Proposal: Dash to Adoption - 100 Businesses in 100 Days

[SovereignBTC]

THIS PROPOSAL IS NOW LIVE HERE: https://www.dashcentral.org/p/Dash-to-Adoption

John Bush here on the road with the Dash Across America Tour. It’s been a fun ride so far and we have done a great deal of work promoting Dash to the crypto space and liberty community as well as the general public. (See what we’ve accomplished so far in the replies below)

Our appreciation of Dash is growing and we were even recently shunned from the Las Vegas Bitcoin Meetup due to our support of this awesome crypto currency! It has only driven us to further appreciate the value Dash has to offer as well as the community of excellent people around it.

We are deciding to dive in deeper with our promotion and support of Dash.

Below is a proposal for an exciting project that we think will do very well to further Dash as a major player on the crypto currency stage. Please give it a look, provide any feedback, and Vote Yes if you are a Masternode Operator.

Proposal: Dash to Adoption - 100 Businesses in 100 Days
This proposal is live here: https://www.dashcentral.org/p/Dash-to-Adoption

Over the course of the past several months my interest in Dash has grown considerably. Having researched the currency at great lengths, used it in my business life, and promoted it to the community at large, I feel the fundamentals are in place for this cryptocurrency to explode in growth. This is basically already happening as you read this!

With innovations like InstantX and 2.5 minute block sizes along with a involved and growing community, I found myself wondering, why are there not more businesses accepting Dash?

According to the Dash merchant map (https://mapme.com/dash-merchants), there are 60 businesses worldwide that accept Dash. While this number is strong relative to other cryptocurrencies, with the value that Dash brings to the table and the recent growth in marketcap and community, it should be greater.

In order to grow adoption and further the value and legitimacy of Dash, allow me to present......

Dash to Adoption: 100 Businesses in 100 Days

Vision: 100 more businesses accepting Dash as payment for their goods and/or services within 100 days

Mission: Reach out to businesses likely to adopt Dash, educate them on the value of Dash as a payment system, and assist them in setting up Dash as a payment gateway while working with the Dash Core Team to build Dash's payment processing applications and working with Dash merchants and customers to further the interests of the Dash business community

If this proposal passes, starting on September 15th and ending on Christmas Eve, December 24th, I will bring 100 businesses on as Dash accepting merchants.

This will increase the current number of Dash merchants by 166%!

Note: If we are not able to accomplish this goal within the allotted time frame, I will continue to build towards 100 businesses until I reach the goal. I do however feel confident this goal is achievable in the allotted time frame. The 100 days challenge will add a great deal of excitement, making it easier to bring merchants on board and allowing for more promotion to the general public.

In order to accomplish this goal, I will accomplish the following:

GOAL: 100 BUSINESSES ACCEPTING DASH
COMPLETION DATE: September 16th - December 24th 2016

OBJECTIVE: Build and launch website or landing page explaining benefits of Dash merchant adoption, tracking progress, and sharing news about our campaign and Dash adoption in general
COMPLETION DATE: Launch on September 15th

OBJECTIVE: Work with Dash community to compile list of Dash users that are excited to spend Dash with new merchants. (this will help to build excitement and interest with potential merchants that are on the fence)
COMPLETION DATE: Begin work with community immediately with completion by September 15th

OBJECTIVE: Audit current list of Dash merchants and produce report on the state of Dash merchant adoption with statistics, trends, and an analysis of the tools and applications available to merchants
COMPLETION DATE: Before September 30th

OBJECTIVE: Add new businesses to Dash Merchant Directory and promote big-name businesses than come on board and milestones of the campaign
COMPLETION DATE: Ongoing throughout campaign

OBJECTIVE: Build long term relationship with merchants to ensure they are equipped to handle Dash payments in the present and in the future
COMPLETION DATE: During campaign and ongoing

OBJECTIVE: Launch the Dash Merchant Associate, a network of businesses, developers, and Dash users whose goal is to further the interests of the Dash merchant community and it’s patrons
COMPLETION DATE: Before September 30th

I plan on first targeting a few big names like CheapAir.com or Egifter while also starting with low hanging fruit. Businesses that already accept bitcoin and businesses I am close with. I will focus on Austin, TX and local liberty and crypto friendly businesses and also explore certain industries like cannabis retailers or companies that sell online privacy tools.

