Proponent: 13zTcqasJT4DnDgNjmsceACcuSjt4q2geEjtMprnGXCnuuh1
Author: Cim Topal, CEO Missing-Link.io
Date: Feb 16, 2024
Requested: 50,000 DOT, equal to 365,000 USD per 7-Day SubScan EMA
Short description: Business development is essential for the expansion of web3 protocols like Polkadot, focusing on growth opportunities and strategic partnerships. Despite its potential and its BD success stories such as Mythical Games, Deloitte, and Vodafone, Polkadot's business development efforts have faced criticism for lacking effective strategies, which have hampered its adoption and visibility. We’ve witnessed multiple wins by other BD teams in other ecosystems, the kind of actions Polkadot can benefit from1, 2. The Web3 Foundation's Decentralized Futures program aims to attract top talent to bolster Polkadot's ecosystem, yet awareness among high-caliber candidates remains low. This issue underscores a need for broader outreach beyond the current focus on individuals with prior connections to Parity and the Polkadot community. To realize its full potential, Polkadot must engage with a diverse talent pool and establish long-term partnerships and enterprise adoption. Funds from the treasury will cover the service of sourcing, interviewing, strategizing, and placing 5 experienced, world-class web3 business development executives to generate successful partnerships and key cross-ecosystem products to adopt Polkadot.
Business Development has been key to the success of decentralized web3 protocols post-ethereum. It helps ensure a sustainable protocol by seeking opportunities for growth and partnerships that best fit the advantages of the protocol at hand, and in the case of Polkadot there are numerous advantages that can be leveraged. There is a clear cost-benefit advantage in selecting the right candidates to boost Polkadot’s business development, adoption and growth that will far outweigh the costs not only to the treasury, but the whole community.
However, a common critique by the community is the lack of prioritization and execution of a proper BD strategy that brings attention and adoption to Polkadot and its ecosystem. This is not to downplay its BD success stories such as Mythical Games, Deloitte, and Vodafone, which have helped maintain the notoriety in the wider ecosystem. The Web3 Foundation’s Decentralized Futures program is designed to bring a new wave of initiatives and success to the Polkadot ecosystem, but in order for it to succeed, we need proper outreach and headhunting to introduce and convince top-notch talent of the opportunities that Polkadot and the Web3 Foundation can provide. We at Missing Link have already begun to survey talent in this sector and have discovered that nearly no top-notch talent candidates are aware of this program, despite its obvious benefits and pioneering approach. Discussions with leading ecosystem agents and the Web3 Foundation have prompted this proposal as a crucial need for the ecosystem to take the next step in growth and exposure.
One issue with the Decentralized Futures program is that it has not gotten the attention beyond former employees of Parity and active ecosystem participants in the Polkadot community. The current applications hosted in the Polkadot Forum for the Decentralized Futures program reveals a clear trend that the vast majority of applicants are based in Central Europe and/or are former Parity employees. While this is expected due the decentralization plan set forth by the Web3 Foundation, it is not ideal for all verticals especially when dealing with Business Development and Product Growth.
The purpose of this submission is to request funding for Missing Link to source, screen, select, and successfully place 5 Business Development Executives with the Web3 Foundation's Decentralized Futures program.
Below are the steps and work that needs to take place for one such successful placement with the Decentralized Futures program:
We are ready to identify and engage world-class talent that will finally give Polkadot the edge in BD it has been looking for. The process involves meticulous screening, in-depth interviews, and rigorous vetting to ensure candidates not only possess the necessary skills on paper but are also genuinely capable of contributing to the growth and success of Polkadot.
| Milestone | Funding Tranche | Number of Accepted Decentralized Futures Applications | Running Total |
| 1st and only | $365k USD | 5 | $365k USD |
| Total | $365k USD | 5 | $365k USD |
To help fulfill the goal of Decentralized Futures by acquiring talent, we offer a full 360° approach to increasing hiring and operational efficiency including a guaranteed placement at the cost of the minimum average placement fee. We understand that hiring is a challenging process. Our approach involves a dedicated research team that performs market mapping based on every project’s unique requirements, including experience, location, and cultural fit. While the task at-hand involving a decentralized funding program may appear radically different, the universals of good talent remain therefore we will use our proven process in this way. We leverage our extensive network, attend in-person events, and utilize various online channels such as Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Github, StackOverflow, Reddit, and Discord to identify potential candidates.
