Business Development Team Proposal, November 2022 – January 2023 (Cycle 9)
Team: Business Development Team
Operations cycle: #9
Period: 1 November 2022 – 31 January 2023 (3-months)
Amount: 7,232 USDC
200k API3 tokens revocably vested over 3-years for Kevin - this will be supplied from the multisig dedicated for API3 token incentives as detailed in the proposal here [Primary Proposal 2] API3 Hot Wallet if this proposal passes, not from the DAO treasury. This is intended to allow Kevin to adequately participate in governance.
Destination: Gnosis Safe (Multi-sig wallet)
address 0xB6124cE91E7ba6650791Bf969F94E31e2631cE86
signers:
Dave - dav3.eth
Gio - 0x3afB3530Da3CBa4d8B278Af63872FAA80F1fC87D
Kevin - 0x676f0341FC230dD28455A5B32b28651ACC377c88
2/3 Multisig
Scope
The Business Development team (BD) drives holistic organizational-wide value within the DAO. API3’s vision is to be the first choice in DAO-governed data oracles and data feeds for Web3. This is accomplished through our building block infrastructure stack i.e. the Airnode and other data oracle innovations (dAPIs and Product ‘X’). Thus, achieving ubiquity in API3’s product suite remains a sole focus of BD.
Product ‘X’, we believe will be an end-game product that will change the face of DeFi and the larger Web3 ecosystem. In this proposal, product ‘X’ will be synonymous with this new innovation.
BD drives DAO-value, through forging partnerships, seeking synergies and creating a sales pipeline for the above described data oracle products. Customer and market feedback is further forwarded to technical teams for R&D purposes. These all translate into measurable and unmeasurable ROI from these revenues and “intangibles” or partnerships.
For the purpose of this proposal, BD’s general responsibilities encompasses these overarching responsibilities that relate to:
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Sales process
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Outreach
-
Continuous improvement of outreach processes
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Recruitment & HR (In-line with product growth - on pause until dAPI scaling)
- Onboarding
- Training
- Best practice
- Ongoing support
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Coordinate with the marketing and ecosystem sub teams
- Help with ecosystem outreach and activities
- General networking and on-the-ground interactions
- Articles, blogs and content
- Liaising with other relevant API3 sub teams
- Attend conferences and workshops
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R&D
- Technical-side feasibility of integrations
- Business-side feasibility assessment
- Customer and market sentiment analysis and feedback
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Internal workshops and meetings
- Attend mandatory sub team and team meetings
- Knowledge dissemination and internal knowledge workshops or materials
Team Movements
- Kevin will become the Go-To-Market lead for product ‘X’ and will contribute towards our go-to-market strategy along with the foundation for the upcoming sales campaign. For this role, Kevin will receive vested tokens as as an incentive, and to allow governance participation.
- During this last cycle, core teams were rearranged and grant costs streamlined. The prior grant recipients have opted to remain involved with the DAO but will receive no grant until such a time that we can scale or market conditions improve:
- Alex - is on a commission only structure
- Mo - is on a commission only structure
- Nathan - is a on commission only structure
1.BD - Enterprise & Provider Focus:
Gio has been engaging with large organizations over the last few cycles. He will continue to allocate his time developing partner and provider relationships, which are key for the development of dAPIs and product ‘X’. In addition to these tasks and working alongside Dave and Kevin, he will assist in overall BD growing out our latent pipeline and interactions. Gio will update us on enterprise movements and large deal flows, as well as, any PoCs of Pilots that are complete.
Completed Deliverables (Cycle #8)
During cycle #8, the following progress has been made from the last Enterprise Team Quarterly Report.
Following-through from the previous quarterly update:
- Update 1: A large market data provider (A) - status: in pilot testing phase
- We are working with a dApp to deliver this end-to-end solution with a large provider. The current dApp is nearing testnet completion, but there may be a funding gap on the dApps side, which may affect their ability to deliver the end result which could act as a major blocker to delivery.
- In the interim, we have another dApp we are speaking to whom may assist before this pilot period expires - 31st December 2022.
