FIP 99 - Flywheel Sponsorship Proposal

Author(s)

DeFi Dave

Proposal

Grant $60,000 of FXS and FRAX (split 50/50) for a 6 month period in order to fund Flywheel which will continue its efforts producing content covering the Frax ecosystem. In addition, we intend to continue to host meetups IRL as well under the “Fraximalist” Brand. In return, we will have FRAX sponsor our long-form content and advertise primitives such as Fraxswap, Fraxlend, FPI, and FrxETH.

Background

Over the past 3 months, Flywheel has made incredible strides for producing content for the Frax ecosystem and has been able to expand Frax’s media footprint online, executing on its goals laid out in the original Podcast & Media grant of taking control of its own narrative as well as educating the wider community.

Flywheel Output

Since Flywheel launched 3 months ago we have:

• Over 430 subscribers on YouTube
• Over 900 followers on Twitter
• Produced two episodes with over 1000 views
• Created 3 different series including Flywheel Pod, Fraxcast, and StableClaire Explains
• Fund institutional-level pieces of Frax in the Flywheel substack.

These numbers show the incredible traction that Flywheel has received. The response to Flywheel has been overwhelmingly positive by both people in and outside the Frax community who are hungry for quality content. This is important because there is noticeably a media vacuum in crypto that has not kept up with the sheer speed of segmentation happening in Web3 as a whole. Flywheel is carving out its corner of the media space through covering and making sense of the Frax ecosystem through interviews, commentary, and explainers.

In the future, we want to continue producing Flywheel content and will use these funds to cover expenses and labor hours spent prepping, recording, editing, and distributing content. You can keep up with Flywheel on Twitter, Telegram, YouTube, Spotify, and Apple. Specifically, this grant will help fund:

• A consistent stream of content related to the Frax ecosystem including:
  • Our flagship podcast, Flywheel, which brings on members of the community and protocol partners to discuss the latest developments in Frax, DeFi, stablecoins, and everything in between. We have been releasing one episode a week since launch and will keep going at that pace.
  • In addition, we plan on continuing to release other content such as Fraxcast which is general commentary about the Frax ecosystem and StableClaire Explains... which covers the basics of understanding stablecoins and Frax. We intend to release this content on a more consistent basis.
• Advertisements for Frax primitives
  • Frax has recently released or is releasing a host of novel DeFi primitives including Fraxswap, Fraxlend, FPI, and FrxETH. Although people in the Frax community may be aware of them, there are many who are not. With these advertisements, we intend to further entrench the mutually symbiotic relationship between Frax and Flywheel by educating viewers about these primitives in short adverts.

The people who are leading this initiative include:

• Sam McCulloch (@ssmccul) who is a long-time member of the Frax community and has had a podcast of his own. Sam will be the lead and producer for the unit and will act as producer to both shows as well as co-host the Frax Town Square.
• DeFi Dave (@davesaidthat_) who is a Day Zero Fraximalist and has hosted a podcast in the past, The DeFi Scoop. He will co-host both Flywheel and Frax Town Square.
• kapital_k (0xkapital_k) who is a DeFi/Gaming/Tokenomics enthusiast and Frax supporter who has researched the protocol deeply.

In the previous three months, expenses have primarily incurred from production of Flywheel. For those who are curious of how the Treasury has been utilized, you can see a breakdown of it here. It is important to note that DeFi Dave and kapital_k have not taken any compensation for their efforts choosing instead to reinvest in building up Flywheel. In addition, PIF Labs has been aiding in commissioning the institutional-level writing content for Flywheel.

Fraximalist Meetups

Fraximalist meetups are IRL gatherings of enthusiasts and curious alike and so far, three of them have taken place in Amsterdam (during Devconnect), New York (during NFT NYC), and (Paris during EthCC). The latest one in Paris attracted nearly 30 attendees who listened to DeFi Dave’s speech as well as stuck around for a merch giveaway.

In the future, Fraximalist meetups can host panels, discussions, and bring together thinkers & active players alike from across DeFi. Several conferences that Fraximalists meetups can take place at in the near future include:

• MCON Sept 6-9
• Messari Mainnet Sept 21-23
• DevCon Oct 11-14
• ETH Lisbon Oct 28-30

The goals of curating events are to create a sense of community, cultivate substantive discussion, and represent the protocol IRL. As part of Flywheel’s outreach efforts on behalf of Frax, organizing these meetups is an essential component of the marketing stack to increase awareness of Frax.

Funds from this grant will help cover the costs associated with hosting events including securing physical locations, setting up props, having food/water/amenities, as well as labor hours setting up and executing events.

DeFi Dave has been and will continue to lead the Fraximalist meetup series.

Motivation

Flywheel aims to be the “Bankless of Frax” and take the wheel in driving both Frax’s and the automated stablecoin narrative forward. There is simply just too much at stake to do nothing and merely “hope for the best”, we need to keep actively engaging the wider DeFi community and beyond in order to inform, educate, and entertain them about Frax and its surrounding ecosystem. We strongly believe that Frax will reach Ethereum-level in size and along the way, Frax can not only scale technologically on-chain, but must scale socially off-chain as well.

Flywheel has done an excellent job representing Frax so far and we are here to keep pushing the momentum forward. As mentioned in the last proposal, the Frax ecosystem is growing to become much bigger than the core team alone and numerous contributors and commentators have arisen that have helped advance the protocol. Flywheel is here to organize and shine a light on Frax, carrying the Fraximalist torch up high for those who seek it.

Breakdown of the sponsorship/grant

Total cost: $60k (half $FRAX/half $FXS)

Podcast(s) Budget

• 52 episodes over the span of 6 months with Frax-related ad of Fraxswap and other Frax primitives when released

• Cost per episode $1000, totaling $52k.

Contracted Content Budget

• $2000 total for video explainers about Frax and stablecoins directed towards a novice audience

Meetups/Events Budget

• $6000 for hosting Fraximalist meetups and events.

Extra Incentives

• Reach 1000 subscribers on YouTube, $500. Reach 5000 subscribers, $1000. Reach 10000 subs, $2500

• Reach 1000 followers on Twitter, $250. Reach 10000 Followers, $500.

• 1000 views on a YouTube Video, $250. 10000 views on a video, $500.

• Extra Incentives will be paid in $FXS