, RaaS, app deployment
• Measure active developers across different core Polkadot technologies (Substrate chains, tools, indexers)

Indicators of Success

• active developers trending up
• rate of new chains and apps launching up
• active Hub ecosystem
• 1 Killer App from the eco

4.2. Mindshare - Win Mindshare

This program is focused on growing our mindshare across all relevant target groups.

To get builders into the eco, we need to let as many as possible know that Polkadot is the best place to build Web3.

The program manager is responsible for developing the strategies for the different target groups and implementing them.

Details on this program in Appendix 4.

Actions

• develop strategies for defined target groups with touch points, materials, campaigns
• assign one owner for each target group to implement strategy, provide feedback & fine-tune
• Leverage our upcoming media milestones and target regions
• Specifically start targeting Web2 space

Indicators of Success

• brand attribution reflected back (“They have the best Web3 dev stack”)
• media mentions, social KPIs up
• invitations to represent (for free) up
• overall KPIs up in correlated manner

Associated Teams

• Content Production
  • The Kusamarian
  • Wagmedia
• Marketing
  • Marketing Bounty
  • Distractive
  • Social Media Editorial Board
• Representation
  • Ambassador Program
  • Events Bounty
  • Meetups Bounty
• Business
  • Parity Sales
  • BD teams (PoKe, Velocity)
  • IR teams (Scytale, HIC)

4.3. Relationships - Building Bridges for Trojan Horses

This program is about building social bridges. (become more aggressive in winning over the good guys)

Relationships program manager works closely with mindshare program manager to identify high-potential opportunities and build closer relationships with them.

Substrate ecosystem

Many chains build on Substrate but not Polkadot. This is our extended area of influence! Substrate is our culture export.

• We have to draw them closer to us to make sure they stay on Substrate and spread it to their peers
  • Support them with tooling
  • develop dedicated communities
  • explicitly invite to Sub0
  • build business directory of Substrate services
• Benefits: Strengthens the adoption of Polkadot tech: Indexers, Wallets, dev shops, job opportunities for Substrate devs, increases mindshare for Substrate/XCM/Polkadot
• Substrate solochains might become convinced to join Polkadot in the future
• Push Hyperbridge to give solochains exposure to the Polkadot eco, USDT, USDC, ETH, BTC, etc

L1/L2/Rollup ecosystems

Many projects in other places of Web3 would fare better on Polkadot. Smaller restaking and rollup ecos might fail and we should pick spoils.

• develop adapters to bring their chains under the Polkadot security umbrella (Cosmos, OP Stack, Avalanche, Restaking)
• Explicitly invite to Web3 Summit
• Organize crossover conferences
• Observe their ecos for weaknesses

Existing protocols and teams

• Successful protocols go cross-chain. They should be invited to have good Polkadot presence (driven by Velocity-Nico)
• Existing DeFi protocols with strong fundamentals or strong teams that are struggling might be convinced to build on or move to Polkadot. Offer them an exit to Polkadot with good support and Cypherpunk values-driven peers
• Explicitly invite to Web3 Summit

Indicators of Success

• projects start moving to Polkadot

4.4. Success - Verticals like Tentacles

This program is about making sure our existing verticals and apps succeed.

We need to specifically double down on our champions and see they become acknowledged as best-in-class examples in the industry.

Success Program Manager works with projects to make sure they get supported as much and reasonably as possible.

Our verticals:

1. Interop, Bridging, Co-Processing, DA, Intents
2. DeFi, RWA, FinTech
3. Gaming & Entertainment
4. DePin, Data, Oracles, AI
5. Social & Identity
6. GovTech

Actions

• Set up a success team that works with builders, and resolves their issues with other services in the eco
• Work with ecosystem services to resolve issues
• Specifically highlight Champions in Polkadot promotion, leverage to attract new builders
• Use 5m DOT for strategic investments into (new) ecosystem projects, calling via RFP process

Grow technical bridging/co-processor angles

• Champions: Hyperbridge
• Support Hyperbridge to connect Polkadot to most relevant chains
• Consider enshrinement of Hyperbridge
• build intent settlement infrastructure on Polkadot (Polkadot as the Hong Kong of Web3)
  • push DOT to other ecos (if reasonable) as intent settlement token
• “deploy your smart contract” / “chain” and it acts as L2 for Ethereum

DeFi

• Champions: Hydration, Bifrost, Polimec
• Stablecoin adoption programs in Argentina (Jakub) and Nigeria (Juba)
• Velocity: on-ramps, CEX integrations, DeFi protocols on the Hub
• We should be able to claim one RWA project for Polkadot
• Have someone dedicated to be able to talk to financial institutions

Gaming, Entertainment, NFTs

• Champions: Mythical, PMEI, Unique
• support indie game development (as second angle next to our Mythical efforts)
• music industry efforts via PMEI

DePin, Data, Oracles, AI

• Champions: OriginTrail
• warm up the relationship with peaq
• is Phala staying in Polkadot?

Social & Identity

• Champions: Kilt, Frequency
• experiments around proof-of-personhood
• build a Web3 community on a Frequency-bound social platform

GovTech

• Champions: Mandala
• we should come up with a strategy to reach out to selected governments, NGOs, political institutions, think tanks

Indicators of Success

• Our champions mentioned as best in class
• Media mentions in their specific industries
• Reported as profitable businesses, finding significant adoption, industry leaders

4.5. Economy - My first on-chain billy

This program focuses on growing the domestic on-chain economy.

Polkadot TVL rn is ~$100m. Ethereum TVL is $50b. Solana is $7b. Polkadot is clearly lagging.

Actions

• Grow Polkadot-owned liquidity as balance-sheet neutral market operations
• Continue incentive programs in strategic markets
• Attract interesting DeFi projects that compose together well with the existing ones
• support HOLAR launch
• create better tooling to analyze DeFi activity

Balance-Sheet Neutral Operations

Deploy 10m DOT balance sheet neutral

• Cash
  • 2.5m DOT USDT
  • 2.5m DOT USDC
• Treasury Diversification
  • 1m DOT ETH and strategic Ethereum tokens
  • 1m DOT BTC (tBTC, lBTC)
• Strengthening the DeFi economy
  • clean-ups
    • Bifrost repayment
    • Pendulum?
    • Claw back Centrifuge?
    • Reconfigure Hydration stablecoin acquisition campaign 2 to do aDOT DCAing
  • new initiatives
    • 1m DOT HOLAR (minting)
    • Deploy 1m DOT into vDOT & vDOT liquidity (check with TP)
      • mint vDOT for 500k DOT
      • deploy vDOT:DOT liquidity
    • Deploy 1m DOT to Hydration Liquidity (gigaDOT, omnipool, money market(?))
    • bridge liquidity?