- Update 2: A large financial data institution (B) – status: still engaging
- We are meeting their team again in Cycle 9 to discuss a more serious engagement when it comes to their digital asset strategy.
- Update 3: A large reinsurance institution (C)– status: still engaging
- We will circle back one more time before stopping this engagement.
- Update 4: A large consulting house (D) – status: at the commercial signing phase
- We will circle back one more time before stopping this engagement.
- Update 5: A medium-size crypto market data provider (E) – status: at the commercial signing
- We will circle back one more time before stopping this engagement.
- Update 6: A medium-size market data provider (F) – status: at the commercial signing phase
- We will circle back one more time before stopping this engagement.
- Update 7: A large-size market data provider (G) – status: interaction closed.
- Nothing transpired from this interaction.
- Update 9: A large-size crypto market data provider (H) – status: placed the interaction on hold. Will resume in the next cycle.
- Update 10: A large enterprise blockchain provider (I) – status: at final stages
- We are finalizing the vendor agreement.
- Update 11: A nation-state federal department (J) – status:
- We will circle back one more time before closing this engagement.
New engagements over the quarter:
- Update 12: A large-size crypto market data provider (K) – status:
- Met at Token2049 Singapore, need to follow-up with collateral.
- Update 13: A large-size crypto market data provider (L) – status: met at Token2049, call to take place
- Update 14: A medium-size market data provider (M) – status: moving forward (Crypto, Forex and Equities)
- Update 15: A medium-size market data provider (N) – status: at the initial call stage (Crypto, Commodities, Forex and Equities)
- Update 16: A large financial data institution (O) – status: early engagement.
- We met a team member in Singapore for an in person demo.
- Gio to send additional collateral and follow-up.
Furthermore, during this period, Gio met with some ecosystem partners in Singapore to ideate some PoCs.One of which is at the technical feasibility stage where we are assessing the source APIs and compatibility to the dApp use-case.The use case would look at a novel way to achieve a DID (digital identity for web3/DeFi.
The Quarterly Enterprise Reports will be discontinued, as marketing will announce any interactions or partnerships that can be disclosed.
Deliverables (Cycle #9)
Gio’s goal is to close out the above interactions and provide feedback on these outcomes. In addition, to find market data providers, so that dAPIs will have between 7-10 sources for aggregation or switching. While this is being done, Gio will assist Kevin and Dave in accomplishing project ‘X’ and driving QRNG’s interest and integrations.
The approach for providers is the following: gauge a provider’s interest; get access to a test API to do compatibility and calibration testing. Once the technical team is happy with these stress-test results, self-integrate the provider (via ChainAPI) and then discuss and sign commercials. The commercial elements include a revenue sharing model.
Provider goals:
- In Cycle 7, three providers were signed with datasets that include (Crypto, Forex, Indices,Commodities and Equities);
- In Cycle 8, two additional partner providers were signed (i.e. one that only does forex). The latest provider is undergoing technical compatibility testing and data quality (Crypto, Forex, Equities)
- In Cycle 9, the goal is to bring two to three providers to undergo technical compatibility testing and data quality, bringing this within the desired goal range.
2.BD – dApps and Platforms:
Dave has been spearheading the dApps and Platforms outreach. In addition to his niche, Dave will focus on general BD alongside Gio and Kevin. Furthermore, he will help drive product ’X’s narrative and awareness, working closely with the Ecosystem subteam.
Completed Deliverables (Cycle #8)
At the end of cycle #8, API3’s total TVS is still composed entirely of request-response protocol usage, awaiting production ready dAPIs. The timeline to dAPIs will give the BD team more time to prepare and build tooling necessary for effective outreach and onboarding once dAPIs are live, which will be the main focus for this cycle.
QRNG total usage over this cycle is hard to give figures for due to monitoring issues over the summer. These are now resolved, and across the various mainnets QRNG is live on there have been approximately 500 fulfilled requests over the last month. Initial conversations about deploying QRNG on other chains have also taken place.
