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68 changes: 68 additions & 0 deletions docs/Introduction/intro.md
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Expand Up @@ -28,6 +28,74 @@ Additionally, it must fulfill the following requirements:
- Lastly, we **do not fund** projects that actively encourage gambling, illicit trade, money laundering, or criminal activities in general.
- The beneficiaries of the grant must successfully go through a **KYC/KYB check** during the application phase in order to be eligible.

### What We're Looking For

We're excited to support projects that align with our vision for a thriving Web3 ecosystem. Here's what makes us particularly enthusiastic about an application:

**💡 User-Centric Innovation**
- Projects that focus on real user needs and can serve a broad user base
- Solutions that address practical challenges and improve user experiences

**🔄 Dogfooding & Practical Value**
- Projects that can be actively used and tested by Web3 Foundation, Parity, your team, and the broader ecosystem
- Tools and applications that solve problems we face ourselves

**🪙 DOT Token Alignment**
- Projects that create tangible demand and usage for the DOT token
- Solutions that strengthen the Polkadot ecosystem's economic foundation

**💰 Sustainable Business Models**
- Teams demonstrating strong financial discipline and clear planning
- Projects with a realistic path to financial independence within 12-24 months
- Evidence of thoughtful resource management and business strategy

**⚖️ Regulatory Awareness**
- Projects that understand and comply with regulatory requirements in their target markets
- Teams that proactively consider compliance and legal considerations

**🌟 Exciting Verticals**

We're particularly interested in (but not limited to) these areas:
- **Cross-border payments & stablecoins**, especially serving Latin America and Southeast Asia
- **AI applications** like content authentication and verification systems
- **DePIN/IoT solutions** with concrete, marketable products
- **Proof-of-personhood** implementations and identity solutions
- **Web2 to Web3 bridges** - bringing familiar concepts (think HackMD, Spotify-like experiences) to Polkadot

### What Doesn't Fit Our Program

To help you determine if our program is the right fit, here are types of projects we typically don't fund:

**❌ Generic Approaches**
- Projects based on generic talking points from other ecosystems without Polkadot-specific innovation
- Applications that could apply to any blockchain without meaningful differentiation

**🪙 Token-Only Focus**
- Projects focused primarily on token sales rather than providing genuine utility
- Applications where the main value proposition is speculative trading

**📈 Marketing Without Substance**
- Pure marketing efforts without concrete technical deliverables
- Projects aimed at "saving" or promoting other projects through marketing alone
- Generic promotional activities without defined use cases

**💸 Financial Sustainability Concerns**
- Teams without clear financial planning or path to sustainability
- Projects that don't demonstrate responsible resource management
- Applications lacking realistic business models or revenue streams

**🔒 Limited Usability**
- Products that we and the community cannot meaningfully test or use
- Solutions that exist in isolation without practical application

**🌐 Misaligned Objectives**
- Projects that don't create meaningful demand or usage for DOT tokens
- Solutions that could easily exist on any blockchain without leveraging Polkadot's unique features

**⚖️ Regulatory Blindness**
- Projects that ignore or are unaware of regulatory requirements in their target markets
- Teams that haven't considered compliance implications for their solutions

In addition to the information provided on your application, note that your project will need to comply with our [Guidelines for Milestone Deliverables](../Support%20Docs/milestone-deliverables-guidelines.md). In particular, we require all projects to create documentation that explains how their project works. At a minimum, _written_ documentation is required for funding. Tutorials or videos are also helpful for new users to understand how to use your product.

Please also heed our [Announcement Guidelines](../Support%20Docs/announcement-guidelines.md) for grant-related communications.
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