Make Decoded tickets free for participants to attract ETH CC Brussels audience
This discussion post was spawned through discussions between ecosystem agents. We think that to fully leverage Decoded as an event close to ETH CC, we should reduce barriers for participation as much as possible. We post this for discussion to gather feedback.
Should Polkadot Decoded 2024 tickets for on-site participants be free to attract more ETH CC participants and should the costs be covered from the excess funds of Ref 477?
Voting AYE on this proposal will instruct Decentered Studios to implement this amendment to Ref 477. Voting NAY will leave the conditions as agreed in Ref 477.
Summary
This on-chain signaling vote seeks to amend Ref 477 to offer free on-site tickets for Polkadot Decoded 2024 in Brussels.
Motivation
Polkadot Decoded 2024 is strategically placed in the same week and place as ETH CC, which is the biggest Ethereum conference in Europe. ETH CC visitors have a lot of free side event options available. The proposers think that asking for an entrance fee is prohibitive and will prevent a lot of potential prospects to not attending Decoded. Ref 477 mandates dynamic pricing starting at 99 EUR. Currently, tickets are being sold at 150 EUR. This conflicts with the objective of showcasing Polkadot technology to those outside of the ecosystem. We ask to make this event free for participants.
Funding
Ref 477 asked for ~1.25m USD in DOT to cover event organization and all related expenses. Today, those DOTs were worth >1.8m USD. Ref 477 anticipates 800 on-site tickets to be sold. The minimum expected income is 800 * 100 EUR = 80k EUR (87k USD).
Implementation
If this proposal is accepted, Decentered is hereby instructed to
- make tickets free for users
- not charge no-show fees
- cover foregone fees up to 100k USD from excess Treasury DOT of Ref 477
- Decentered may offer more on-site tickets if they anticipate a significant change in no-show rate
Method
This is an on-chain signaling vote. The Treasury from the Treasury. Acceptance of this proposal only signals that the amendment as described shall be executed by Decentered. To allow ample time for consideration and voting, we have opted for the small spender track. Echoing Giotto's approach in Referendum 535, this proposal does NOT seek additional funds, as the treasury itself is the beneficiary.
Comments (7)
I've always been a proponent of eliminating entry barriers to the Polkadot Ecosystem. I voted for Decoded to be hosted in Brussels for the opportunity to showcase our ecosystem to the broader blockchain ecosystems. If there are no plans to lift the 150 EUR fee, at least make decoded event entry free for EthCC ticket holders. (or even incentivize them to stop by) We should not miss the opportunity to attract that demographic!
The fact that Decentered are not the ones proposing to have a wider audience or attracting ETHCC participants tells you how wrong they are for the job. If they are just an events agency, they should just do that. Distractive should actually be the one entity handling all events strategies for Polkadot and just hire Decentered to organise the event logistically, for 30% of the budget. This is a joke of a team....