DOT Totals:

• 1m vDOT
• 1m HOLAR
• 1m Hydration liquidity
• 1m wETH and strategic Ethereum tokens
• 1m tBTC, lBTC
• 2.5m USDT
• 2.5m USDC

Incentives

• Bridge liquidity
• Distribute HOLAR als incentives?

Indicators of Success

• TVL and volume up

4.6. Services

This program develops our ecosystem services to provide projects with the support they need.

The leader of this program coordinates our services and makes sure they are properly staffed to deliver up to standard.

There is a range of ecosystem services funded through OpenGov and W3F that we need to better coordinate.

Actions

• coordinate ecosystem service teams, executing bounties
• introduce HR as a service unit to manage the complexities of our growing workforce
• introduce BI unit to serve the growing demand for insights
• introduce success as described in the program above
• establish agendas & OKRs for each service team

Indicators of Success

• good satisfaction with ecosystem services
• Success team signals no significant issues

Appendix

Appendix 1 - On Strategy

Do we really need this strategy?

Yes! Not having a strategy is not an option. Polkadot is not an isolated universe. The blockchain industry is moving at a rapid pace. Visions and tech stacks are evolving. Winning solutions are replicated in other ecosystems. Most blockchain ecosystems are driven in centralized ways with foundations that deploy armies of business developers. Just having the best tech stack today is not enough. History is full of examples where superior technology was beaten by products that were just faster to market. We can not only rely on great technology. Instead, we must aggressively implement a strategy that ensures the Polkadot ecosystem expands its position as a leader in Web3.

• need to align resources
• know what NOT to work on

But how can we have a strategy as a decentralized ecosystem?

The typical argument is that a decentralized ecosystem cannot have strategy because: Decentralization means that no single party has the power to dictate strategy. While some see this as a problem, it is really not. We are a hive mind. Our strategy is developed and implemented in a decentralized way. Polkadot is the sum of its people. We ecosystem agents coordinate and reach a soft consensus on the best path forward. Then everyone implements the strategy in their area of influence. Everyone can contribute! You are invited to become an agent! This document is just a set of ideas. Read it, take the best ideas, drop the rest, develop your own ideas, join the discussion, coordinate with others, get stuff done, and lead Polkadot to glory!

Appendix 2 - SWOT Analysis

To inform our strategy, we provide a summary of our SWOT analysis.

Strengths

• The Polkadot tech stack is widely recognized as being strong. The Polkadot SDK enabled the development of solochains and parachains. XCM is a leading interoperability standard currently connecting dozens of chains. Polkadot’s relay chain technology recently facilitated 143k tps (at 23% capacity) on Kusama during a Spammening test run, a world record. Polkadot provides data availability bandwidth of 42MB/s (at 100 cores, or 2.5MB/core/block)
• Polkadot is a popular choice for real Web3 applications, while others mainly emphasize DeFi. It hosts a diverse range of industry-leading blockchains. To name just three examples: peaq hosts 50 DePIN projects with 6m devices totaling 3b USD in value. OriginTrail’s supply chain infrastructure secures 400m+ knowledge assets for over 250 organizations, including 40% of US imports. Mythos chain has been among the top 5 chains in NFT sales volume and transactions.
• Polkadot is leading in developer and decentralization metrics. It is constantly among the Top 3 ecosystems in terms of developer count. Looking at decentralization, Polkadot leads with a Nakamoto coefficient of 148.
• Visionary Tech Leadership: Polkadot’s tech leadership, especially Gavin Wood, is frequently cited as a strong reason for its continuous innovation.

Weaknesses

• Polkadot aggregate TVL is ~100m USD as of 2025-02-26, which is comparatively low to other ecosystems (compare Polkadot TVL to All Chains TVL)
• Polkadot has a steep learning curve and introduces complex concepts.
• Mindshare among VC and retail investors and users has been described as low.
• Go-to-market execution has struggled due to organizational challenges in in 2024.

Opportunities

• Emerging as the best-performing, lowest-cost architecture. Polkadot’s upcoming JAM upgrade might become the best-performing, lowest-cost decentralized supercomputer with high shared security.
• Best offer to support Web3 applications of any scale. Polkadot optimizes to provide the right tech stack for applications of any scale, allowing them to consume more or less compute and data availability with elastic pricing as needed.
• Institutional adoption of the Web3 Cloud. Polkadot’s positioning as Web3 Cloud provides an accessible tech stack and low-latency exposure to interoperate with other services in the Web3 space. Polkadot’s focus on Web3, not just DeFi, creates a ground for adoption in numerous industries.
• Interoperability and co-processor Hub for other ecosystems. Polkadot’s focus on interoperability puts it in a central position to settle significant value and transaction flow between ecosystems.
• Picking up the spoils of failed rollup and L1 experiments. Numerous restaking projects and L1s will struggle over the long term due to excessive rent, low throughput, and missing network effects. Polkadot will provide the right space for these projects to adapt their technologies to join Polkadot’s rich Web3 ecosystem.
• Most capital-efficient DeFi and stablecoin infrastructure. Polkadot’s customizability allows for the construction of highly capital-efficient products.

Threats

• Being outpaced by the network effects of competitors. Stronger TVL or user bases on other networks.
• Market sentiment and funding. A prolonged bear market can dry up funding for new projects or diminish user interest.
• Projects move out to other ecosystems. When projects expect better funding opportunities, attention, or support in other ecosystems, they might move off.

Appendix 3 - Recommended Reading

• BASED Budgeting
• Notes towards forming an Ecosystem Development Collective
• Legislation through WFCs
• Polkadot Treasury Report 2024
• Polkadot Cloud

Appendix 4 - Mindshare Materials

Target Groups

*WoM == Word of Mouth

Target Group	Core Brand Attribution	Channel	Owner
Protocol Researchers	JAM sophistication	Conferences, WoM	Gavin
Cypherpunks	Kusama as a Playground	Conferences, WoM	Shawn
Nerds	Playground & Social Hub	Socials, WoM, Media, Events
Developers	Best place to build Web3	Socials, WoM, Media, Event	Karim?
Founders	Flexible, Powerful, Sovereign	WoM
Web2 Businesses	Resilient, public, new business cases	Conferences
Protocols	Safe, cheap, flexible, powerful	Conferences, BD	Jakub?
Enterprises	Margin, stack, flexibility	Conferences, BD	Ingo
Institutional Investors	Strong fundamentals	Conferences, IR, Degens	Kori, Scytale, HIC
Retail Investors	Gavin Wood, Best tech	Socials, WoM, Media	Evan Thomas?
Degens	Vibes	Twitter, TG, Viral Content	Dots Mag, Gavun Wud
Media	Gavin, Cypherpunks, Records	PR, 1on1, Ads	Distractive?
State Actors	Sovereignty	Advocacy, Lobbyism	Ingo?

