Edit: proposed name: "Carbonmark aKcelerator"

Summary

KlimaDAO has a stake in the development of the broader Digital Carbon Market (DCM). KlimaDAO is itself built on top of digital carbon tokenized via partners such as C3, Toucan and Moss. We also partner with organizations such as Provide, CarbonLink who are building key infrastructure that leverages KlimaDAO’s own tech stack to add value to the DCM and for its users.

KlimaDAO proposes the launch of Carbonmark Tank, an accelerator programme that will support the development, investor readiness, and growth of organizations operating within, or aspiring to integrate with, the DCM.

This post asks for feedback on the accelerator programme, which requests for up to $250,000 in funding to be allocated to launch and execute Carbonmark Tank. We envision this funding being deployed as follows:
• $50,000 will be used to support administration costs of the programme (including hiring coaches for successful applicants).
• $200,000 (4 x $50,000) available for winners as prizes to reward their work in the program and accelerate their development. It is intended that the prizes of the programme will be awarded on a discretionary basis, i.e. there is no obligation for the prizes to be granted if the applicants received are not deemed suitable.

Context

Carbonmark Tank is being proposed as a 3-month accelerator program to support and nurture start-ups in the Digital Carbon Market (DCM) with working products or those close to launch.

Supporting the development and maturation of the Digital Carbon Market is key to enabling increased value generation for the broader Voluntary Carbon Market, and demonstrating the role that this market can have in scaling-up climate finance markets, as required to achieve on the Paris Agreement’s 1.5c climate targets. Greater maturity within the DCM can enable greater market acceptance from gatekeepers within the Voluntary Carbon Market, and facilitate increasing levels of institutional adoption of the DCM tech stack.

The primary objective of Carbonmark Tank is therefore to maximize the success of promising start-ups entering the DCM, helping them connect with key stakeholders, raise funds, and make a real-world impact through their innovative solutions.

The programme aims to enhance the success of entrepreneurs by providing guidance, incubation, technical support, and networking opportunities within the industry. The scope of the programme is limited to solutions being developed to integrate with the DCM, or that can otherwise support the development of the DCM.

The programme is proposed as a pilot initiative, whereby appetite from start-ups in the space, sponsors, and the broader market can be assessed. If successful, this programme would be considered to become a recurring programme supported by KlimaDAO and its partners who have an interest in supporting the market’s growth.

To enable the launch of Carbonmark Tank, it is proposed that up to $250,000 is ring-fenced by KlimaDAO. $200,000 would be used for discretionary prize spending for successful companies (at most 4 x $50,000 prizes), with at least $50,000 required for the operational costs of the programme, including the hiring of expert coaches, marketing and subscription costs.

Note that a number of potential sponsors have expressed interest in participating in the programme, the gross spend from KlimaDAO will decrease subject to sponsorship agreements being finalized. Sponsorship packages will be priced at $50k.

Programme Outline

The below programme outline is a tentative plan for Carbonmark Tank; subject to agreement from the Community and sponsors.

July: Online applications open, with applicants screened against criteria, and subject to participant interviews.

Key assessment criteria:

  1. Market Potential and Relevance
  2. Innovation and Uniqueness
  3. Traction and Product Readiness
  4. Founding Team's Expertise and Commitment
  5. Sustainability and Impact

August: programme launches

  • Briefing day and meet the participants
  • Start-up mentoring sessions with DCM industry experts and innovators - strategy, product developed, Web3 integrations and business fundamentals
    5-day accelerator course with world class coaching team.

September: demo day; pitch day; winners announced

  • Mentor check-in sessions
  • Demo day - participants pitch to programme sponsors
  • Programme winners announced (discretionary prizes awarded)
  • Pitch day to investor network.

By the end of the programme, successful applicants will have received bespoke advice for their start-up and product ideas; will have received coaching from world-class sales and pitch coaches, presented their ideas to DCM leaders; and participated in a public pitch day with VCs and the wider market in attendance. The KlimaDAO team will provide individualized mentoring to successful applicants to enable them to integrate with its techstack.

Next Steps

Community members are asked to give feedback on the proposal for Carbonmark Tank, and indicate their perspectives on the suitability of the funding ask from the DAO.

Subject to soft consensus from the Community, a KIP will be submitted to the Forum in 14 days, proposing the $250,000 funding ask for sign-off from the Community.

Glad to see this initiative! It's important for us, and our partner network, to help cultivate an innovative DCM landscape.

I'm glad we're providing "in-kind" rewards for eligible participants - mentorship, networking and coaching from professionals goes a long way to improving the viability of a project and ensuring the value proposition is clearly articulated.

Curious to see what kind of innovative builders this attracts

Also important to note that the $250k total earmark assumes no other organizations sponsor and that all 4 $50k prizes are awarded.

Any sponsors who sign on would reduce the financial burden on the DAO, and if the project submissions don't meet the (high) bar set out by the program then the DAO would only be out the administrative costs.

KlimaDAO is providing liquidity as a resource for the DCM; it has built fundamental open and neutral infrastructure for the DCM; funded projects on the ground; and with this proposal would directly seed the growth of the DCM ecosystem. Onwards!

Great initiative.

Verra and GS tokenization rules will be released soon. New ideas will be needed for DVCM

I will vote for the proposal as long as the winning participants platform directly contributes to the growth of Klima DAO. Otherwise I don’t see the benefit for Klima DAO.

Fully support this great initiative further demonstrating KlimaDAO's commitment to the success of the overall DCM ecosystem. Pairing the cash prize (which means so much to startups iterating on product-market fit) with mentorship and coaching from expert professionals goes a long way helping entrepreneurs hone their unique value proposition, sales/revenue strategy, and pitch experience.

When the accelerator program launches we will want to be more explicit on the stage of startup that would qualify. For example, would this program target early stage (pre-seed and seed) organizations or would VC funded growth stage startups also qualify?

Any additional thoughts on what would qualify as "...solutions being developed to integrate with the DCM, or that can otherwise support the development of the DCM". For example, would a CDR related startup qualify if their objective is to create forward carbon credits?

I am losing sight of the strategy. I get the feeling that we are scraping around for something to do whilst we wait for the tokenisation debates to be resolved. I do not support this until I get a clear view of the strategy and how this supports that.

    CryptoKnight

    This is a fair challenge!

    More formal insights (for discussion) around strategy are due next week.

    5 days later
    Dionysus changed the title to Carbonmark aKcelerator Pilot.
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