Overall, most businesses will likely be online merchants, followed by brick and mortars which I will target, and finally I will work hard to recruit large press worthy businesses.

The Dash community will be able to monitor my progress via a business tracker on the landing page. Additionally, I will post press releases, updates, and reports in the Dash Forum and will send to necessary people to publish through Dash social media channels.

Cost to the Dash Network:

1,000 Dash to be paid out over the course of three months (333.33 x 3) with the first payment being September 5th.

This equates to 10 Dash per business we sign up and includes the following:

• marketing of the campaign and promotion of Dash as a valuable medium of exchange
• publishing reports and auditing existing data
• assisting Dash developers by providing themwith important information concerning the needs and concerns of crypto accepting merchants
• ongoing support to businesses we bring on board
• facilitating the creation of the Dash Merchant Association

My skill set, experience with accepting crypto as a merchant, and esteemed reputation in the crypto business community make me an ideal person to get this job done and represent Dash in the way Dash deserves to be represented.

I believe this investment will be an excellent value to the Dash community.

I am available to answer questions and am open to improving this proposal.

Thank you for your consideration,

John Bush

P.S. - I will blogging about my budget proposal and whole process on Steemit. Should be exciting for those following along. Check it out - https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@sovereignbtc/the-future-of-business-contracting-directly-with-the-dash-protocol-follow-my-progress

Manually vote YES on this proposal:
dash-cli mnbudget vote-many 425ff0f24bce7135e23483777588ce1308e56504f2f76dde017bfe3f5aa06bd1 yes

Manually vote NO on this proposal:
dash-cli mnbudget vote-many 425ff0f24bce7135e23483777588ce1308e56504f2f76dde017bfe3f5aa06bd1 no

 

[SovereignBTC]

HERE IS WHAT WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED FOR DASH ON THE DASH ACROSS AMERICA TOUR SO FAR

First, here are some pics of the bus with the Dash decals on the back:

This is Brandon, he let us park at his place in Sedona for a couple days. I was sure to set him up with a Dash wallet and give him a Dash tip for his excellent hosting!

- We have produced four podcasts so far, each of which mentions Dash quite a bit, with at length promotion during the Dash Panel at Jackalope Freeedom Festival. As of this writing, combined, the four podcasts have around 8,500 listens and 14,000 page views.

Listen to them here:

Dash Across America: The Journey Begins

Dash Across America: Why We Do What We Do and Run-ins with the Cops on the Way to Jackalope

Dash Across America: Jackalope Recap, Anarchist Justice, Bob Podolsky, and Agorist Hosting

Dash Across America: Cryptocurrency Panel at Jackalope Freedom Festival

- We have been talking to be people about Dash at each of our stops and have set up several wallets for people. We launched a Dash giveaway on Steemit and successfully gave away .25 Dash to the first 50 people to setup their first wallet will receive

Check it out here: https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@sovereignbtc/free-dash-cryptocurrency-giveaway

Some cool feedback from this outreach:

First, Trace Meyer, a big name in the bitcoin space, is now a Dash user!

Here is someone who will be blogging, earning Steem, and converting it all to Dash!

Our giveaway pushed someone from Dash curious to Dash user! Great feedback as well on the success on Amanda's promotion efforts. She is reaching lots of people!

And finally, we helped create a new Dash user all the way across the globe in Russia!

- Dash was the talk of Jackalope! With the Dash banner behind the stage, dash magnets and fliers being passed around, and a few Dash ambassadors in the midst, it definitely got noticed by many attendees. I participated in a lengthy and in depth crypto panel and got to speak extensively about Dash to those in attendance. Audio of the panel here: Dash Across America: Cryptocurrency Panel at Jackalope Freedom Festival

- In Phoenix I sat down with Evan Duffield and Ryan Taylor and did an in-depth and rather deep two hour interview all about Dash. It was one for the ages and we definitely got lots of stuff out on the table. Audio and podcast forthcoming.

- We hosted a meetup in San Diego and I spoke with attendees about Dash, setting up two of them with their first Dash. Paul Puey, CEO of AirBitz was in attendance and I did some networking with him, sharing the possibility of integrating some of AirBitz's secure login technology in to Dash's Android app which is lacking in that department. Just talking for now but could possibly turn in to a big opportunity.

- We hosted a meetup in San Marcos, CA and I spoke with attendees about Dash, setting one of the people in attendance up with her first Dash wallet.

