Hey, everyone!
As most of you likely saw on the timeline from August 8th and 9th, I was asked to help represent the Polkadot ecosystem at Rare EVO. Although the event organizers provided airfare and lodging at Caesar's Palace where the event took place, it did not cover other costs incurred such as Uber's to and from the airport, meals while on site (only dinners, as I tried to eat the provided breakfast and drank protein shakes at lunch), nor pay for my valuable time.
I was at the booth both days for the majority of the time (9:30 - 4:30) with only occasional breaks. During my time there, I had many incredible conversations with curious folks who wanted to know what's been happening in the Polkadot ecosystem (shout-out to Charley from Mythical Games who was doing a great job showcasing FIFA Rivals and Pudgy Party), and walked away with a few leads for business and collaboration with the broader Cardano ecosystem.
Much like my previous treasury request for my time spent at the University of Miami's 3rd Annual Business of Blockchain Conference, I am asking for $100 per hour (less than what I charge via my single member LLC business, blockACE) for the 14 hours spent at the booth, with the remaining dollars to pay for Uber rides and meals (Vegas is CRAZY expensive).
Here's some of the content I made while there:
Day One "Stop By!" Invite
Day Two Video / Day One Recap
Jay Interviewing Cam from Mythical Games
Feel free to ask any questions below!
Gratefully,
Phunky
JAM DAO's vote on this Proposal is a NAY
The DAO appreciates the proposer's input but have multiple concerns over cost, process, and deliverables. The proposer sought $100/hour—20–40% above typical DevRel rates—for activities primarily involving booth presence at an event, with limited deliverables and no written evidence of significant interactions or outcomes.
Some members questioned the lack of transparency around who invited the proposer at short notice and why no prior arrangements were made to secure pre-approved treasury or bounty funding, as is standard practice for other ecosystem event participants. Without such planning, the proposal appeared to bypass normal governance oversight.
The combination of inflated hourly rates, insufficient deliverable justification, and process gaps led the DAO to conclude that approving this request would set an undesirable precedent for retroactive funding without strong evidence of value delivered to the ecosystem.