Section 1 - DAO/Project Information
- Project name: Balansea
- Proposal name: Balansea funding proposal
- Date: 04/19/2024
- Category: Consumer Application
Section 2. Previous Funding
- None
Section 4. Applicant Information
- Alex Astrum
- a13x.near
- Canada
- tg alex0x00
- linkedin alexastrum
- github alexastrum
Section 5. Team Members & Experience
- Alex Astrum - is a seasoned Software Architect with over 20 years of industry experience spanning web development, software engineering, and community building. Currently serving as the DevRel Lead at Google for Firebase and Google Gen AI, he has deep expertise in cloud platforms (Firebase, GCP, Kubernetes) and web frameworks (Vue, React, Angular, TypeScript, Node). Additionally, Alex is deeply involved in the blockchain space, actively engaging with technologies like NEAR blockchain for decentralized applications and smart contracts, enhancing his robust profile in cutting-edge tech innovations.
Github: alexastrum - Wax - brings a rich background with three years of deep involvement in the NEAR ecosystem. He spearheads the prominent community Chill&Shill and operates the largest NEAR influencer account, maintaining active engagement even through challenging bear market conditions. With extensive experience in marketing, managing social media, and building vibrant communities, Max has also hosted over 100 spaces with various NEAR projects and stakeholders. A true NEAR native OG, he is a committed advocate and an active member of the community, dedicated to fostering growth and engagement within the ecosystem.
Twitter: waxnear
Section 7.Project overview
Project Overview: Presentation with a short High-Level 6 bullet points summary:
Mission:
to instill enduring habits for transformative health through reward-driven transformation
Vision:
to be the best and most used mobile meditation application
Core Programs: Our core programs include a Meditate-to-Earn model, a vast library of user-generated and professional content, and advanced AI-driven personalization and tracking.
Alignment with NDC priorities: Balansea is poised to significantly increase activity on the NEAR blockchain by leveraging a consumer-facing application model aimed at mass adoption, similar to the successful approach used by Sweatcoin. This model incentivizes daily user engagement through rewards, driving consistent traffic and transactions on the blockchain, and introducing a wide user base to NEAR’s capabilities.
Problem
The current market of meditation apps largely serves static, inaccessible content behind paywalls, lacking engagement and personalization. Balansea addresses this by integrating meditation with a rewarding blockchain-based system and integrates AI to promote and sustain user engagement through personalized, incentivized wellness practices.
- Limited Consumer Applications: One of the key challenges within the NEAR ecosystem is the scarcity of applications that appeal to mass consumer markets. Balansea contributes directly to this area by introducing a consumer-friendly wellness app that leverages NEAR’s capabilities for a mainstream audience. This not only enhances NEAR’s visibility but also proves its utility beyond typical financial or technical applications.
- Engagement and Network Activity: The NEAR blockchain benefits from increased transaction volumes and active user engagement, both of which are crucial for network health and growth. Balansea drives regular user interactions and transactions on NEAR through its meditate-to-earn model, which in turn helps to stabilize and increase the network’s activity and utility.
- Demonstrating Real-World Use Cases for Blockchain: There is a need within the NEAR ecosystem to showcase practical and relatable use cases of blockchain technology to attract non-technical users. By integrating blockchain into daily wellness practices, Balansea demonstrates how NEAR can be seamlessly incorporated into everyday life, enhancing trust and understanding of blockchain technology among the general public.
- Onboarding and User Adoption: NEAR aims to simplify blockchain for end-users, but user onboarding remains a challenge. Balansea addresses this by providing an easy entry point for individuals unfamiliar with blockchain, using meditation as the hook. The app’s user-friendly design and reward system encourage continuous interaction, gradually familiarizing users with NEAR’s technology without overwhelming them.
Roadmap
| Milestone | Description | Estimate Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| UI/UX design | Create a calming and intuitive interface tailored for meditation and wellness. | May |
| Prototype development | Develop an initial prototype of the Balansea app to demonstrate core functionality and blockchain integration. | May-June |
| Front End development | Develop the front end of the Balansea app, integrating the UI/UX designs. | June-July |
| Back End development | Develop backend systems, focusing on NEAR blockchain integration for secure transactions and rewards management. | July |
| Smart Contract Set Up | Design and deploy smart contracts on NEAR for handling meditate-to-earn mechanisms and tokenomics. | July-August |
| Testing & QA | Conduct comprehensive testing across all app components, including blockchain interactions and user experience. | August |
| Maintenance and Deployment | Address any issues identified during testing, optimize performance, and officially deploy the Balansea app. | September |
| Community Building and Marketing | Launch marketing campaigns to build awareness and community engagement, both within and outside the NEAR ecosystem. | Continuous |
Section 8. Requested Budget
Objective: Balansea seeks to secure milestone-based funding to support the crucial early stages of our application development. We are requesting $20,000 to achieve the first two milestones of our project, which are foundational to our subsequent development and testing phases.
Milestones and Funding Breakdown:
| Milestone | Description | Outcome | Funds Requested |
|---|---|---|---|
| UI/UX Design | Create a calming and intuitive interface tailored for meditation and wellness. | Delivery of a comprehensive UI/UX design framework that enhances user engagement and facilitates a seamless meditation experience. | $10,000 |
| Prototype Development | Develop an initial prototype of the Balansea app to demonstrate core functionality and blockchain integration. | A working prototype that will demonstrate the application’s functionality, serving as a proof of concept for further development stages. | $10,000 |
- No remunerations for the team are implied in this proposal
Section 9. Project/DAO longevity
- Does your project/DAO require one-time or continuous funding?
- Our project initially requires one-time funding to establish a solid foundation. However, ongoing financial support is crucial to facilitate sustained growth and development until Balansea reaches a level of maturity where it can self-sustain or secure external investment. The milestone-based funding approach will ensure continuous innovation and improvement of the platform.
- Will your DAO/Project devise a way of sustaining itself after this round of funding?
- Yes, our project plans to sustain itself financially beyond this initial funding period by implementing a subscription-based business model