Our Proposal Mascot, Willy Won-icorn the Chocolate-loving Bufficorn
TLDR
We're on a quest to recruit at least 200 new builders into the nouns community at ETHDenver 2024 through a series of thoughtful seminars, events and activations targeting developers and creatives alike... Including an exciting Golden Ticket initiative that will see someone at the conference buy a Nounish Chocolate bar and win Noun 405, a contest that is sure to make Nouns the talk of ETH Denver!
Proposal Summary:
WHAT: We have planned a series of exciting onsite and offsite events during ETH Denver 2024 (Feb 28 through March 3.) This includes the opportunity to host two of the official onsite "BUIDLer Nights" for hackers, slots to speak about Nouns on several educational sessions and panels, 2 offsite social events, unique bespoke Nounish merch, a Magic Vending Machine, and a Golden Ticket draw for an actual Noun!
WHY: The goal of this proposal is to expand the community of Nouns builders by welcoming new contributors, spreading Nounish vibes and showcasing the many opportunities that exist to contribute to our ecosystem and brand.
HOW MUCH: We are asking the DAO for 33 ETH + Noun 405 Vending Machine Noun (as a raffle prize)
Event Overview
ETHDenver stands as the premier event for the Ethereum community, drawing in more than 15,000 community members to Denver, Colorado. The event sets the stage for an enriching journey beginning with the largest Ethereum hackathon (#BUIDLWeek), packed with interactive workshops, insightful presentations, and networking opportunities. It's a vibrant assembly of like-minded individuals, all converging with a shared mission – to foster a hub of Ethereum enthusiasts and open the boundaries of blockchain innovation.
This year at ETHDenver, our objective is to broaden the Nouns community by welcoming fresh contributors and proliferating the presence of Nouns throughout the event. We're dedicated to empowering builders during Buidlweek through the Buidlthon and highlighting the exceptional projects within the Nouns community. Through engaging panels, comprehensive educational initiatives, and a series of onsite and offsite events, we aim to showcase the creative spirit and what it means to be Nounish.
Nounish On Site Events During the Conference:
BUIDLER Nights
Every evening of Buidlweek, from 6-10 pm, the BUIDLHub will come alive with the call of BUIDLer Nights, and we have the unique opportunity to have Nouns act as the official host for two of these events, which we have titled and themed "Nouns Funds Code" and "Nouns Funds Community."
BUIDLer Nights are exclusive gatherings at BUIDLHub during both BUIDLWeek and the main event. They are crafted to encourage and support builders in their creative pursuits – all while extending their attention beyond the daytime's structured agenda.
In these sessions, the BUIDLHub lounge evolves into a deep space for activities, while the BUIDL Floor emerges as a bustling hub for networking and celebration.
Each event includes:
- Direct mentorship for Buidlthon attendees from speakers & builders in the Nouns community.
- Panels & Breakout Groups for builders to engage with Nouns contributors in onboarding to the Nouns ecosystem & how to get involved.
- Food and beverage for Buidlthon participants.
- Proliferation of Nouns Swag.
The objective for all events is to forge connections with upcoming talent, teach them about Nouns and encourage them to build in our ecosystem.
Planned Event 1 – Nouns Funds Code
Day One of BUIDLer Nights is dedicated entirely to infrastructure.
Beginning with an immersive educational and networking journey centered around Nouns and Prophouse. This inaugural session enhances awareness of Nouns, offering a direct line for builders to engage, ask questions, and network with active contributors within the Nouns ecosystem.
We will also be hosting a 1 ETH BUIDLer LIVE Prop House Round to teach developers how to build and get funded by Nouns during the hackathon.
Planned Event 2 – Nouns Funds Community
Nouns Funds Community Night is designed as a collaborative space.
During this event, Nouns contributors will dedicate their time to mentoring groups of builders, guiding them through the specifics of PropHouse ideation and educating them on crafting compelling proposals.
This gathering is important to instill in builders a sense of partnership with the broader Nouns community, emphasizing the support and resources available.
The event also features a showcase, offering a window into the diverse communities that have flourished under the patronage of Nouns DAO and the significant impacts they've made.
Planned Offsite Event - Nouns Funds Creators (More detail on this in "Offsite Events" Section Below.)
Members of the team (Prof Werder, Frankie Colamarino, Peter Pandam, Sasquatch and Toady Hawk) have also been invited to speak about Nouns on several panels at the conference on topics including "Collaborating on chain to bring gaming to the masses", "How to build a Thriving Community in Web3", "Build it with Nouns Builder", "Octant & Gitcoin Presents Building Public Goods Communities" and "Esports DAOs as a new coordination layer"
During the On Site and Off Site events, Toady Hawk and Prof Werder will be recording live podcasts and other content for Zero Rights Reserved, The Noun Square and GM Farcaster.
The Magic Vending Machine and the Golden Ticket Noun Raffle!
We have access to an onchain-enabled vending machine at the main ETH Denver site, displaying a myriad of nounish products, including custom-designed Nounish merch by Frankie Colamarino, paper and plastic Noggles, sticker packs and more.
When attendees scan the QR code on the machine, they will be redirected to a campaign landing page (CLP). On the CLP, users will have the opportunity to: a) Mint a Free Nouns x ETH Denver artwork on Zora b) Claim certain Nounish products for free from the vending machine by completing easy social unlocks such as retweeting the campaign post on X and Farcaster, and joining the /nouns channel on Farcaster. c) Join a dedicated Telegram group chat to get in touch with Nouners and Contributors at ETHDenver and keep up to date on our events.