Cloud & Hub

Central to our strategy are Polkadot Cloud and Polkadot Hub. Polkadot Cloud is the key vision we communicate to stakeholders: Polkadot is a cloud of Web3 services that developers can tap into to build resilient applications. It is a concept that is immediately understandable to people even outside the blockchain industry. Polkadot Hub is the gateway for new users and developers, providing essential features and access to the broader Polkadot Cloud.

Major Events

The strategy has to consider the major events that will define the public narrative around Polkadot in the near term. Upcoming major events might include:

• Polkadot App Launch: Polkadot’s entry-level consumer app to hold stables and DOT and shop in stores will first launch in the US and then expand to other markets.
• DOT ETF Listing: 21Shares and Grescale have filed for DOT ETFs in January and February 2025.
• Polkadot 2.0 Launch: This upgrade will enable Polkadot chains with high throughput demand to acquire additional resources from Polkadot.
• Polkadot Hub Launch: Polkadot Hub will introduce a major UX improvement to onboard users and entry-level developers to Polkadot.
• Next Spammening TPS World Record: Polkadot plans to expand on its current of 143k tps and push this number to several hundreds of thousands of even a million transactions per second.
• HOLAR Launch: Hydration will launch a new Polkadot-native stablecoin called HOLAR.
• Proof-of-Personhood Launch: This new mechanism allows humans to create on-chain profiles without revealing their identity. This enables new social tools, DAO governance mechanisms, UBI experiments, and more. The launch campaign might include several releases, such as a whitepaper and different individuality mechanisms.
• Kusama Cypherpunk Renaissance: This ongoing initiative pushes for Kusama to become a chain focused on experimention and privacy.
• JAM: While not expected to fully launch in 2025, significant milestones for this new supercomputer architecture upgrade of Polkadot can be expected
  • Doom-on-chain POC: A proof-of-concept of the throughput capacity of JAM could be delivered by running the computer game Doom on-chain.
  • JAM Launch: The JAM launch itself will support the existing parachain system of Polkadot as well as the possibility to create new kinds of services on JAM.
  • CorePlay Launch: A significant new service for JAM will be CorePlay, a smart-contract-like environment following the actor model.

Regions

• USA
• Argentina
• Nigeria
• Hong Kong
• Singapore
• Dubai

[Nukeme3]

I’ve been thinking for some time that the ecosystem lacked a corporate mission and vision to drive its purpose. While Parity and W3F are driven to deliver Polkadot, what are we doing to bring the world on-chain in a united front? Certainly at no fault to any person or team who are building on Polkadot, but there’s an intrinsic silo effect in ad hoc collaborations. Perhaps having strategic leadership could provide a guiding star for optimized team collaborations and product efforts to maximize key growth metrics across all chains. At the least, this seems like a valiant effort to experiment with.

I’m continuously impressed by the steady maturity of OpenGov and the entire ecosystem. Though I’m little known in the community, the values of open, honest access to verifiable truth resonate on many levels. I’d be happy to volunteer some of my limited time and energy on making this initiative successful. Feel free to DM me if there’s any way I can help!

[Murphy]

“But how can we have a strategy as a decentralized ecosystem?”

I think there’s often excessive emphasis on clinging to (often hugely misunderstood) core Web3 values of old which ultimately just manifest as dissidence and maverickism, causing major inefficiencies and allowing bad actors to operate unchecked.
I’m particularly bullish on initiatives that integrate proven, real-world concepts and structure - thoughtfully adapting them to fit a Web3 framework.

“Who Should We Recruit for the Program Manager Roles?”

The roles are varied, each with its own quirks and answer. I’d like to see the scope of the roles first robustly developed through discussion, before opening up a more transparent application/tendering/interview process than we have seen before. Let’s pioneer something new?

Additionally, at least some of these positions should be actively advertised beyond the Polkadot ecosystem. The skillsets and management experience required for certain roles could considerably outweigh the benefits of being a Polkadot-native. To misquote something i saw Gavin tweet recently, i’m not saying we should look to bring in mercenaries chasing a pay check but that we should explore ways to attract great people who may become tomorrows missionaries.
It would also provide potential opportunities to gain through network effects as well as being a damn pretty cool advert for OpenGov’s industry leading evolution.

Great endeavour Tommi, will re-read and think more.

[Nukeme3]

A few points on the Mission/Vision statements. I think for anyone here the concepts are well understood. We see Web3 as a future state of the internet. However, for any person or business learning about Polkadot and Web3 for the first time, should that come with a mandatory explanation?

I think the Mission and Vision should be clear for anyone to understand without a need for secondary Google searches. Perhaps:

Vision: Bring the resilient, permissionless, universally accessible Web3 to the world
Mission: Make Polkadot the first choice for Web3 applications

This would give more context and an entry point to begin learning about the goals of Web3, as the ecosystem markets to non-Web3 businesses. This also points to Polkadot’s maturity from a core technical protocol level development project into an ecosystem to support the application layer where businesses and users will interact.

Thoughts, comments, concerns, complaints?

[thewhiterabbitM]

My personal broad overview of how a strategic plan could be developed, along with a few general observations:

Currently, there is a degree of uncertainty, as there are no clear guidelines in place. For example, it is not always evident which tools can be used to establish agreements, partnerships, and similar initiatives. Some activities overlap between events, marketing, and business development, making it challenging to determine the right point of contact. While this is a natural aspect of a decentralized environment, it can also lead to inefficiencies and unnecessary use of resources.

Many individuals are managing multiple roles simultaneously, which can sometimes result in operational inefficiencies due to time constraints.

All ecosystem contributors and stakeholders working toward Polkadot’s success would benefit from aligning more closely with the broader vision of strengthening the ecosystem as a whole, rather than focusing solely on individual objectives.

These points are not meant as criticism but rather as an invitation for self-reflection. By collectively assessing how we can optimize processes and collaboration, we can enhance efficiency and ensure the system functions at its best.

While we fully embrace Polkadot’s decentralized and permissionless nature, maintaining a shared strategic vision is essential. Without it, coordination may become more complex than in a centralized structure.

