Cryptominded - Funding request - Beginners courses & course platform

grants/cryptominded/course-fund-request-cryptominded.md

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+# Request for Nest membership and funding
+
+Request for funding to develop a high-quality beginners course & course platform. (Related proposal: [Click here](https://github.com/aragon/nest/issues/4))
+
+**Team name**: Cryptominded
+
+**Proof of concept / research whitepaper**: 
+
+The Cryptominded website gets about 300k unique visitors per month and has been presented in multiple online magazines as 'the go-to place to learn about cryptocurrencies'. Thereby we've spoken to hundreds of beginners whom want to get into the space and outlined a course we think would address most of these questions (link under #proposal)
+
+**Funding request:** $75k _(breakdown below)_
+
+**Legal structure**: 
+Private Limited (In Estonia) + Community Foundation in set-up
+> (No outside investments, completely bootstrapped and affiliate revenue will be used to further help the cryptocurrency industry through tools & education.)
+
+**The Team:** [Click Here](team.md)
+
+**The roadmap:** [Click here](roadmap.md)
+
+## Proposal
+
+At Cryptominded our goal has been to educate beginners on cryptocurrencies from the start. As the platform & industry gained more traction, we've spoken to hundreds of beginning cryptocurrency investors online and offline at events that we've organised and have gotten a broad understanding of beginners' challenges, questions and motives.
+
+We are confident that we're able to bring out a high-quality course to educate the beginning investors & users of cryptocurrency coming into the industry and support a sustainable growth of this market. Over the past months we've been answering many questions from beginners, have helped to fight phishing attacks and educate around security. This definitely has led to us being awfully aware of the need of education in this scene.
+
+While the technology that supports cryptocurrencies is absolutely amazing and evolving with the day, we've seen over and over again that the UX has still a long way to go. Many people fail to understand the basics and end up making crucial mistakes due to this lack of understanding. However, we're of the belief this is mostly a sign that better education is required alongside an improving UX, after all when you give an old person access to internet banking, there's a very good chance that person will make crucial mistakes as well. 
+
+Thereby we believe there will always be the lack of financial education among many, which paired with the quickly rising values of cryptocurrencies results into worrying decisions affecting their personal finance, this is something we would love to help prevent through proper education.
+
+Educating newcomers is really important to us and at the core of why we're spending time on Cryptominded, and while we indeed acknowledge there will always be people that are not willing to put in the time to learn, we have also observed there's a lack of quality education material in this industry which is unbiased and/or freely accessible.
+
+We’re planning to change this by bringing out a high-quality **14 module course on cryptocurrency investing, trading & usage**, addressing questions and concerns for newcomers and helping them to avoid the many pitfalls they have to navigate. In the course we’ll be addressing topics such as:
+
+1. Getting beginners to understand what cryptocurrencies are and why they get so much attention at the moment.
+2. Answer the question whether people should invest or not and and help them evaluate investment decisions. 
+3. Help people figure out how to purchase, transact & safely store cryptocurrencies,
+4. Protect users from common mistakes & scams.
+5. Helping beginners understand the differences between various currencies.
+6. Answer the most commonly asked questions by beginners.
+_A full outline of the course can be provided upon request_
+
+We plan to rope in multiple perspectives and have already lined up multiple interviews with experts in the cryptocurrency, financial history & personal finance industries.
+
+We’re applying for a grant because we would like to put out a high-quality course, one that you’d be comfortable referring your own mom to in case she wants to learn more, without requiring to charge for the course or have biased opinions due to underlying motives.
+
+Producing a high-quality course requires proper copywriting and editing to make the course well designed and the information easily understood. We expect to make videos studio quality, and expect additional costs to travel to meet & interview experts on the topics of cryptocurrencies and personal finance.
+
+We want this course to be about common sense, not 'get rich quick' type of content. It will give a solid educational foundation for people that want to get into cryptocurrencies to either invest in it or use them in some other way - say, using it as a currency.
+
+## Course outline
+The course overview can be found here, and we'd be very happy and open to receive feedback on it:
+[Click here for the course overview](course_overview.md)
+
+We're more than happy to work with the Aragon community to ensure the quality of the course, such as making sure the content is factually correct, unbiased/balanced, easy to understand for those not as technically inclined as most of the aragon community and ensure we go in-depth and address all perspectives.
+
+## What we will deliver
+
+1. A (forever) **free to consume**, but high-quality, beginners course existing of 14 modules containing multiple lessons both theoretical and practical with the aim to address all the important topics and questions beginners may have.
+2. A community forum where questions can be asked, lessons be discussed and where those with more expertise are ready to answer & clarify any questions by beginners.
+3. A course on utilising Aragon as entrepreneur to build self-governing communities or run a distributed business.
+4. 12 world-wide events to reach & educate beginners and promote the course.
+5. A research platform where people can find factual data about all the various cryptocurrencies out there to make better investment decisions and avoid obvious vaporware and/or scams
+
+## What will funding be used for: 
+
+- Editing, research & translation costs of the course ($7.5k)
+- Costs for recording, subtitling & editing videos ($15k)
+- Quality checks with experts ($0 - $5000)
+- Cover costs for the interviews with experts in the crypto & financial industry to get multiple perspectives ($10k)
+- Promotion of the course both online & offline - i.e. through events ($15k)
+- Development & server costs for the cryptominded course & research platform ($22.5k)
+
+_These are estimatations of the predicted costs - A transparent spending overview will be provided and remaining resources will be used for additional course content, promotion or development of aiding tools_
+
+## Testimonials
+
+> I believe Cryptominded team is more than up to the task of creating high quality, accessible courses. I was fortunate to work with Dylan and his team, organizing events or video streams - and their work was always of high standards, creative and delivered on time. Dylan's motivation and passion for educating people about personal finance stems from his core values, and is something he truly cares about. Of course it goes without saying that Cryptominded team has all necessary knowledge and skills for the task.
+
+Arseniy Zarechnev, Founder & CEO at Mothership.cx
+
+> Dylan is a highly credible, smart, engaging person deeply interested in helping newcomers learn about cryptocurrency. I'm proud to be his friend and a member of cryptominded.
+
+Terrence Yang, Founder Yang Ventures & cryptocurrency fund advisor
+
+> Dylan and his team at Cryptominded have successfully generated not just a one-stop-shop for cryptocurrency education and resources, but also a vibrant and active community around it. Having spent time with Dylan on his forums and in 1-on-1 video conferences, I have first hand experience of his ability to deconstruct complex subject matter into simple digestible format, and it is this skill which I believe to be key to generating high impact educational material. Dylan and team are uniquely qualified to do this and I wish them all the best.
+
+Oliver von Landsberg-Sadie, CEO & Founder of BitcoinBro.com (Cryptocurrency broker)
+
+
+
+-----
+
+Thank you for considering this request for funding. We're looking forward to a partnership with the Aragon Nest fund & the Aragon community