The vending machine will accept crypto, CC and apple/google wallet payments methods as well.
Nouns Chocolate Bars
Example wrapper from TI12. Denver bars will have Nounish Golden Ticket Raffle Packaging.
One of the most exciting products in the vending machine may not look like much-- a humble Nouns-branded chocolate bar. But like your mother always said, it's what's inside that counts. And inside each of these bars is a custom QR code where conference attendees can mint a free Nouns Chocolate bar NFT on Zora.
At the end of the ETH Denver event, we will draw one lucky wallet at random to win Noun 405, a Vending Machine Noun!
Throughout the multi-day conference, we will also be selling the bars for $3 at our BUIDLathon and offsite events. Two of our team members have strong ties with conference organizers and we plan to create as much buzz as possible around the Golden Ticket Activation. All proceeds from these and other merch sales will be donated to the Juicebox fund for Alexey Pertsev and Roman Storm's Legal Defense.
Bufficorn x Nouns Merchandise
We have designed some playful and cool nouns merchandise including bespoke Nounish ETHDenver t-shirts, plushies and more, that will be available in the vending machine and at our hosted events throughout. Nouners will have access to these for free, and some will also be given out as incentives during our events.
The Golden Ticket Raffle
On the final day of the event, the Golden Ticket Raffle is when dreams become reality! With bated breath, participants will watch as the tokens are drawn from the chocolate- bar unique minters and the Noun NFT winner is revealed, culminating our event in a truly unforgettable fashion, and nerd-sniping a new Ethereum-aligned member into the Nouns community.
ETHDenver Scholarship Fund
ETHDenver's ethos is Education + Community = BUIDL
As part of our agreement with ETHDenver to collaborate on their official BUIDLer Nights and panels, we have also committed to participate in their Scholarship Program.
The ETHDenver Scholarship Fund focuses on providing the opportunity for three recipients to receive a 1 ETH scholarship to travel to ETHDenver and learn how to empower their own local communities at home.
We will be working with ETHDenver's Steward team to select these recipients. Recipients will document their journeys through ETHDenver while receiving direct mentorship from the Bufficorn community for their goals.
Each recipient will highlight their trip after the event and produce a piece of content to share with the Nouns community as a thank you for giving them the opportunity to grow.
Off-Site Events
Off-Site Event #1 - Nouns x PizzaDAO - February 28th
PizzaDAO are up to their usual shenounigans. They have rented the historic Sports Castle – ETHDenver’s location for its first five years and have invited Nouns to particpate as a sponsor and by integrating this Proposal team into their efforts.
They're throwing “Pizza Castle,” a giant pizza party with 500+ attendees.
PizzaDAO events attract a nounish audience and a perfect intro to the other upcoming nounish events for ETHDenver.
Lofi noggles and other Nounish swag will be prominent and the goal will be to capture the nounish vibe in content shared on socials.
Off-Site Event #2 - "Nouns Funds Creators" at Youth On Record - February 29th
Youth on Record is an organization dedicated to empowering young people from under-resourced communities through education, music, and community programs.
We are hosting a side event at this venue to have a space for Nouners and Nouns-curious folks to gather and connect over cocktails and chill vibes, while Nounish art is showcased around the venue. We will be also be hosting some live physical art creation, and a live Basepaint contribution section, while educating attendees on how they can find paths to funding from Nouns to pursue their creative endeavours.
Team
The Nounish team collaborating on this proposal are:
- Frankie Colamarino (Merch, Design & Marketing)
- Peter Dager (Nouns Esports)
- Toady Hawk (The Noun Square)
- Benjamin Latsko (Marketing, Event Planning)
- Sasquatch (Nouns Esports)
- Pat Yiu (Nouns Esports, Event Planning)
- Prof Werder (Nouns Builder)
- Will Wheeler (Merch, Design & Marketing)
Treasury for this proposal will be executed through a 3/5 multisig with Toady, Ben, Prof, Pat, and Sasquatch as the signers.
We also thank ETHDenver Cofounder Justin Moskowitz, BUIDL Steward Jason Lee, and Bufficorn Steward Joshua Lapidus for their guidance through the creation of this proposal and offering us significant access to ETHDenver in support of public goods.
Budget
- Nouns Onchain Vending Machine Rental and Support - 2 ETH
- Nouns ProductsSwag Purchases - 3.7 ETH (Paper and Plastic Noggles, Custom Nouns Plushies, Nouns Sticker Packs, 200 ETHDenver x Nouns T-shirts designed by Frankie Colamarino
- 1000 Custom Nouns Chocolate Bars 1.3 ETH
- Buidler Nights - Program and Food and Beverage: 6ETH +1ETH Prop House Prize
- Nouns Fund Creatives Event at Youth On Record 5ETH
- PizzaDAO Event Sponsorship 5ETH
- ETH Denver Scholarship Contributions: 3ETH
- Travel and Team Comp: 6 ETH
- Noun 405 from Nouns Treasury to Golden Ticket Raffle Winner (held in escrow by multisug until draw.)
Total: 33 ETH + Noun 405
Conclusion
With this multipronged initiative encompassing educational events, social networking opportunities, custom merch and a crazy contest strategy that will surely make waves, we intend to make Nouns the talk of ETHDenver and attract a new cohort of at least 200 new Nouns-curious builders from the largest hackathon in North America!