We have all the necessary tools to succeed. By working together with a shared focus and commitment, we can ensure that initiatives are executed effectively and within reasonable timeframes.

[Yamne]

Great to see the Polkadot Growth Strategy taking shape—it’s a well-timed and at the same an ambitious move to bring order to the “Chaos” we’ve navigated in the last few years.

We used to think, “Our tech is amazing, so everyone—developers, projects, investors, and creators—will come to us.” That showed how much we believed in Polkadot, but at the same that was our weakness.
Now, it’s exciting to switch things up and take a bold, proactive approach to grow even more, outside our little niche.

The best part? We don’t need to start from scratch or overcomplicate things—our tech, the best in this industry, is already a strong foundation.

First, defining our right audience and a common language are crucial in my opinion.
If all our teams, DAOs, ambassadors, local communities, and others have the same clear language, good tools, easy funding paths, and shared goals to the right audience—like developers, startups, and creators—Polkadot can grow big and build a true strong community together. No space for individualities nor personal gain.
Just imagine, if we all together align our efforts under a shared vision, all our messages will be amplified and unstoppable.

Second, let’s use the right tools to make things even better and learn from successful ecosystems and invite talented developers, content creators, and investors to join us.

For instance, Partnering with universities could be one of the game-changers. Greater media exposure, cross-industry and Government connections, integrating Polkadot’s technology into courses or R&D could inspire the next wave of developers to build with us.

Or, we can leverage established companies and global initiatives to onboard skilled developers. How come more and more Polkadot’s projects or builders “looked” for other opportunities outside our ecosystem?
By providing clear funding opportunities, we’ll keep and most likely attract top projects and talented people, from other ecosystems or Web2, excited to help build Polkadot’s future.

Polkadot (Web3) needs to knock on doors and strengthen relationships with the reality we are living in.

These are just a couple of ideas that came to mind.
Appreciate Tommy for opening this discussion and write down a lot of already interesting actions. I will be happy to contribuite on this strategy

[Nukeme3]

So I’ve been stirring on this over the weekend and am spitballing some ideas below. These are fairly broad ideas which would absolutely need to be boiled down to more specific actionable items, ideally in a Perato or PFMEA style priority ordering.

One thing I’ve noticed over my time observing discussions on the topic of growth, marketing, and general governance or development discussions is that ideas and decisions remain fairly amorphous. We define many items necessary or that will drive adoption, but we do not specify exactly how this is to be done. Tools are produced and deployed and then left for people to experiment and discover the use of the tools on their own. We are effectively in a workshop surrounded by tools, but lacking a clearly defined process or business model to put them to use.

The more I think about it, the more a data-driven strategy makes sense. I don’t know if this would be necessary for a new fellowship or anything to that degree, or if it could be incorporated into existing community roles.

We have the tech-stack. The platform is here. The future is bright. Polkadot CAN become to next evolution of Cloud Service Providers built to the ideals of an honest and equitable Web3 we believe the world needs.

But we need to turn these aspirations into actionable items. Connect the dots to make the big picture. We will need to develop a strategy which we can all align to, regardless of our capacity within the space. Parachains will need to collaborate with cross-chain tools and services. Users will need to demonstrate the ease and effectiveness of our heterogenous ecosystem. We should also look to the systems with exisiting userbase (Mythos/Frequency) and how can those mono-chain users become multi-chain? We will also need to pitch Polkadot as the best option for Web3 scalability at the lowest cost. Finally, fostering a platform for experimentation and rapid prototyping for new entrants into the space is a must. Much of this work is soon to be deployed with upcoming features.

Ultimately, I think it will take bringing the parachain teams together to determine what is possible, as much of the end-user growth will be dependent on how they are able to support one another. Mythos and Frequency will be key players as they have access to potentially millions of new Web3 users who may not be aware of the backend capabilities. Developing a Mythos user pipeline to gaming on Moonbeam or content monitization on Frequency to fund further ecosystem access will be important to figure out.

Again, these are all just ideas to get possible discussions going. This really may be an ecosystem-wide initiative. See below for possible action item breakout.

Overview of High Level Growth Items

Below is a structured, high-level growth strategy for Polkadot, focusing on expanding its parachains and projects, attracting end users, onboarding existing Web3 projects, and engaging Web2/legacy businesses.

1. Expand Parachains and Projects Purchasing Coretime

Objective: Grow the number and diversity of parachains to create a richer, more robust ecosystem—and increase demand for coretime (i.e., secure blockspace).

1.1 Short-Term Actions

• Parachain Bootstrapping & Incubators

    ◦ Develop incubator and accelerator programs focused on new and existing startup projects. Offer technical guidance, grants, and marketing support for teams eager to deploy on Polkadot. (This is largely already in effect via OpenGov funding requests and Web3 Foundation Grants)

    ◦ Provide dedicated “Parachain-onboarding teams” to streamline the process of bidding for and using coretime, ensuring minimal friction in establishing new parachains. (This may already exist through Web3 Foundation guidance and community documentation. Future expansion and collection of resources in the Polkadot Hub. Open experimentation on Westend/Paseo with community support)

• Documentation & Tooling Improvements

    ◦ Create step-by-step guides for parachain deployment and best practices for purchasing coretime. (RegionX & Lastic – Polkadot Wiki)

    ◦ Release updated SDKs, templates, or reference implementations so teams can launch quickly without deep custom builds. (Detailed tutorials and walkthroughs of Polkadot SDK with templates of common parachain implementations for local deployment and experimentation – GitHub resources, with “Getting Started with Polkadot SDK” links from Hub, Lastic, Wiki, etc – anywhere where builders might land and begin exploring)

1.2 Medium-Term Goals

• Coretime Marketplace Enhancements

    ◦ Launch a more transparent marketplace for coretime, with real-time metrics (e.g., available slots, pricing trends, performance stats) to make it easy for prospective teams to understand the benefits and costs. (Clear outline of costs in local Fiat/USD for deployment, transaction, with scaled costs for increased transaction count – every $ not spent on transaction fees or overhead $ in the pocket)

    ◦ Integrate advanced tooling to allow projects to estimate resource needs based on usage and transaction volume. (Continuation of above – estimates of savings from shared security, native interoperability, trustless bridging, utilization of cross-chain tooling to enhance and expand products and services)

• Governance & Policy Evolution

    ◦ Enable dynamic allocation and renewal processes for parachains, providing a smoother system for existing parachains to renew their slots without complex re-auctions, if they meet certain performance/utility criteria. (Coretime sales and Polkadot 2.0 features largely solve this issue. Survey parachain teams if the Coretime sales model is meeting demand or to review if alterations to coretime leases is necessary)

    ◦ Expand governance mechanisms to let stakeholders vote on which new parachains or verticals should be prioritized for ecosystem funding or low-cost coretime. (ecosystem service bounties?)

