Proposal for a reimagined Sub0 developer conference, with a fresh brand identity and a targeted focus on grassroots, Web3 hacker culture.

WebZero outlines a new concept for sub0, Polkadot’s staple developer conference. Consisting of a 3-day conference, evening events, a Web3 educators’ day, and a 72-hour hacker space managed by WebZero’s developer relations team. This proposal places “Substrate” as the pillar technology stack that powers blockchains like Starknet’s Madara, Cardano’s L2 Midnight, Polygon’s Avail (incubated), Entropy, Tanssi, Bittensor, and AlephZero with Polkadot being the biggest contributor to and user of Substrate.

Contact: info@joinwebzero.com ~ WebZero TG Chat

→ Full proposal → Requested amount: $ 437,560.00 USDC → Track record:Link to sheet with all WebZero funded events (including Polkadot + other ecosystem sponsorships)

1. Key Changes to the existing format

What: Grassroots vs. corporate → Prioritize “hacking” culture. How: Venue selection, branding, pricing, budget, agenda curated by ChaosDAO and hackers, outreach to the existing WebZero “Blockspace” developer base. This is not “a 2nd Decoded”.

What: Free tickets, food and drinks → Break down barriers to entry. How: Catering by the WebZero chef, hiring local staff, sourcing quality vendors at fair prices.

What: Upgraded layout & experience design → Designing the venue layout with creative installations (eg. live merch printing, merch customisation, art gallery), curated booth areas, two cozy stages, networking & co-working areas open day/night. How: Venue scouting, artist curation, agenda curation with ChaosDAO

What: Budget transparency → Provide invoices of all expenses up to two months post-event. How: By using our standard event budget sheet for reporting.

What: Budget efficiency → Plan and execute an event within the budget of $ 437,560.000 USDC. How: Offsetting costs with sponsors (one of the success metrics), hiring local, working with an in-house team (no 3rd parties), hiring a smaller venue.

What: Smaller venue/higher attendance → >400 guests per day. How: Cost efficient venue, partnerships with local universities, (other) partner onboarding Devcon outreach and cross-ecosystems promotions, creating a tailored marketing campaign with ecosystem stakeholders.

What: Substrate Beyond Polkadot → Bring together the top Substrate-based projects from across the ecosystem. How: Evaluate and reach out to other ecosystems and projects building with Substrate for a more interesting intersection of communities and discussions.

What: All side events. In one place → Open the venue out to sponsors for hosting side events and/or community members.
How: Hosting an opening or closing party, keeping the bar open after the conference hours.

What: Substrate onboarding → Bring more developers to Substrate. How: Creative and gamified developer challenges, setting up a dedicated booth for new devs and companies where they can inquire about building.

What: Accessible event location, next to a large conference → Dates selected just before Devcon in Bangkok. How: Bangkok was chosen as the location because it coincides with Devcon, has fewer visa restrictions, lower costs, and is close to the conference venue and the city centre.

2. Benefits for Polkadot:

More for less → More perks at a lower budget. Improved collaboration → Multiple substrate-based ecosystems in one place. Higher community involvement → Collaboratively selected agenda. Improved developer engagement → A dedicated DevRel team for onboarding new and experienced builders at the conference.

We look forward to hearing the community’s comments and suggestions.