Justification for Tip Request - James

Event Context

The 3rd Annual Business of Blockchain Technology Conference (May 29-31, 2025) at the University of Miami’s Patti and Allan Herbert Business School utilized Polkadot’s $15,000 presenting partnership and $10,000 travel budget from the Events Bounty but did not cover any compensation for personal time that were incurred by representing Polkadot.

James Slusser organized the monthly Polkadot Miami meetup, aligning with the conference, delivered opening remarks at the conference and participated in the two day event, participated in a Miami Freedom Park (MFP) tour, and supported hospitality at Inter Miami games, engaging UM faculty (e.g., Dean Paul Pavlou) and industry leaders during our pre conference tour.

Achievements During Conference Week

• Delivered impactful opening remarks, reinforcing Polkadot’s leadership at the conference as well as Florida being a local resource.
• Participated in the MFP tour, advancing talks on a physical U.S. presence and partnerships with Sal and Chris.
• Supported hosting of high-profile guests at Inter Miami games, enhancing Polkadot’s visibility.
• Contributed with post-event follow-ups with PBA and Chris to Universities and attendees.

Time Commitment

• Tuesday, May 27 (4 hours ): Hosted meetup (4 hours),
• Wednesday May 28 (3 hours): Hosted guests at Inter Miami games (3 hours)
• Thursday, May 29 (5 hours): Participated in the campus tour, engaging with UM faculty and staff.
• Friday, May 30 (8 hours): Attended the first full day of the conference, delivering opening remarks and networking with attendees.
• Saturday, May 31 (7 hours): Engaged in a half-day of conference activities, including hosting guests at Inter Miami games.

The only time being requested was for that of time spent directly interfacing with University of Miami staff or conference attendees and kindly ask the community to consider $1500 of compensation (less than hours put in)

Sources

• X Posts:
  • @LearnPolkadot, Campus Tour: https://x.com/LearnPolkadot/status/1928094687383986670
  • @LearnPolkadot, Filippo’s Talk: https://x.com/LearnPolkadot/status/1928469373695537535
  • @LearnPolkadot, Panel Discussion: https://x.com/LearnPolkadot/status/1928530670336221254
  • @LearnPolkadot, PBA Presentation: https://x.com/LearnPolkadot/status/1928868214957625707
  • @LearnPolkadot, Inter Miami Match: https://x.com/LearnPolkadot/status/1929054794641007103
  • @The_Weak_Hand, Mas and Dean Paul: https://x.com/The\_Weak\_Hand/status/1929961884016398611
  • @TheThePhunky1 - https://x.com/TheThePhunky1/status/1928114833662103952
  • @openminded Miami a strategic play - https://x.com/__open_minded/status/1928558610881089860
• LinkedIn Posts:
  • Filippo Franchini, Conference Participation: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/filippoweb3_this-week-i-was-honored-to-speak-at-the-activity-7335039263513763840-UisN
  • Filippo Franchini, Inter Miami Partnership: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/filippoweb3_this-is-a-success-story-about-polkadot-activity-7335664043837247488-fsx3
  • Marina Marchesotti, AI Synergies: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/marina-marchesotti_descentralizaciaejn-tokenizaciaejn-educaciaejn-activity-7335981347057950721-zBle
  • Christopher Wade, UM Engagement: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:ugcPost:7335457765089308672?commentUrn=urn%3Ali%3Acomment%3A%28ugcPost%3A7335457765089308672%2C7335482321145417730%29
  • University of Miami, Conference Recap: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-7335924462510387200-EFn5
  • Flávia Salmázio-Machado, Presentation: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/fl%C3%A1via-salm%C3%A1zio-4b62761b9_last-week-i-had-the-honor-of-sharing-the-activity-7335421841026514945-9z1N
  • Flávia Salmázio-Machado, Inter Miami Match: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/fl%C3%A1via-salm%C3%A1zio-4b62761b9_i-experienced-a-soccer-match-with-messi-playing-activity-7336059790567067650-6K_K
  • Roman Beck Professor
    https://www.linkedin.com/posts/profromanbeck_it-was-a-pleasure-meeting-roman-beck-youngjin-activity-7335917654752288769-PfvU?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAZvL00BfkEPcVV-lPjaTPq8bzIEbxJ5xDA