Deliverables (Cycle #9)
Although QRNG is a public good, we still believe that it helps our BD and ecosystem teams, and is still important to support. We believe QRNG acts as an important tool for awareness of API3 generally, and familiarizing developers with the first party oracles concept, as well as the request-response protocol and the API3 ecosystem generally. For cycle 9 the BD team will be paying commission, included in this proposal budget, for BD work leading to successful QRNG dapp integrations, which will also be a deliverable for the next proposal.
The BD team believes that through expanding QRNG to more chains, developer awareness of API3 will increase, and plan to help the ecosystem team deploy to currently unsupported chains where possible. These extra chains will form a deliverable, and we expect a minimum of five extra chains to have QRNG deployed. These chains will then form a part of the wider API3 ecosystem in preparation for both product ‘x’ and the dAPIs being more widely available.
3. BD – Product ‘X’ and dAPIs
Kevin will work closely with the dApp and Enterprise teams but will primarily focus on the go-to-market/sales strategy for product ‘X’. This will be approached in three phases:
Phase 1
Phase 1 looks at the current proposal and actionables for Cycle #9.
Sales Planning:
While this proposal is being written, there are facets of the whitepaper and monetization policy that are being calcified. To run a successful sales campaign, initial planning on how we reach out to a project as a potential sponsor, as a ‘free service’, or as a longer-term revenue opportunity need to be considered. There is a potential for complex sponsor-user relationships to come into play and a thoughtful order of outreach will be required.
A strategy to expose product ‘X’ will be developed so that its value proposition stands out as an obvious ‘end-game’ innovation for DeFi and becomes an attractive enough option that all projects will want to use it. Planning will remain critical to ensure results are maximized for the DAO.
CRM:
Integrating customer-facing roles to the same CRM will greatly improve efficiencies moving forward. The sales-cycle for what we do is unlike any other kind of sales, and some obscure features matter a lot. Standardizing the CRM is paramount to handle the amount of onboarding/integrations we plan on doing as well as having oversight of both prospects and team metrics.
Sales Collateral:
We need a way to show estimates of value for what a dApp’s ‘future economics’ may look like by using our new product. Having some kind of numeric figure based on historical performance is a critical sales tool and will help us gain users. While the actual accounting for each dApp will be separately determined after launch, being able to give dApps a rough estimate during the sales process will allow us to gain immediate traction. Before we launch we should be able to reach out to every dApp in the ecosystem with a proposal that clearly shows the benefits of our new product.
Commission Survey/Structure:
A commission structure that allows for Salespeople to find success is an important piece of any well-functioning organization and will drive value towards the DAO.
This task boils down to creating an ‘On-Target Earnings’ metric where various sales KPIs and expected closings are defined to ensure accountability from all parties involved. Doing so will allow compensation to reflect the guidelines already outlined by API3, and for us to govern our outreach pipeline for performance and self-direction. A survey of comparable organization’s structures will be completed to give us a baseline to work from.
Soft Outreach:
Attending conferences/speaking engagements in a limited capacity to generate and continue initial interest in our product.
Phase 2
Phase 2 provides the guide for the next proposal. Thus, planning ahead for Cycle #10 will emanate from this phase.
Integration Clarity: Working with the appropriate stakeholders from other departments, we need to standardize our integration pipeline. Before we launch, I will work across the various verticals to cement ownership of the various integration points so we can be as efficient as possible as we move forward. This is relevant to Lead Ownership, Onboarding, and eventually Account Management.
Internal educational materials to help onboard new (or existing) members: Even if you’re crypto savvy, selling this new product requires a high level of expertise. I will help make onboarding/training materials to help bring people up to speed on how exactly we are going to sell the product.
dApp Qualification/Initial Outreach Campaign: Although the release timeline has not been cemented, it is around this time that we can look to restart targeted outreach to the community. We want to hit the ground running at launch and will need to secure a critical mass of MOUs and commitments well before we go live. This will be done through outreach and ecosystem workshops to drive interest.