- I interviewed the CEO of CheapAir.com, one of the first big companies to accept BTC. During the interview, to be published soon, I asked him if he would consider accepting Dash, he said YES!!!! I am going to send him more information and speak with the Dash core team about what it would take for someone to develop BitPay like app to convert Dash to USD or BTC immediately for companies concerned with volatility. This could be a really big thing for Dash!!!! I am hoping CheapAir will be the first business I bring on board to launch the Dash to adoption campaign. Totally up in the air right now but I will work towards making this happen.

- I have a draft Steemit post almost ready for publishing, Five Reasons why Dash is Better than Bitcoin, or Five Innovations Dash has Over Bitcoin. Not sure what to title it yet but hopefully it will get some play. I will also be blogging about my experience with the Dash Budgeting System.

- We got much press for Dash after the Bitcoin Meetup Organizer in Las Vegas said he would not host our tour because of our support of Dash.

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/dash-tour-bitcoin-roadblock-vegas/
https://news.bitcoin.com/dash-across-america-tour-bus/ (great comments here!)
https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@cather...s-vegas-facebook-group-due-to-support-of-dash (great comments here!)

Bruce Fenton and Michael Terpin even got in on the conversation on Catherines Facebook wall.

- We are working on some press releases and organizing media appearances where Dash will be a main talking point.

- All in all we are chugging away turning heads as we drive down the highways and talking to people in gas stations and parking lots. In fact, today a listener recognized the bus and came to talk to us in a grocery store parking lot! We are setting him up w/ a Dash wallet!!!

 

[TaoOfSatoshi]

Thank you John for catching "Dash fever". I believe that you are truly excited about Dash and its potential. Onboarding new users has to be two ways with merchants and customers, so as a community builder I support the concept of this proposal.

I'm also glad you're using Steemit, which is also my latest venue to onboard users as well.

What size businesses will you be targeting?

 

[SovereignBTC]

I have a Dash Fever and merchant adoption is the cure!

Good question, I plan on first targeting a few big names like CheapAir.com or Egifter while also starting with low hanging fruit. Businesses that already accept bitcoin and businesses I am close with. I will also focus on a few regions for setting up brick and mortars; Austin, TX, San Diego, CA, and New Hampshire. These are three places where there is already immense adoption and where we have great contacts.

Overall, most businesses will likely be online merchants, followed by brick and mortars which I will target, and finally I will recruit a handful of large press worthy businesses.

 

[TaoOfSatoshi]

Getting the ball rolling:

https://twitter.com/taoofsatoshi/status/768206009865269248

 

[SovereignBTC]

Steemit post is up!!! Upvote if you are on Steemit. Lets get it out to tons of people.

https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@sovere...tly-with-the-dash-protocol-follow-my-progress

 

[alex-ru]

Good idea.
I hope you'll be able to target a middle and big businesses.

For any small businesses I think that a mass-approach like "Start accepting DASH today and get your 1-5 DASH bonus!" will be easier to accomplish and more effective...

 

[JGCMiner]

Excellent idea! You would have my votes.

So nice to see more non-core team community members taking the initiative and using the budget system to try help the DASH ecosystem and not just complaining about how Dash "needs" to change.

Kudos and good luck.

 

[bhkien]

Great initiative,

I will vote.

 

[SovereignBTC]

And we are LIVE!

https://www.dashcentral.org/p/Dash-to-Adoption

 

[demo]

And we are LIVE!

https://www.dashcentral.org/p/Dash-to-Adoption

Well done. Now watch the graph carefully.

There is the first axis, the votes.
There is the second axis, the time.
And there should be a third axis in the graph (not shown unfortunately), the comments that are related to your proposal.
I would recommend you to keep track of the graph's changes on the 3 axis.

I dont know for sure, but maybe there is a fourth axis also. A fourth axis could be the number of Masternodes and how their population varies.

 

[Solarminer]

Great potential with this proposal. The big advantage with Dash is InstantSend for point of sale locations. I would encourage you to focus on point of sale. Adding online merchants is not a big advantage if they already take Bitcoin for the user since most merchants will just add the shapshift api. It still might be good for publicity so could be beneficial.

Just so you set your goals correctly, this statement depends on other busy developers that you can't guaranty will have time to assist you.