1.3 Long-Term Vision

• Sustainable Economic Model 

    ◦ Transition towards a system where the demand for coretime naturally reflects the utility and value generated by parachains—fostering a self-sustaining economy. (Parachains should meet or slightly outnumber the available cores to drive demand and coretime price discovery – Coretime secondary market to pickup overflow demand)

    ◦ Position Polkadot’s coretime marketplace as the go-to solution for specialized use cases, e.g., gaming, social media, enterprise data, DeFi, etc. (SME’s and case studies to demonstrate the success of developing on Polkadot – Mythical, Frequency, Vbrick, Hydration, etc.)

2. Increase End Users and Facilitate Cross-Parachain Migration

Objective: Attract large numbers of end users—particularly from gaming (Mythos) and social networking (Frequency)—and create seamless pathways so these users can move across parachains.

2.1 Short-Term Actions

• Parachain Interoperability UX

    ◦ Develop user-facing wallets and bridging interfaces that provide “one-click” or “one-tap” transfers across parachains. (One-click swaps i.e. Nova Wallet reimplemented in Mythical Market bridged to Moonbeam gaming such as Evr Loot to expand ecosystem gaming presence)

    ◦ Utilizing MeWe or similar Social Media (for Group oriented activities and interactions, explore similar Groups) built atop Frequency or SubSocial as de facto social interaction platforms for Web3 services and products. Drive the conversations to these platforms via early bird rewards, special achievements, unique experiences in game/across network)

    ◦ Run “tech demos” or tutorials that showcase how a user from Mythos (gaming) can easily bring achievements into Frequency (social), or vice versa. 

• User Education & Content

    ◦ Launch tutorial content—videos, in-game guides, or interactive demos—to show end users how to utilize cross-chain features (like bridging tokens or trading assets on other ecosystem marketplaces). 

    ◦ Curate success stories (e.g., Mythos gamers earning rewards they can spend in other parachains, monetized content on Frequency used to enhance games on Mythos) to demonstrate real value in multi-chain usage. 

2.2 Medium-Term Goals

• Shared Incentive Programs

    ◦ Develop cross-parachain reward or loyalty programs to incentivize users to explore new networks. For instance, an NFT from Mythos might unlock special features on Frequency such as access into an exclusive group or achievement or flair within Mythos Groups or channels)

    ◦ Collaborate with parachains to offer “in-app” currency swaps or bridging so users can earn or redeem tokens across ecosystems without leaving the interface. (regulatory compliance issues? Country and region specific?)

• Common Identity & Reputation Protocols

    ◦ Implement (or promote) a robust identity solution (e.g., decentralized social profiles) that works across multiple parachains. (Unified identity, integration with Kilt and future proof-of-personhood)

    ◦ Encourage projects to use common standards for user metadata, achievements, or credentials, making it easy to maintain a single user identity and reputation across the Polkadot ecosystem. (A true ‘Metaverse’ where user data is persistent across services and their reputation and achievements can travel with them)

2.3 Long-Term Vision

• Universal Cross-Chain Value Layer 

    ◦ Position Polkadot as a single, interconnected environment where users can fluidly move value, data, and identities. 

    ◦ Establish a cohesive ecosystem brand to ensure new parachains automatically benefit from the network’s cross-chain user base. (Immediate Network effect and access to an ecosystem worth of tools, services, and users to leverage)

3. Monetization Strategies for Content Creators and Expanding Value Across the Ecosystem

Objective: Provide tools and frameworks so content creators and users can monetize their contributions, and freely transfer that value to other parts of the Polkadot ecosystem.

3.1 Short-Term Actions

• Creator Tools & Marketplaces

    ◦ Offer user-friendly “plug-and-play” modules for creators to tokenize or monetize their work. (Begin by emulating existing Web2 business models such as Affiliate Marketing, P2P DoorDash-like service, AirBNB with collatoralized deposits – What works on Centralized systems that could be deployed in Web3?)

    ◦ Integrate these tools in Mythos and Frequency first, leveraging their active user bases in gaming and social media. (Advertise where the eyes are – participants and players transitioning to providers across the ecosystem)

• Cross-Parachain Licensing & Royalties

    ◦ Develop or integrate royalty standards that track digital content across multiple parachains. Creators who mint on one parachain can receive royalties when content is resold on another. Provide options for users to sell their content/data on alternate marketplaces as effortlessly as possible (One-click monetization across multiple platforms)

3.2 Medium-Term Goals

• Unified Payment and Exchange Framework

    ◦ Launch or partner with cross-chain DEXs and bridging solutions (Hydration / Hyperbridge) that let creators accept multiple tokens or stablecoins, streamlining payouts. (Support strategic external native network tokens as much as possible (ETH, SOL, ADA, as much as possible and included into the Hydration OmniPool – Treasury to support initial liquidity)

    ◦ Offer simplified fiat on/off ramps to reduce friction for mainstream content creators.

• Collaborative Content Ecosystems

    ◦ Encourage synergy across parachains—for instance, forging partnerships with media or entertainment parachains so gaming items can become part of streaming, fan experiences, etc. (Faze Clan partnership?)

    ◦ Promote cross-marketing campaigns where creators on one parachain can tap into user bases on other parachains. (Everyone benefits when we are all moving in the same direction)

3.3 Long-Term Vision

• Ecosystem-wide Monetization Framework 

    ◦ Position Polkadot as a top-tier hub where creators and innovators can easily deploy, own, and monetize cross-chain content. (Leverage Verified Authentic as a media-truth solution. Cross-chain support for marketing Polkadot as a platform of verifiable truth for influencers, musicians, news, politics or anyone concerned with misrepresentation or adulteration through AI, or other forms of manipulation.)

    ◦ Foster a vibrant content economy that extends beyond gaming or social into enterprise, media, and beyond. 

4. Onboarding Existing Web3 Projects

Objective: Attract established Web3 projects from other chains or ecosystems by showcasing Polkadot’s benefits—scalability, security, and interoperability.

4.1 Short-Term Actions

• Targeted Outreach & Partnerships

    ◦ Identify promising or fast-growing Web3 apps in other ecosystems. Initiate direct conversations offering technical support, grants, or marketing to integrate or migrate onto Polkadot. 

