Proposer
Submitted By:
John Schenk
Twitter:
@johnschenk
Discord:
schnk.eth
Team:
John Schenk, FinOps/Product Eyal Toledano, Dev/Product Grover Light, Design/Product
John is a finance, operations and business development executive with 20+ years experience working in Web3, crypto/blockchain, media/entertainment and technology. He is a repeat entrepreneur and Head of Media & Entertainment / Web3 at Escalon. John served as CFO/COO at Make Sense Labs, where he worked alongside Eyal and Grover on two blockchain-based messaging apps. John served as the first Doodles Community Council Treasurer. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnschenk/
Eyal is a tech entrepreneur with 15 years experience in leadership roles across B2C and B2B products. Full stack engineering and growth marketing skillset with a focus on market/product-fit and initializing value propositions with hypergrowth potential. Founded the WizzyMinistry. Built and executed the Triwizzy Tournament. Experiments Lead on the original Doodles Council. Also built the platform you’re reading this on :] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eyaltoledano/
Grover is a designer with 15+ years experience building digital products and brands in social, messaging, ecom, web3/crypto/blockchain, and now food & beverage CPG. Currently, he is the co-founder of the viral donut brand, glonuts, the healthy, but who cares alternative with retail distribution at Wholefoods, Erewhon, Equinox, and more. Grover has been a doodles holder since December 21’ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/groverlight/
Intro
Name of Experiment:
gmDM
Experiment Duration:
Two (2) months for development of working prototype, launch of the alpha product to test group, and testing and refinements
Experiment Type:
Digital Products (e.g. online courses, art, etc.)
Experiment One-Liner:
gmDM is a direct messaging application for NFT holders
Experiment Cost:
290000
Details
Experiment Description:
gmDM is a direct messaging application for NFT holders. Summary: Our team endeavors to solve a highly common yet challenging issue facing NFT holders everywhere - opening a line of communication between two verified NFT holders without sacrificing privacy or security. Problem scenario: @holder is a passionate Doodles holder who comes across a mid-rare grail Doodle that catches their eye. Unfortunately, this highly attractive NFT is listed at a price that is a bit out of reach - or perhaps not listed at all. They want to contact the holder to determine if the holder is willing to negotiate a transaction; however, there is no simple, safe and efficient way to communicate. And friction exists at every touchpoint:
Tracking down the verified holder is a lengthy effort and a hack job at best. Avoiding bad actors is a challenge because scammers pose as community members. Communicating in a timely and effective manner is largely nonexistent. Solution: gmDM is a direct messaging application for NFT holders. It’s a web application and API platform that allows you to search up an NFT by trait or item number, draft a message, and hit send.
Experiment Success:
Number of users in the network Number of threads per user Number of messages per thread Average chat length (session, total) User to access fee conversion rate Number of users paying access fees DM to sales conversion rate Number of sales transactions Average sales transaction value Generally, we want to have strong indicators that applying a transactional layer on top of the chat will yield volume we can take a % of. And the features we’re building will be aligned against those goals (chat activity, likelihood to transact).
Experiment Product:
Messaging: gmDM allows any two NFTs to communicate free of charge; however, users can optionally tack on a small fee that charges anyone wanting to start a conversation. This “access fee” allows gmDM users to earn money while also serving as a deterrent to bad actors - scammers, spammers, etc. Users determine the fee they wish to charge, if any, and proceeds are split 50/50 between the user and gmDM. Swapping: Peer-to-peer swapping is a natural next step to NFT messaging; hence, gmDM will provide safe and secure P2P swapping of digital assets (i.e., tokens for NFTs, NFTs for NFTs) through its proprietary multi-chain platform. Partnership Model: The gmDM partnership model enables NFT projects to license our co-branded solution for a one-time upfront fee. Licensees receive API access to our tools, enabling them to integrate the gmDM experience into their own branded communities. Additionally, licensees will be entitled to a share of the proceeds from their users’ access fees. The 50% portion going to gmDM is split 50/50 with licensees, such that participating projects in aggregate receive 25% of total net access fees. The gmDM licensing partner solution will be packaged and marketed with the following core value proposition: * Messaging layer that solves a major pain point for the community * Increased value for holding an NFT * New revenue stream for the project/licensee Messages will be securely stored off chain and accessible via wallet connect through our dedicated website http://gmdm.app, and through licensee-branded websites and experiences. Licensees will actively promote gmDM to their community of holders, further perpetuating the network effects and maximizing growth of the platform. Accordingly, gmDM aims to become the de facto multi-chain messaging solution for the entire NFT space. Strategic Partner: Doodles will be our first customer and strategic partner. Accordingly, gmDM will serve as the exclusive direct messaging tool for the Doodles community, and Doodles LLC will endorse and actively