grants/cryptominded/course_overview.md

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+# The Course Overview
+
+## Beginner Course Goals
+1. Get beginners to understand what cryptocurrencies are and why they get so much attention
+2. Answer the question whether people should invest or not and what they should invest in + teach some common sense personal finance.
+3. Help people figure out how to purchase, transact & safely store cryptocurrencies
+4. Protect users from some common mistakes & scams
+5. Helping beginners understand the differences between various currencies
+6. Answer common questions such as: “how to sell”, “what to buy”, etc.
+
+
+## Lesson Overview
+
+**0. Intro to the course**
+
+In this intro we’ll introduce ourselves, the course and what people can expect.
+
+1. What you’ll learn during this course
+2. Who are we and why did we create this course
+3. Where to go with questions and/or feedback
+4. What comes afterwards?
+5. Join the community
+
+**1. What are cryptocurrencies and why are they so popular now?**
+
+In this first lesson we will go into the basics of cryptocurrencies, what they are, how they are being used, the philosophy behind some of the currencies, the history, etc.
+
+1. What are cryptocurrencies.
+2. History of cryptocurrencies.
+   - Cryptocurrencies prior to bitcoin
+   - Bitcoin invention by Satoshi Nakamoto
+   - What happened after bitcoin
+   - Ethereum, ERC20, etc.
+3. Philosophy & ideology of cryptocurrencies.
+   - Why did satoshi nakamoto create bitcoin?
+   - People’s beliefs around cryptocurrencies
+4. Why are cryptocurrencies so popular at the moment?
+   - FOMO :)
+   - News & media attention
+   - Many new projects launching ICOs
+   - Enterprise adoption?
+
+**2. How do cryptocurrencies work?**
+
+In this lesson we’ll give the 101 on how cryptocurrencies work.
+
+1. What is the blockchain? 
+   - What is a blockchain?
+   - How does the blockchain work?
+   - An explanation on how cryptocurrencies can’t work without blockchain.
+2. Consensus Algorithm & Mining (basics)
+   - What are consensus algorithms and why do they matter?
+   - PoW vs PoS
+   - What is mining and why do people do it?
+   - Can you earn money with mining at home?
+3. How does a transaction on the blockchain work?
+   - Illustrate a transaction
+4. Where is the money kept?
+   - Explain the money is just digital numbers on the blockchain
+   - Private & public keys
+5. Who controls cryptocurrencies?
+   - Explain the lack of central control
+
+**Resources:**
+
+- Learn more resources e.g. other more technical explanations
+- Interview videos
+
+**3. What are the differences between the various cryptocurrencies**
+
+1. Cryptocurrencies are not created equal (important)
+   - Unlike stocks, cryptocurrencies all have different underlying values.
+2. Why are there so many?! 
+   - ICO mania
+   - Utility tokens
+   - Hype...
+3. A look at the main differences between BTC, ETH, LTC, IOTA, Dash/Monero, Ripple
+4. Categorisation of various currencies (infrastructure, privacy currencies, etc)
+   - Privacy coins
+   - Utility tokens
+   - Asset based tokens
+
+**Resources:**
+- Coin wiki for researching different tokens
+
+**4. Some thoughts and guidelines to figure out whether and how much you should invest in cryptocurrencies.**
+
+This and the next lesson require an important explanation as to understand why we've included it and find it critically important to do so. One of the most commonly asked questions from beginners is: "Should I invest in bitcoin or any other XYZ currency?". While we understand this is a emotionally loaded topic for many investors in the space, we see time and time again that this question either goes unanswered or gets answered by people with underlying motives. We want to address this question in a way that people will be able to make an educated decision themselves by pulling in traditional personal finance advise, arguments against investing in and arguments for investing in by various experts in the field of personal finance & cryptocurrency and provide a framework to help them determine whether this is something they should put money in depending on their own financial situation. (i.e. if someone's in debt and tries to purchase crypto to get out of that debt, that's something we'd obviously advise against and we want to educate people on these aspects so they don't make critical mistakes regarding their personal finances, overleverage themselves, etc.) - This **does obviously not serve as** a class on which cryptocurrency to buy and how much of it. 