Phase 3:
Phase 3 looks at Cycle #11 and implementing actual ROI as API3 readies for product “X” and dAPI launch. It will focus on the following areas:
Full Sales Campaign: Once our project is fully ready for market, we will run a full sales campaign of outreach and closings. This is our most important task and will form the bulk of our duties going forward.
Sales Skill Workshops: To ensure we maximize our potential, I will run periodic sales workshops where we can discuss the product, how to run presentations, how to handle objections, how to best do outreach, and how to best maintain ourselves as product experts. Sales skills need to be continually sharpened and having a space to do so will be beneficial.
Grow Team as Needed: At this point (maybe before), it will be apparent whether we need to onboard more Business Developers. When required I will help recruit, onboard, and train new hires.
Account Management/Upselling: Once we have projects onboarded, relationships will need to be maintained, and we will have opportunities to upsell clients on our suite of products. This will be a continuing task with recurring client reviews.
Business Development Budget
| Amount (USDC) | |
|---|---|
| Grants | 19,125 |
| New BD Grants (Paused) | 0 |
| ^Expenses & Success Commissions | 21,000 |
| Grant Sub Total | 40,125 |
| Total Credit Roll over from last cycle | -32,893 |
| Grant Total (Less Roll-over) | 7,232 |
Team and Grants
The team is composed of Business Development personnel.
| Team member | Role | Focus | Monthly Grant (USDC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| *Dave | Team Lead & Business Developer | dApps & Platforms | 2,000.00 |
| *Gio | Team Lead & Business Developer | Enterprise & Providers | 4,375.00 |
| *Kevin | Team Lead & Business Developer | Product “X” and dAPIs g2m | #Token incentive |
- The destination will be a multi-signature wallet address managed by Dave, Gio & Kevin.
Requested compensation levels are as per the API3 DAO Compensation Guidelines
200k API3 tokens vested over 3-years for Kevin - this will be supplied from the multisig dedicated for API3 token incentives as detailed in the proposal here [Primary Proposal 2] API3 Hot Wallet if this proposal passes, not from the DAO treasury
Success commissions will be paid to eligible BDs for successful and working QRNG integrations.This will come from the expense and success commission allocation. We project 5-10 integrations over the cycle.
Expenses
The team has suspended the recruiting of new business developers on a contractor basis. The success commissions still remain in effect in order to highlight the non-performers from the skillful hunters. Thus, there is a success commission allocation for BDs that conclude an end-to-end new dApp integration of the API3 QRNG service.
The business development team will also be attending events as indicated as critical to drive new partnerships and ecosystem growth. Conferences and events that fall outside of large Marketing team sponsored events will be funded by the business development teams grant budget as per the Travel Reimbursement schedule.
In addition to the conference expenses, the team will potentially need access to tools to help streamline the BD pipeline. Some specific examples (not an exhaustive list) are:
- CRM Software
- HubSpot
- Docsend
- LinkedIn Premium (Prospecting or Job Posting)
- Hunter.io (Prospecting)
When tools or features are chosen, receipts will be kept for production at the end of the cycle. Any remaining expenses will be rolled over to the next cycle.
The final category of expenses is for on-chain transactions in disbursing grants payments and such as creating proposals in other DAOs. Transaction IDs will be retained for these and produced at the end of the cycle.
Any unspent amount will roll over to the next cycle. A supplementary proposal will be made if the team foresees any larger-than-estimated number of expenses tied to performance or of BD outcomes generated.
Explanation of Proposal Parameters:
- Target contract address is the USDC token contract address, which is 0xa0b86991c6218b36c1d19d4a2e9eb0ce3606eb48
- Target contract signature: transfer (address, uint256). This is the function to call on the target contract, which triggers a transfer of USDC tokens.
- The parameters stated include the address these USDC are to be sent to, which should match the proposal address, followed by the number of USDC. USDC has 6 decimal places, and solidity is unable to deal with decimal places - hence we add 6 zeros after the proposed USDC number. The number of decimal places can be verified on the USDC contract page of Etherscan - $1.00 | USD Coin (USDC) Token Tracker | Etherscan