promote gmDM to its community and the NFT industry at large. The Inkubator will provide investment funding to gmDM, and will benefit by way of either a rev share, profit share or equity stake. Details to be discussed and negotiated. Privacy, Spam and Bad Actors: All messages are fully secured through a combination of NFT and wallet address. Holder identities are unknown and never revealed. Like with most Web3 services, spam and phishing attempts can pose a risk; however, it is expected that such activities will be materially reduced by verified holder statuses and user access fees (which cannot be effectively scaled). Roadmap: Phase 1: Develop the working prototype, launch the “alpha” product to a select group of Doodles community testers, solicit user feedback, and refine the tool to achieve a more full-fledged minimum viable product (MVP). Phase 2: Complete the MVP, develop revenue-tied features, and launch the “beta” product to the broader Doodles community. Test and refine to achieve product-market fit (PMF). Phase 3: Develop the database and remaining technology, launch the v1.0 commercial product, market to users and target NFT project partners, provide integration and support. Revenue Model: * Licensing Fees - A one-time fee equivalent to 1 ETH per 100 ETH 7-day volume. For example, the licensing fee for a project with a 7-day volume of 430 ETH would be 4.3 ETH (or roughly $15k). * Access Fees - A single payment fee determined by the user and charged once to begin a threaded conversation. gmDM keeps 25% net of revenue share to users and projects. Sales Transaction Fees - 0.5% of the total transaction value. * Revenue Share: Access fees will be shared as follows: Users - 50% Projects - 25% gmDM - 25% Note: Fees collected for NFTs associated with unlicensed projects will be split 50/50 between users and gmDM. NFT Projects cannot partake in revenue sharing unless they license the product. Proposal Budget: $500,000 Phase 1 (“Alpha” product): $290,000 * Development of the working prototype * Launch product to select Doodles community members * Testing and refinement Phase 2 (“Beta” product): $160,000 * Completion of the minimum viable product (MVP) * Development of revenue-tied features/functionality * Launch “beta” product to larger Doodles community Phase 3 (“Commercial” product): $50,000 * Development of the database * Marketing * Integration and support
Financial Projections: See attached. Full model available upon request.
Product Distribution:
gmDM will be distributed through our licensing partnerships and referral program. Additionally, word of mouth will be quite strong as users understand the chat functionality and monetization opportunities.
Logistics
OG Holder Participation:
Our working prototype will be made available during the "alpha" period to a test group of OG Doodles community members. They will have a first-look opportunity to test the product and provide feedback, contributing to the final product in a meaningful way.
Dependencies:
N/A. We run everything custom. Including our own API, web socket server and wallet-powered authentication. No outside dependencies.
Revenue:
We're projecting significant revenue from licensing fees, access fees, and sales transactions.
Self-Sustainability:
gmDM is projected to achieve break-even profitability within 7 months. We are projecting 8-digital gross revenue by Year 3.
Future Inkubation:
We are fully prepared to scale the experiment through partner network effects, user monetary incentives, marketing, and publicity. The core product will be completed and ready for refinements and completion of the MVP by end of the experiment period.
Detailed Budget:
Staffing (development, design) $280k Prof Services (legal) $7k Technology (software tools, hosting) $1k Other $2k
Marketing
Marketing Plan:
Between successfully securing our funding from the Inkubator and working with Doodles LLC as our first customer and strategic partner, it is expected that the Doodles team and community council will help spread the word to the Doodles community and beyond. For the alpha product ("Experiment") test group, our goal will be to identify and secure OG community members who are willing and able to invest time into testing gmDM and providing meaningful feedback. We will design and share a simple process for capturing this feedback. For the beta testing period, we will work closely with the Doodles team to implement an opt-in strategy and referral plan that maximizes the number of OG Doodles holders that participate. For the commercial v1.0 launch gmDM, we will leverage the network effects of partner NFT projects. We will present to licensing prospects the following core value proposition: * Messaging layer that solves a major pain point for the community * Increased value for holding an NFT * New revenue stream for the project/licensee
Additionally, we will lean toward a comprehensive marketing strategy that utilizes X influencers, a referral plan, and paid marketing. We will also secure a mid-level marketing and growth strategist to help achieve our targets. More to come.
Materials:
We will develop toward our v1.0 commercial product, which we expect to launch by no later than month 6. This will include our product design/assets and functionality, API tools, website, social profiles, and (potentially) a mobile web application.
Extra
Insurance:
Own insurance.
Third Party Insurance:
Extra Details:
We have excluded how the Inkubator fund benefits from this investment because there is more than one way of structuring this deal. That said, we believe the potential return to the Inkubator is enormous because our solution will be productized to address the entire NFT market across multiple chains.