On average and referring to our historical numbers, we need to identify and reach out to around 400 candidates in order to find 5 who express interest in the opportunity. After pre-screening and vetting interested candidates in multiple 60-90 minute interviews, we plan on introducing approximately 20 candidates to Web3 Foundation and the community.
A very conservative average salary of manager-to-executive-level BD professional ranges from $300k-$800k/year, typical in the web3 industry, especially for big name protocols willing to prioritize business development. The industry rate for talent headhunting firms is 25-35%. Given the unique nature of this program and the decentralized treasury of Polkadot, we believe a fair cost would calculate rates based on the lowest ends of these spectrums, thereby giving us a cost of approximately 24% of a $300k/year salary, though the top-tier candidates we source likely may be asking for more. Using this very low rate and calculation, five candidates successfully placed would give us a figure of approximately $375,000 USD.
Exchange rate of USD:DOT is the 7-day EMA by Subscan taken on the day of on-chain submission, and will be used to convert the amount requested above to DOT.
The payment of $365k will be disbursed upon approval by the Polkadot community via the treasury.
13zTcqasJT4DnDgNjmsceACcuSjt4q2geEjtMprnGXCnuuh1
We will regularly share our progress in the original Polkassembly post as comments. Polkadot community members are welcome to join these threads and inquire further information and reach out to us. Every successful placement in the scope of this proposal will be announced.
Cim Topal, the proposer, is the CEO and co-founder of Missing Link and Heads.io, a leading web3 recruiting agency founded in Berlin in 2017. Our team comprises seasoned web3 and recruiting professionals with extensive experience in both web3 and web 2.0 industries.
Our impressive client roster includes renowned Polkadot ecosystem projects such as Web3 Foundation, Parity Technologies, ChainSafe Systems, Phala Network and Centrifuge, as well as other ecosystem projects through the Substrate Builders Program. Our close partnerships have resulted in high-level executive placements, such as CLO Daniel Schoenberger who testified in front of the US Congress last year. In addition, we've successfully placed numerous engineers, CFOs, CMOs, and other talented professionals across the Polkadot ecosystem.
For a comprehensive overview of our recent placements in the Polkadot Ecosystem, please refer to the table below:
| Company/Project | Position | Name |
| Web3 Foundation | CLO | Daniel Schönberger |
| Web3 Foundation | CFO | Thomas Fecker Boxler |
| Parity | VP Engineering | Pierre Aubert |
| Parity | VP People | Sören Winter |
| Parity | Director Special Projects | Florian Jodl |
| Parity | Head of Polkadot Blockchain Academy | Pauline Cohen Vorms |
| Parity | Ecosystem Growth | -- |
| Parity | 2 Rust Engineers | -- |
| Bit.Country | Rust Engineer | -- |
| Aria Health | Rust Engineer | -- |
| Ajuna Network | Senior Game Developer | -- |
| Freelance (Polkadot Eco) | Rust Engineer | -- |
| Centrifuge | UX Designer | -- |
| Centrifuge | 6 Rust Engineers | -- |
| Centrifuge | CFO | Romina Bungert |
| Chainsafe | Rust Engineer | -- |
| Chainsafe | Go Engineer | -- |
| Chainsafe | LibP2P Networking Engineer | -- |
| Grid Singularity | R&D Engineer | -- |
| Grid Singularity | DevOps | -- |
| Energy Web Foundation | Rust Engineer (Wasm) | -- |
| Energy Web Foundation | Technical Architect | -- |
| Phala Network | Head of Marketing | -- |
Note: All individuals listed above have explicitly agreed to their name being shared here for this purpose.
Cim Topal - CEO and Co-Founder, Missing-Link.io
Cim Topal - CEO and Co-Founder
Michael Grohmann - COO and Co-Founder
Fabian Fricke - Managing Director
Website: https://missing-link.io
Coindesk - Former Libra Director Joins Polkadot Builder, Bertrand Perez is joining the Web3 Foundation
Bloomberg - Ex-Diem Executive Joins Mina Blockchain as Operating Chief
Coin Republic - Creator of Polkadot, Parity Technologies expanding leadership team, adding executives
Threshold