    ◦ Highlight success stories such as the Mythos chain to show how easy it is to bring large user bases to Polkadot with low, predictable costs.

• Comprehensive Migration Guides

    ◦ Publish documentation detailing how to move existing smart contracts or projects onto Substrate-based parachains. (BlockDeep support?)

    ◦ Provide cost and performance comparisons, plus a timeline for how quickly a migration can occur. 

4.2 Medium-Term Goals

• Incentivized Migration Programs

    ◦ Launch a structured migration fund—backed by Polkadot Treasury or ecosystem funds—to subsidize the technical and operational costs for key projects migrating in. 

    ◦ Offer specialized consultation for token restructuring and bridging, ensuring projects can maintain or upgrade their tokenomics on Polkadot. 

• Polkadot Cloud PaaS Integration

    ◦ Provide a dedicated environment for existing Web3 projects, using “click-to-deploy” solutions on Polkadot Cloud (see Section 5), helping them rapidly spin up their parachains or dApps. (Polkadot Hub)

    ◦ Offer advanced developer tooling and preconfigured environment templates for rapid prototyping

4.3 Long-Term Vision

• Dominant Web3 Hub 

    ◦ Position Polkadot as the natural next step for mature Web3 ventures. Achieve brand recognition as the ecosystem that best balances security, scalability, and composability. 

    ◦ Become a one-stop ecosystem where Web3 projects can access any necessary resource—ranging from specialized parachains (DeFi, NFT, gaming, privacy) to robust user communities. 

6. Convincing Web2 and Legacy Businesses to Build on Polkadot

Objective: Showcase Polkadot as a next-generation cloud and data infrastructure provider capable of handling enterprise-level needs, with unmatched interoperability and security.

6.1 Short-Term Actions

• Enterprise-Focused Outreach

    ◦ Launch an “Enterprise Polkadot Initiative” that highlights how Fortune 500 companies, large-scale platforms, or SMEs can benefit from decentralized, verifiable infrastructure. 

    ◦ Provide business-focused “use case playbooks” that detail how Polkadot-based solutions can enhance supply chain tracking, data verification, compliance, etc. 

• Quick POC (Proof-of-Concept) Packages

    ◦ Develop pre-built demonstration modules or “quick start kits” for enterprise use cases. 

    ◦ Offer partnerships with system integrators (SI) and consulting firms that can pilot Polkadot solutions in real-world corporate environments. (Target specific industries with clear value propositions – Supply chain, B2B software backends, DoorDash/Uber-like P2P services)

5.2 Medium-Term Goals

• Polkadot Cloud as Next-Gen Cloud

    ◦ Launch and market Polkadot Cloud as a plug-and-play service enabling enterprises to deploy private or consortium software and applications with minimal friction. (Market JAM software continuations and environment agnosticism, along with business’ data ownership and monetization options)

    ◦ Emphasize strong security guarantees, controlled data privacy, and easy interoperability with other Polkadot parachains and services for cross-company data sharing. 

• Compliance & Legal Frameworks

    ◦ Work with industry groups to establish recognized compliance standards (e.g., frameworks for data sharing or identity). 

    ◦ Integrate regulated bridging solutions for fiat and real-world assets, simplifying corporate adoption. 

5.3 Long-Term Vision

• Interoperable, Verifiable State Transfers 

    ◦ Cement Polkadot as the leading network to handle multi-jurisdictional data and complex supply chains with on-chain verification. 

    ◦ Become the “go-to” blockchain solution for large-scale digital transformation strategies by demonstrating how Polkadot outperforms alternate chains on key metrics (resiliance, scalability, operating cost, and flexibility) and competes with siloed Web2 architectures with the added benefit of data ownership and unique monetization options and markets for businesses and users.

[IrenaSat]

Compeletely agree with @Nukeme3, down to the specific action items.

There is already a lot that is being done by the separate initiatives. Mapping the efforts and having an overview of the short-term and long-term actions and powering them is the key, imo.

The goal is decentralised, but coordinated.

[Max]

Grat Summary by @alice_und_bob , it is no exaggeration to say that Polkadot as a decentralised network of agents needs a new strategic direction, and this growth strategy here offers a great blue print! Thank you for putting it together.

The point on “5m DOT for strategic investments” certainly resonates with me. Running a Polkadot VC Fund since three years now, I am acutely aware that there is still a lack of VC funding for emerging projects on Polkadot, who then end up moving to other ecosystems, not for the tech, but because it is easier to attract VC funding there. If we want to make “Polkadot the best place to build Web3” we also need to find ways to deploy more VC Capital to support new projects; however, not as grants (i.e. “handouts”) from the treasury, but as commercially driven venture capital with clear expectation of ROI. At Harbour Industrial Capital we will do our part and devise ways to support.

[thewhiterabbitM]

I think Shawn is doing the best job he can in his speeches keeping the technical level average and mixing it with the commercial part. We should probably all start aligning ourselves with his narrative, which in my opinion is the winning one.

@Yamne

First, defining our right audience and a common language are crucial in my opinion.
If all our teams, DAOs, ambassadors, local communities, and others have the same clear language, good tools, easy funding paths, and shared goals to the right audience—like developers, startups, and creators—Polkadot can grow big and build a true strong community together. No space for individualities nor personal gain.
Just imagine, if we all together align our efforts under a shared vision, all our messages will be amplified and unstoppable.

[jslusser]

Thank you @alice_und_bob for this strategy outline, and I think we all agree that better coordination is required in order for us to grow the ecosystem.

I have been working with a team of 30+ Polkadot agents, drafting a strategy for North America that we may be able to fold into this larger Polkadot Growth Strategy. While that strategy is regional (and a region you mention as well), we view it as an approach that could be applied to other jurisdictions too. And because we view it through a regional lens, it covers all of your programs mentioned.

I’m also part of a group of Polkadot BD agents who have been working towards better coordination of BD efforts globally, and again, I think perhaps we have the opportunity to fold that into this larger Polkadot Growth Strategy as well.

I will join the X space today and look forward to that call, but count me in to help however I can to move this forward. North America represents a significant growth opportunity, and with all of the changes the Trump administration has implemented, or claims to be implementing soon, the time is right for us to make a material investment now.

[IrenaSat]

Thank you for the session tonight @alice_und_bob ! It was great to hear everyone’s thoughts, I tried to contribute, but X kept crashing on me.

One thing I wanted to mention (and this might be more important when it comes to bringing the ideas into action): when communicating, we need to implement more market-friendly tone. Focus on the outcomes, not features. Polkadot is superb in tech, but few people actually understand what are the implementations for the industry or for the user experience. People care about what does the tech solution do for them / their business.

