“Fundamental groundwork like the Polkadot-Market-Fit Score that was developed by Natalie & Jashar is incredibly valuable. It helps the ecosystem make decisions based on real data instead of gut feeling. We need more of this kind of work to guide our strategy.”
- David Hawig, Director of Ecosystem Development at Web3 Foundation
"Sales enablement (vertical-specific collateral, case studies, testimonials, updated pitch decks, and other templates for different funnel stages) is the oil in the sales machine. Without it, there’s friction and inconsistency in the sales process. We may be able to decentralise the end sales effort via BD agents, but it makes sense to have a central repository for sales enablement. Natalie and Jashar are well positioned to provide this.
Their earlier project laid the groundwork with strategic segmentation, clear prioritisation, and strong positioning and messaging across five top verticals. If I had to tell anyone to go out and do BD for Polkadot today, I’d send them straight to their Sales Hub. It already proved useful to several BD contributors working in AI, and it’s easy to see the value it will bring as we expand sectors, go deeper into GTMs and proper collateral, and as more teams begin doing targeted BD work."
- Nick Dunford, Co-Founder of Web3 Deal Desk
“I’ve seen firsthand how useful Natalie & Jashar’s segment content is. I'm an individual BD agent in the ecosystem and cannot become an expert in all industries and markets myself. I can’t wait for bringing the Hub to the next level and also including the CRM. It’s one of the most needed initiatives in the ecosystem and will make BD 10x more efficient.”
- Strindbergman, Polkadot BD Agent
“We take 130+ calls a month with new leads, and it’s clear how much a shared Helpdesk is needed. Without it, information gets lost, follow-ups fall through, and the ecosystem can’t scale. Jashar and Natalie understand this gap deeply. They don’t just create slides, they identify what’s needed most, collaborate, and deliver. They even made an intro to an ecosystem gaming team that we were not aware of. I’m confident they’re the right team to build the Helpdesk and finally solve the big BD coordination issues that have been ignored for too long.”
- Angela Dalton, CEO & Founder of Signum Growth Capital | DOT Play
“Decentralized BD is tough to bootstrap. Jashar and Natalie have found a credible path by building an essential knowledge base for our business developers. Their research-based approach has shaped the way we think about BD in Polkadot. I support the BD Hub proposal because it equips our BD talent and provides them with a service unit for their needs.”
- Tommi Enenkel, Founder of OpenGov.Watch
“Finally, we have something research-based that helps BD agents not only prioritize the right segments but also approach them with real knowledge and confidence. The work on industries like AI, DePIN, and gaming gives us clear direction. It’s exactly the kind of upstream insight I’ve been missing when deciding where to focus my time and outreach. On the Helpdesk front, I'm actively supporting it and fully endorse it. It is so needed and I'm confident in Jashar and Natalie making it work.”
- James Slusser, Polkadot BD Agent and Founder of Kurkuma
Polkadot’s BD efforts have lacked shared strategy, coordination, and tools. The current Polkadot Sales Hub, launched through OpenGov proposal #1090, started fixing that. The feedback has been incredibly positive, both from those using it, and from those overseeing governance and proposals.
We segmented the market and built foundational messaging and positioning for top priority industry verticals. The UI that became the Sales Hub wasn’t even part of our project scope, but it was urgently needed, so we built it anyway. We are happy to have proven that this is how we work: we deliver and we do what’s needed.
Many requests for expansion followed: An enterprise GTM strategy, deep dives on specific industry verticals, adding new components (CRM, help desk, competitor intelligence). This proposal builds on that momentum. We are turning the Sales Hub from a one-off activity into a permanent system: the BD Hub.
An overview about what this proposal funds (more details in Section VI):
For any additional system components or content, we are planning to publish separate proposals or support with the facilitation of RfPs to attract more BD contributors to the ecosystem. After all, this is too big to fill alone. It will be a community-fuelled platform. The BD Hub is a Web3-first, for everyone trying to sell Polkadot. It brings structure, clarity, and long-term support to an ecosystem that needs it.
We’re excited to get this project underway and help position Polkadot as the gold standard for Business Development in Web3. As soon as the proposal is approved, we’ll hit the ground running. For those interested in learning more, we are hosting a Q&A session at the upcoming Web3 Summit in Berlin, taking place from July 16th to 18th. We’ll also present at some of the upcoming AAG calls, so be sure to tune in. In the meantime, we’ve started collecting community questions and compiled our responses in this FAQ document, which we’ll continue to update regularly.
Natalie & Jashar | So So Scaled!
The BD Hub is Polkadot’s unified platform to organize, professionalize, and scale BD efforts across the entire ecosystem. Acting as the backbone for all BD initiatives, the Hub replaces fragmented, ad hoc efforts with a single, coherent system that enables and supports current and future BD agents, ecosystem builders, and partners alike. It’s the natural evolution of the current Polkadot Sales Hub into a dynamic, future-proof engine for growth.