Working with developers and core team members to further the development of applications and software that make it easier for merchants to accept Dash and customers to spend Dash.​

Instead the part that you can actually do is:

Provide details about what merchants need to accept Dash to developers and the Dash community.​

 

[mastermined]

cross post....
great proposal but a bit pricey and too early imo.

here's the two things i would need for it to get my votes...
" Plus, when Evolution is ready to roll out, we will have a list of 100 businesses to work with in upgrading their setup."

1. lol, that was actually one of the things i was going to suggest. a follow up with each business after evolution is released.


2. i also agree with the user or users that were concerned that no one would use it and the business owner would get bummed out and think he wasted his time.
i see this as a real possibility but an easy fix would be to set aside 1 dash for every business you sign up. that way you can demonstrate instantsend and they would be getting paid for their time. we get a new dash owner/member/investor plus a business accepting dash.
maybe give them .75 dash the first time and then give them .25 after the evo release. they will be much more willing to pick up the phone when it comes time to update to evo. plus, it should make it easier for you to get them on the phone in the first place by telling them you want to give them some free digital cash.

p.s. not sure why you included the 2.5 min block time that was invented (if you want to call it that) by litecoin and is not that big of a deal for us.
our main features for now are instantsend, privatesend, masternode payments, decentralized governance, treasury funding and future DAO's. EVO will add a lot more.

p.p.s you may want to note if the businesses you reach out to would be interesting in hosting a dash/btc atm as it looks like a dash DAO is going into the atm business.

 

[Solarminer]

cross post....
great proposal but a bit pricey and too early imo.

here's the two things i would need for it to get my votes...
" Plus, when Evolution is ready to roll out, we will have a list of 100 businesses to work with in upgrading their setup."

p.p.s you may want to note if the businesses you reach out to would be interesting in hosting a dash/btc atm as it looks like a dash DAO is going into the atm business.

Pricey and too early?

This is the same excuse for any merchant adoption proposal. Please. Once we have Evolution, let's wait for Evolution 2 also. Just do it already. InstantSend is the "killer app".

It looks like writing paperwork for ATMs isn't pricey - even though it is 2 months of this proposal and will do nothing for any merchant tools or adoption. It will probably also require 10x as much just to actually implement the compliance strategy in phase 2.

John and Catherine have lived the "paying with Bitcoin" life for a long time. If anyone knows how to convert merchants, it will be them. Let's give them the chance and see how it turns out. I believe this is a difficult task and the actual result will be a few merchants with a list of requirements that need to be done by developers - but that is still a step in the right direction and well worth the cost.

 

[mastermined]

Pricey and too early?

This is the same excuse for any merchant adoption proposal. Please. Once we have Evolution, let's wait for Evolution 2 also. Just do it already. InstantSend is the "killer app".

It looks like writing paperwork for ATMs isn't pricey - even though it is 2 months of this proposal and will do nothing for any merchant tools or adoption. It will probably also require 10x as much just to actually implement the compliance strategy in phase 2.

John and Catherine have lived the "paying with Bitcoin" life for a long time. If anyone knows how to convert merchants, it will be them. Let's give them the chance and see how it turns out. I believe this is a difficult task and the actual result will be a few merchants with a list of requirements that need to be done by developers - but that is still a step in the right direction and well worth the cost.

i pretty much say everything is too pricey and everything pretty much is too pricey

i concluded that even though i agree with others that it is too early the issue can be overcome by promising to go back and update every business after evolution, john has agreed to do this already.

the second request i had before it gets my votes would also help with the too early issue by at least onboarding new people by giving them a little dash to play with for their time...

"2. i also agree with the user or users that were concerned that no one would use it and the business owner would get bummed out and think he wasted his time.
i see this as a real possibility but an easy fix would be to set aside 1 dash for every business you sign up. that way you can demonstrate instantsend and they would be getting paid for their time. we get a new dash owner/member/investor plus a business accepting dash.
maybe give them .75 dash the first time and then give them .25 after the evo release. they will be much more willing to pick up the phone when it comes time to update to evo. plus, it should make it easier for you to get them on the phone in the first place by telling them you want to give them some free digital cash."

 

[SovereignBTC]

Great potential with this proposal. The big advantage with Dash is InstantSend for point of sale locations. I would encourage you to focus on point of sale. Adding online merchants is not a big advantage if they already take Bitcoin for the user since most merchants will just add the shapshift api. It still might be good for publicity so could be beneficial.