+
+1. Overall financial strategy and current personal financial situation
+2. Cryptocurrency as a part of your high-risk investment portfolio
+3. The arguments against investing in cryptocurrencies
+4. The arguments for investing in cryptocurrencies
+5. Conclusion
+
+**Potential people to interview:**
+- Terrence Yang
+- ListenMoneyMatters founders
+- Andreas m. antonopoulos
+- Financial experts opposing cryptocurrencies
+- Chris Burniske
+
+**5. How to evaluate cryptoassets and how to avoid common pitfalls and potential scams?**
+1. How to research various cryptocurrencies? (Resources, websites, communities, etc)
+   - Coin wiki on cryptominded
+   - Reddit
+   - Chat communities
+   - Etc
+2. What to look for? Red & green flags.
+3. Invest in that what you understand.
+4. Diversify.
+
+**6. Where and how to purchase Bitcoin & Ethereum**
+
+Interactive tutorial on how to purchase bitcoin & Ethereum through coinbase, litebit.eu & other popular exchanges with affiliate programs. (Also refer to WhereToBuy)
+
+1. Where you can purchase bitcoin & ethereum
+   - Recommended exchanges for beginners
+   - WhereToBuy
+2. Video Tutorial: How to buy Bitcoin & Ethereum on Coinbase
+3. Video Tutorial: How to buy Bitcoin on Luno
+4. Video Tutorial: How to buy bitcoin, ethereum, etc on Litebit.eu
+
+**7. How to store Bitcoin & Ethereum**
+
+In this lesson we go into how you can safely store cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin & ethereum.
+
+1. Public & private keys and why they are extremely important to understand
+2. Trust in exchange or trust in yourself?
+3. The different sort of wallets (paper wallet, hardware wallet, etc)
+4. Security
+
+**Resources:**
+- Common crypto scams to be aware of
+
+**8. How to do a transaction using cryptocurrencies**
+
+Here we’ll show how to execute a transaction using cryptocurrencies from various wallets.
+
+1. Gas, Fees, Gwei, Addresses, etc.
+2. How to use Etherscan & Blockchain.info
+3. Show example: Transaction coinbase → bitgo wallet
+4. Show example: Transaction coinbase → MyEtherWallet
+5. Show example: Transaction MyEtherWallet → Coinbase
+
+**9. How to invest in cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin, Ethereum or Litecoin?**
+
+In this lesson we’ll explain how people can invest in lesser-known currencies.
+
+1. Finding out the type of token and compatible wallets
+2. Creating the wallet (and the security that comes with it)
+3. Finding exchanges that trade the coin (e.g. shapeshift, bittrex, binance, changelly)
+4. Exchanging your ETH or BTC for the altcoin
+
+**10. How to stay "in the know"?**
+1. News sources (cryptopanic, cointelegraph, etc)
+2. Communities such as reddit/slack chats/telegram/etc.
+3. Our community
+
+**11. How do you convert cryptocurrencies back to fiat (USD / EUR)**
+
+1. Tutorial showcasing the most common exchanges
+
+**12. Bonus: What are ICOs and should you participate in them?**
+Pull in Robert Finch from ICO Alert
+
+**13. Bonus: ways to get/invest in cryptocurrencies without putting in a big upfront investment**
+1. Working for crypto (e.g. ETHLance)
+2. Invest spare change automatically
+3. Bounty hunts
+
+
+## Commonly asked questions:
+- Should I invest in bitcoin?
+- Which cryptocurrency to invest in?
+- How do you sell bitcoin?
+- Who controls bitcoin?
+- What is the value of cryptocurrencies?
+- How do you buy cryptocurrencies?
+- What is the next bitcoin?