The positioning needs to be more specific, translate the technical conquests into relatable outcomes for the user. From the strategic point of view, this means shifting the messaging from ‘how it works’ to ‘what it enables’. Instead of emphasizing the mechanics of Polkadot’s interoperability or security model, we should highlight how it empowers builders, businesses, and users; whether that’s enabling seamless asset transfers, reducing costs, or unlocking new economic models.

The communication to different audiences should also be tailored: policymakers need clarity on regulatory advantages, enterprises want to see cost savings and scalability, and developers care about ease of integration. Making these benefits tangible and relevant bridges the gap between technical innovation and real-world adoption.

[AlexPromoTeam]

Great DOC I fully support it.

I am a small Polkadot contributor and do my small daily stuff 24/7/365

Here are my key strategy points for this cycle:

Retail Strategy = WUD (meme) + Hydration (trading) + Nova (wallet for everything) = SUCCESS STORY, WE NEED SUCCESS STORIES ON POLKADOT to GRAB ATTENTION !!! More details here.

Business Strategy - Adoption of Ready to Go Polkadot Products like:
UNIQUE_SDK @Charu_Unique (Gaming, Loyalty Programs, Digital Identity in the form of NFT)
XODE @johnnykawa - Integrations of Polkadot Web3 Tech into the Web2 Businesses in the Philippines, South Korea and Southeast Asia.
And more …

BTW, I am READY FOR COLLABORATIONS to prepare GO-TO-MARKET Strategies, wellcome! Book a call.

Governments and large institutions Strategy:
Universities - (Rus, Central Asia) - Cooperation for future meetings, workshops and new DEVELOPERS.
Central Asian Governments and Large Institutions - Cooperation with NAPP, Uzbekistan Crypto Regulator, several high level meetings to explain Web3 and Polkadot concepts, mobile operators and banks set up several R&D teams to research and experiment with Web3 concepts.
Balkan governments and large Institutions - negotiations with key regional developer teams, politicians and lawmakers, onboarding to Polkadot. First Serbian licensed exchange ECD.rs listed DOT after several meetings with me as ambassador. Preparation of a series of DOT events across Balkan.

Developers Education:
Developed strategy for Ru community , support needed.

My questions:

• Consider adding my retail strategy to the main doc - its very easy and already giving amazing results. WUD is now inviting almost 100% of Polkadot’s NEW retail audience (according to my social network metrics).
• Why there is no DEX and CEX strategy - ASSETHUB tokens adoption, calls with key actors to present best ecosystem tokens to list with discounts or for free, USDT and USDC on Assethub adoption and listings. Why Polkadot people hesitate to interact with DEXes and CEXex?
• I would like to receive and work on requests regarding sales and BD, integrations etc. from CIS (Russian speaking) regions, Central Asia and Balkans. Can we collect these requests on the Polkadot website and forward it to local ambassadors/representatives like me?
• How can I be involved in all the movements and not spend many hours in phone calls, meetings and endless discussions? I am ready to accept the strategy and just do the stuff with some small support: informational support - mention as representative / BD and sales requests for work off/ funding for meetings and events without headache /.
• Pls add Ru-Speaking Regions as separate subdirectory (300M people speak Rus)

… AND Polkadot SUN will RISE!

[johnnykawa]

Thank you alice_und_bob. Thank you @AlexPromoTeam. I know for a fact that @AlexPromoTeam is diligently spreading the Polkadot gospel 24/7 and in his own quiet way. I know because I am one of those who listened to his Polkadot message. Yes, I agree that while the essence of Web3 is trustless decentralization, we need a common vision and coordination of efforts to be efficient. And I agree with @IrenaSat about a shift in our messaging. It’s not the tech (while our tech is awesome). It’s what real-world solutions Polkadot brings. And Alex/$WUD is right in the approach of putting the fun back into learning the tech.

[Nukeme3]

I believe that structuring Polkadot’s growth strategy around clearly defined “Pillars of Business” model can dramatically clarify our path forward. By grounding everything on a solid foundation—composed of our core technologies, protocols, XCM, and the Polkadot SDK—we set the stage for a cohesive, stable framework. These technological elements are our bedrock: they give Polkadot its unique power to provide secure, interoperable, and scalable services for projects across the Web3 spectrum.

While the technology and services delivered with Polkadot is new, the core foundation is that we are an organization (Polkadot DAO) with a product (Blockspace) which we offer customers (Parachains) to provide end use services in a trustless environment. The various pillars within the organization work collectively to support the values, mission, and vision of Web3.

From this foundation, I see several key pillars rising that not only hold up our growth strategy, but also allow us to advance our core values and mission more effectively. For instance, having OpenGov as one pillar ensures we cultivate transparent governance mechanisms, giving everyone a voice and preserving the decentralized ethos that Web3 represents. Another pillar—Unified Strategy—allows us to align all stakeholders, from parachain teams to token holders, around a common vision, preventing fragmentation and siloed development.

System Chains and Parachain Support serve as pillars focused on the practical side of network growth. System Chains, in my view, can act as foundational services (for identity, infrastructure, or specific cross-chain functionalities) that new projects can rely on without reinventing the wheel. Meanwhile, by honing our resources and initiatives around Parachain Support, we ensure that current and future parachains receive the technical, economic, and marketing tools they need to thrive.

Understanding Web3 Market Customers is another crucial pillar. In my experience, many traditional initiatives struggle simply because they don’t fully grasp their audience’s pain points or adoption barriers. By explicitly focusing on market understanding, we can refine our product offerings—be it developer-facing SDK improvements or end-user wallets that make cross-chain transfers seamless. Along the same lines, Understanding the Needs of Parachains stands as its own critical pillar: each parachain is essentially an independent ecosystem with its own goals, user base, and technological requirements. Strengthening this pillar helps us address those diverse needs with more targeted strategies and resources.

Ultimately, these pillars support our core Web3 values of decentralization, transparency, and equity. They also help us work toward Polkadot’s mission: to provide the world with a more inclusive and interoperable internet. When I think about the long-term vision—bringing equitable Web3 access to the world—I see these pillars as structural elements that keep us consistently moving toward that goal. The foundation of protocols, XCM, and the Polkadot SDK will always be there, but the pillars are what shape how we build up and out, ensuring that every piece of our ecosystem stays aligned and robust in delivering real value to users and organizations everywhere.

[Yamne]

I have translated to Italian Shawn’s last presentation deck. You should find them on his original deck too so, we are on the same page here.