Just so you set your goals correctly, this statement depends on other busy developers that you can't guaranty will have time to assist you.

Working with developers and core team members to further the development of applications and software that make it easier for merchants to accept Dash and customers to spend Dash.​

Instead the part that you can actually do is:

Provide details about what merchants need to accept Dash to developers and the Dash community.​

Great points. I will work hard to get as many brick and mortar businesses as possible. I think that is where the magic is.

I edited the proposal to suggest your changes regarding what I can do to help developers. Thanks for the great feedback!

 

[SovereignBTC]

cross post....
great proposal but a bit pricey and too early imo.

here's the two things i would need for it to get my votes...
" Plus, when Evolution is ready to roll out, we will have a list of 100 businesses to work with in upgrading their setup."

1. lol, that was actually one of the things i was going to suggest. a follow up with each business after evolution is released.


2. i also agree with the user or users that were concerned that no one would use it and the business owner would get bummed out and think he wasted his time.
i see this as a real possibility but an easy fix would be to set aside 1 dash for every business you sign up. that way you can demonstrate instantsend and they would be getting paid for their time. we get a new dash owner/member/investor plus a business accepting dash.
maybe give them .75 dash the first time and then give them .25 after the evo release. they will be much more willing to pick up the phone when it comes time to update to evo. plus, it should make it easier for you to get them on the phone in the first place by telling them you want to give them some free digital cash.

p.s. not sure why you included the 2.5 min block time that was invented (if you want to call it that) by litecoin and is not that big of a deal for us.
our main features for now are instantsend, privatesend, masternode payments, decentralized governance, treasury funding and future DAO's. EVO will add a lot more.

p.p.s you may want to note if the businesses you reach out to would be interesting in hosting a dash/btc atm as it looks like a dash DAO is going into the atm business.

Thanks for your feedback.

On point 2. my plan is to organize a list of Dash users that are interested in spending Dash with new merchants we recruit as part of the Dash to Adoption Campaign. I can then let the potential adopters know that if they come on board I have X number of Dash users that have committed to giving their business a look and possibly spending some Dash with them. I will personally set some of the monies aside to do business with some of the vendors. In do this I am hoping to generate some interest, add some incentive for signing up, and hopefully create some long term economic relationships should Dash users find that one of their regular expenses is now attainable with Dash.

 

[SovereignBTC]

UPDATE: There have been many comments concerned that once a business is signed up, they will receive no Dash payments and will become disillusioned with Dash. That is a valid concern and this is how I plan to overcome it.

1. Encourage Dash community to come together, forming a group (through Slack, or Dash forum, or whatever platform works best) of Dash spenders. These are people who are committing to give all the new businesses that come on board an honest look and if they find something they are interested in they are likely to buy with Dash. A buyers club of sorts. If I am able to garner a decent size group of spenders, this will help when pitching Dash to new businesses.

2. Come Black Friday, assuming all the stars are aligned and this proposal passes, I will organize a "Dash Dark Friday" event whereby I will encourage Dash accepting businesses to submit a listing that includes a special deal if you do your holiday shopping with Dash. This will garner much media attention and will be a good way to bring together Dash businesses and Dash buyers. I may put together a small Dash proposal for funds to pay a webmaster and for advertisings Dash Dark Friday.

3. I will regularly promote through press releases, blog posts, and videos when we bring on new businesses. I will share this outreach directly with the Dash community hoping to spur some movement of Dash.

4. It has always been Catherine and my MO to encourage crypto enthusiasts to spend their coins so as to build the crypto eco system and add legitimacy to the currency. We have done this with bitcoin with much success for years and are excited to be doing the same with Dash.

 

[mastermined]

Thanks for your feedback.

I will personally set some of the monies aside to do business with some of the vendors. In do this I am hoping to generate some interest, add some incentive for signing up, and hopefully create some long term economic relationships should Dash users find that one of their regular expenses is now attainable with Dash.

sounds good.
if you can promise to set aside 100 dash for merchants or whoever (helpers etc) i will vote yes.
the more people with dash wallets and dash ready to spend the better.

 

[demo]

The total number of Masternodes is 4091.
Dash to Adoption - 100 Businesses in 100 Days (Details | Comments [40]) sovbtc 1/3 643 234 409 10.0% 333 5,802 Graph

This is a thriller!!!!

You can now sell your 1 vote to @SovereignBTC for at least 20 dash.