grants/cryptominded/roadmap.md

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+## Planned Roadmap
+
+1. Jan 2018 - Launch of new community platform
+2. End Feb 2018 - BETA Testing beginners course & acquiring feedback
+3. March 2018 - Full Launch & promotion of the course V1
+4. April 2018 - Adding in exams, tests & interactive elements into the course
+5. May 2018 - Localisation of course content
+6. July 2018 - Course for starting cryptocurrency entrepreneurs including explanations on Aragon.
+7. August 2018 - Launch of the new Cryptominded cryptocurrency research platform.
+
+After this we'll continue to develop additional courses & tools to help people wisely invest in crypto, safely store crypto, use crypto and more of which the costs will hopefully be supported through affiliate income at that point.

grants/cryptominded/team.md

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+1. **Dylan Damsma:** Founder of Cryptominded - Cryptocurrency investor & educator. (NL/BE)
+> Co-responsible for written & videographic course content, interviewer & project lead.
+
+2. **Ben Bodien:** Front-end developer & avid cryptocurrency investor (UK)
+> Front-end development , course editing & feedback. 
+
+3. **Victor Lim:** Back-end developer & miner (MY)
+> Back-end development of platform
+
+4. **Barry Leybovich:** Editor & Product manager - Cryptocurrency investor and background in finance industry (UK)
+> Co-responsible for written & videographic course content, editing & fact checks.