Clarifying scope: The BD Hub is not responsible for setting Polkadot's overarching BD strategy. Instead, it acts as an enablement and coordination layer that helps ensure strategic direction - whether defined by governance, collectives, or other actors - is clearly communicated, widely accessible, and effectively executed by all BD contributors in the ecosystem. One such initiative was project #1090, which we will build upon in the current proposal, by creating hands-on material based on earlier findings in the enterprise BD sector.
According to our recent State of BD at Polkadot study, ecosystem-wide satisfaction with BD is critically low (2.8/10). The most common complaints include:
The Polkadot Sales Hub, launched by us in early April 2025 as part of project #1090, has already made a major step in solving these issues. It gives BD agents access to shared research, foundational and industry-specific messaging, and segment-specific strategies. To scale its impact and take ownership of BD enablement, we propose evolving this into a living, community-fuelled space, with So So Scaled! managing and maintaining it.
The BD Hub is designed to streamline how BD is practiced across the Polkadot ecosystem:
We believe the BD Hub should become the ecosystem’s shared infrastructure for BD: a permanent, community-fuelled system that enables everyone working to grow Polkadot. Based on community input, as well as research and our experience, we’ve identified eight core verticals that should be included in a 360° BD enablement platform:
We’re not proposing to build all of this at once, and we don’t believe one team should. The BD Hub is a shared foundation that others can plug into, shape, and build on. As stated in the Abstract, it focuses on pillars 1) and 2), along with selected parts of 4) and 6). The bulk of the work is expected to go into pillars 2) and 4), as these are not only among the most requested but also some of the more complex to address.
This proposal focuses on the most urgent and high-leverage building blocks:
A more detailed breakdown can be found here: BD Hub | Budget & Roadmap | By So So Scaled!
Until now, BD enablement efforts in the Polkadot ecosystem have been fragmented, ad-hoc, and lacked clear ownership. They weren’t built with the community, for the community - nor were they sustained. What’s more, BD enablement is not the same as BD. But it’s often the BD agents themselves, those closest to deals and partnerships, who are expected to lead these efforts and create these materials. However, this a) requires a different skill set entirely and b) takes up valuable time from their actual work: closing deals. Therefore, it rather needs a dedicated team that works hand in hand with the BD teams themselves.
We’ve already built a strong foundation for success. The current Polkadot Sales Hub is the most comprehensive BD resource Polkadot has ever had. We’re not just proposing, we’re already delivering a usable, strategic, and scalable BD resource that’s actually helping agents in the field. And we would love to turn this into a permanent system that powers every BD effort in the Polkadot ecosystem.
The BD Hub is a complex platform made up of many different parts and verticals that need to be built step by step over time. We can’t do everything at once, and that’s okay. With this proposal, we’re focusing on setting up the most important pieces of the infrastructure, which is the foundation that everything else will build on.
At the same time, we’re already starting to add content and make the Hub usable. A lot of very useful content is already available in the current version of the BD Hub, and more will be added as part of this proposal. So while the infrastructure continues to take shape, the content side of things will also grow in parallel, bringing the Hub to life as we go.
There are a few more complex topics that are too large to be covered in this proposal (e.g. think of a GTM strategy for the AI segment, the top segment from our project #1090). For those, we plan to develop separate proposals and pitch them as standalone projects throughout the year. In other cases, we see that other teams in the ecosystem are better suited to lead. We’ll support them in creating their own proposals and make sure they’re well integrated, so that the BD Hub becomes a shared, collaborative effort that reflects the strengths of the whole ecosystem.
Importantly, the BD Hub is designed to evolve. As new challenges and opportunities come up, we’ll introduce new verticals and features in close coordination with BD agents on the ground. The BD Hub isn’t just a list of tools, it’s a system. And its success depends on how well all the parts work together over time.
Based on the scope and 9-month timeframe, we are proposing a total budget of $255,150, structured around quarterly milestones.
Period | Base Budget | Additional Cost | Total Cost |
---|---|---|---|
1 (Aug ‘25 - Oct ‘25) | $83,250 | $1,800 | $85,050 |
2 (Nov ‘25 - Jan ‘25) | $83,250 | $1,800 | $85,050 |
3 (Feb ‘25 - Apr ‘26) | $83,250 | $1,800 | $85,050 |
Total (9 months) | $249,750 | $5,400 | $255,150 |
A breakdown of all deliverables, deadlines and costs is available here: BD Hub | Budget & Roadmap | By So So Scaled!
Threshold
Hello,
Could you mention the metrics obtained from the Polkadot Sales Hub and if there's any way to measure the ROI generated?
What collaboration are you having with other databases in the ecosystem?
Thanks