I agree, we should use consistent, globally appropriate language tailored to the specific audience, pushing forward with a unified message. For instance:

• At a tech conference, we could easily talk about code, algorithms, infrastructure, and similar topics
• When onboarding newcomers to Polkadot, we highlight what Polkadot offers in terms of applications and usability, no technical jargon
• And so forth, adapting as needed

We are decentralized, yet decentralization does not imply disconnection

[lilymendzdev]

Great job,
Will these programs function as a sort of coordination, collaboration, and communication between the different existing initiatives in the ecosystem? In other words, would each manager be responsible for facilitating these functions within their respective program? For example, the manager in charge of “Builders” would not only focus on creating new ways to engage developers but also on promoting existing initiatives like PBA, PBA-X, Dotcodeschool, among others, ensuring that developers are aware of these initiatives and encouraging their effective use.

The ecosystem has many valuable resources; what is missing is a structure that integrates them and facilitates access, allowing all elements of the ecosystem to work together efficiently. These programs could be key to maximizing the impact and collaboration between initiatives, ensuring that all ecosystem participants are aware of the existing resources and encouraging their effective use.

Here’s my feedback on the points you requested.
.

@alice_und_bob

Specifically, the following points need feedback:

• Who should we recruit for the program manager roles?
• What budget should we assign to those programs?
• What timelines should we give ourselves?

.
Who should we recruit for the program manager roles?

These are high-ranking positions, so agents should hold them with a deep understanding of the ecosystem. They should also be able to contribute creative ideas to their assigned program, have the necessary time to fulfill the role, communicate respectfully with other managers, and foster teamwork and leadership.

What budget should we assign to those programs?

The budget should be allocated based on the hours dedicated per month, considering a minimum of 12 months of work and the standard industry salary for a managerial position. Additionally, it should include funding for one or two assistants per manager, following the standard industry hourly rate.

What timelines should we give ourselves?

I believe a one-year period is sufficient to start measuring results.

[Atticus_Stella]

Firstly, we from the StellaSwap team values your contribution to the ecosystem and we look forward to contributing to the general ecosystem in various ways.

Secondly, wrt to DeFI, we believe that there should be better representation/coverage of StellaSwap on Polkadot, given our contributions. We’re one of the top contributors of trade volume + TVL, which is essential for DeFi activity for any network. In this strategy, there is no mention of SS anywhere, and we believe that inclusion should be based on objective metrics, which based on our track records, is palpable for the public to verify.

There needs to be greater fairness in the coverage of contributors like us in the ecosystem and we hope that newer iterations of this strategy would include that @alice_und_bob

[IrenaSat]

@Alice_und_Bob - I’ve sent you a dm about wanting to contribute, but I also wanted to drop some thoughts here for discussion. Looking at the current state of things, I think there’s a lot that can be done on the coordination and execution side to make sure efforts translate into impact.

Mapping the Efforts & Providing Clear Support

One of the first things I’d suggest is a structured mapping of all the ongoing initiatives — who is doing what, what stage each effort is at, and where the bottlenecks are. It’s important to ensure that every stage of a project, from ideation to execution, has clear points of support. This also reflects @Atticus_Stella 's comment above, the support for projects like StellaSwap needs to clearly outlined.

A few key things to consider:

Who is driving what? There should be visibility into initiatives so efforts aren’t duplicated or left with gaps.

Where do things stall? If projects consistently slow down at a particular stage (funding? technical alignment? adoption?), the reasons need to be diagnosed and addressed directly.

What kind of support is actually needed? Some teams might need technical guidance, others a marketing push, and others just clearer documentation or onboarding pathways.

Evaluating Current Efforts – What Works, What Doesn’t

There’s a lot of great work happening, but sometimes it’s doing the same thing expecting different results. If something isn’t delivering the traction needed, it’s worth figuring out why. That means looking at previous initiatives with an open mind: what gained traction, what didn’t, and how to move forward.

A few areas that should be analyzed:

Go-to-market execution: are projects being set up for success, or are they going out into the wild without enough momentum?

Funding & TVL growth: The tech is solid, but why is aggregate TVL still relatively low? Is it easy enough for capital to flow into the ecosystem?

Messaging & adoption: Polkadot has serious strengths, but are they being clearly communicated? How can it be ensured that developers, users, and investors see the full value? (This I addressed in my previous post.)

Building Momentum

‘Ship’ use cases and stories

Clearer calls to action – Making it easy for people to contribute and know where they can plug in.

[alice_und_bob]

Hey everone!

Thanks for the plentiful feedback and all the outreach. There were many conversations in the last few days and I want to share some bits:

• I published the latest version of the strategy on a dedicated portal page: Polkadot Growth Strategy
• Hosted a Twitter Space to discuss the strategy here
• Launched a dedicated discussion to grow the on-chain economy here
• Hosted a Twitter Space on our Web3 Vision
  • Main takeaways: Many got onboarded into “crypto” without ever properly being introduced to Web3. They work in an industry, rather than a movement.
  • If we agree on a vision, we will attract like-minded people
  • If we agree on a vision, we have a much easier time deciding on which applications to fund through OpenGov
• Notable Calls with ecosystem agents
  • Chrissy Hill, COO/CLO Parity: discussed integration of the North America Strategy. More news will follow soon
  • @pierreaubert, VP of Engineering Parity: discussed integrating product strategy. I will share more in the next iteration of the doc. Notably, we discussed the launch of Hub and Parity’s scope/non-scope for it. Check the chapter below for more.
  • @angie: Leading DotPlay, she shared the latest on the DotPlay Gaming strategy and implications for BD.
  • @NickD: Leading DealDesk, a DF project for funding strategic projects. We discussed how BD could be structured. I will share more on current BD needs soon.
  • Moonbearer: He recently started leading Community Development under the Marketing Bounty. Significant developments were the relaunch of the Discord and Telegram communities. We discussed giving more weight to community development efforts in the strategy.
  • Gustavo Joppert Massenna: Part of the Brazil BD team. He shared his strategy that is opening many doors in Brazil, based on an approach that is more based on consulting and innovation management rather than traditional BD. I encouraged him to open a conversation on that in the forum.

Hub Launch

Currently we don’t have a unified effort around making the Hub launch a success. Parity is working out the tech. @nico_a/Velocity are leading finance integrations. @albertov19/Papermoon are providing documentation.

Other than that, there is not yet a clear structure. I think there will be high expectations of Polkadot Hub being a successful product on Polkadot, so we should put additional effort on making sure everyone is contributing to it becoming a good launch. I will put more attention to this topic in the coming days.