[FINAL] CELO Accelerator Program x Red Beard Ventures

Ecosystem
1

Aligned Public Goods Bucket: Red Beard Ventures x CELO Accelerator

Funding request: $100,000 cUSD and 50,000 USD in CELO
Red Beard Ventures Investment into CELO ecosystem: $300,000 USD

Please also review this deck that helps visually outline the below information:
CELO X RBV

Summary
Red Beard Ventures is seeking to collaborate with CELO on an accelerator program designed to support and expand the CELO ecosystem. This partnership will focus on investing in companies in the payments and decentralized finance sectors, targeting CELO-native companies.

RBV is requesting funding of $100,000 in cUSD and $50,000 in CELO to cover operational costs, alongside an RBV investment of $300,000 USD into the CELO ecosystem to support this initiative. 100k USD will be invested into a minimum of 3 companies building on CELO from Red Beard Ventures.

Denarii Labs, powered by Red Beard Ventures, presents a 12-week accelerator tailored for groundbreaking Web3 projects. As part of Cohort 2, in addition to the general blockchain businesses participating, Denarii will invest and accelerate a minimum of 3 companies specifically developing applications on CELO blockchain. The program is designed to further CELO ecosystem development while helping businesses with an emphasis on tokenomics and Venture Capital fundraising.

During these 12 weeks, teams will access a curriculum designed by Denarii’s Web3 experts and CELO ecosystem experts.

Weekly, the focus will be on key success areas: technical architecture, product development, business development, token design strategies, legal and regulatory insights, whitepaper development, and fundraising with tailored support for each project’s unique trajectory in the Web3 space.

Red Beard Ventures (RBV), an early-stage venture capital firm with a seasoned team in operations and investments, is committed to shaping the future of the metaverse and advancing frontier technologies for global betterment. RBV grants investors entry into novel technologies and asset classes, specializing in leading and participating in Seed and Series A funding rounds. With an investment ecosystem encompassing over 200 portfolio companies, such as The Sandbox, LayerZero, Wilder World, Dapper Labs, and Superrare, RBV manages assets exceeding $60 million and has a network of over 4500 limited partners.

Red Beard Ventures Investment Ecosystem
200+ Portfolio Companies
12 Graduated Accelerator Companies
4200+ LPs and investor networks to tap into

Investments include Dapper Labs, The Sandbox, LayerZero, Superrare, Unstoppable Domains, and Wilder World.

Statistics From the Previous Cohort
179 total applicants
93 passed
74 shortlisted
5 accepted

North American companies made up 80% of the companies included in the previous cohort.

The Opportunity

By partnering on a Denarii Labs accelerator, CELO’s ecosystem receives investment and exposure to Red Beard Venture’s ecosystem. Our 200+ portfolio companies and 4500 LPs offer a wide range of resources for our portfolio companies. Having builders on CELO become part of our network would allow us to work hand-in-hand to bring our expertise, network, and resources to help the ecosystem grow. Promotionof CELO and raising awareness around builders in the ecosystem is a major part of the program.

CELO Accelerator Overview:
Red Beard Ventures (RBV) invests $300,000 USD to support the CELO ecosystem, supported by a targeted marketing effort to highlight key players. This effort spans a 12-week period focused on marketing and sourcing companies, followed by a 12-week intensive accelerator program run by Denarii Labs in partnership with CELO.

Denarii Labs x CELO Accelerator Breakdown:

  1. Alignment:Denarii Labs and CELO develop custom curriculum and align on objectives for the program.

  2. Promotion: Marketing campaign to boost the CELO ecosystem and attract Web3 project applications.

  3. Review Applicants: Denarii conducts thorough due diligence, selects projects, and promotes CELO.

  4. Onboarding: Successful projects are integrated into the Denarii Labs framework.

  5. Build: Intensive 12-week accelerator focused on the CELO Blockchain, tokenomics, and fundraising.

  6. Review: Evaluation and preparation for post-accelerator launch and funding.

  7. Red Beard Ventures Summit: A conference for companies to connect projects with potential investors and industry leaders.

  8. Post-Accelerator: Support for launch, market entry, growth strategies, and an invitation to Denarii Labs mentor and alumni network.

Program Performance Metrics

We commit to transparently sharing key performance indicators (KPIs) with the community bi-annually, following the conclusion of each cohort:

Application Engagement: The total number of applications received for each cohort…
Participant Satisfaction: Achieving a Net Promoter Score (NPS) above 60, reflecting our dedication to providing an exceptional experience fostering growth within the Celo ecosystem.
Within six months post-cohort, we will further report on the following KPIs to gauge the long-term impact of our alumni:
Alumni Funding: The aggregate capital secured by cohort alumni post-graduation.
Blockchain Engagement: The total volume of Celo blockchain transactions executed by alumni projects.
Community Growth: The overall increase in active on-chain addresses associated with alumni initiatives.

Overall Allocation
Red Beard Ventures is requesting a total of $100,000 cUSD and $50,000 CELO be authorized for the budget of a CELO Accelerator. (6 month term). This cost will cover 12 weeks of sourcing/marketing followed by 12 weeks of a hands-on accelerator operated by our team. RBV will invest $100,000 into a minimum of 3 companies building on CELO in the accelerator.

What Denarii Labs Provides:
Investment of 100k into a minimum of 3 Startups building on CELO
6 months of promotion of CELO to the internal RBV ecosystem and external public audience.
3 months of sourcing companies building on CELO for the CELO Accelerator Track
12-week Accelerator program managed by Denarii Labs
Sponsorship presence at Demo Day at the end of the Accelerator
Post-program support, development, and potential investment for the CELO Ecosystem companies

What CELO Provides
Curriculum design support
Introduction to Ecosystem Experts
Introductions and access to startups building on-chain.
$150,000 for cohort sponsorship.
Optional token grants for graduated companies

The receiving address is 0x083ab4a0C5d6CC899008bD5e8E1312379d629320

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Hi @RomanTirone,

Thanks for taking the time to write out this proposal. Having a dedicated track for Celo projects seems very promising. I do want to make sure we don’t have too much overlap with Celo Camp and the potential Outlier Ventures program - however, right now, these programs actually seem to be synergistic with your proposal, given they each have a specific focus (MiniPay and RWAs).

I see clear value in having RBV run a CELo Accelerator!

Note: Celo Governance had initially set aside an Incubation budget as part of the Celo Public Goods budget for H1; however, with Celo Camp’s proposal passing last week, the initial funding is fully allocated.

This means that this RBV proposal will have to be submitted to regular Celo Governance, which has higher quorum requirements. As such, getting wide stakeholder input (and traction) on this proposal is extra important. I will chat with Governance Guardians to set up a Governance Call sometime soon, so your team can present the proposal.

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Excellent. Looking forward to it!

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Roman, please submit a proposal to github and we can queue it up for discussion in the next Governance call next week.

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Important Reminder: Transparency for Proposals

Just a quick reminder: when submitting a proposal for funds, it’s crucial to disclose all Multisign addresses involved and who is behind each address.

Additionally, each individual associated with these addresses should confirm their wallet address in a comment from their Forum Account. This is a requirement from the Approvers, so let’s ensure we meet their standards for transparency.

Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

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