| id | title | author | discussions-to | company_name | category | focus_area | open_source | amount_requested | status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
85 |
MINTHOL.ART, the next-generation loyalty program and coupon platform (launchpad phase) |
Bertalan Miklos (@solkimicreb) |
Minthol |
Tools |
NFT |
false |
100000 |
Approved |
MINTHOL leverages blockchain technology to decouple businesses from their loyalty programs. Businesses may sign up as perk providers and leave the rest to coupon managers who create thematic coupon collections with various hand-picked perks. MINTHOL seamlessly handles the negotiation and monetization between these two parties.
Coupons follow NFT standards to connect the current NFT scene with web3, web2, and real-world businesses. NFT creators may add benefits to their collections via perk subscriptions.
End users can discover, own, and trade thematic, multi-business coupons. They may browse their coupons and verify their ownership with a QR code. Businesses scan these QR codes to instantly apply the necessary discounts.
A range of customizable coupon options caters to every use case - like tradeable, user-bound, one-off, limited-use, reusable, time-restricted, or subscription-based coupons.
I am a solopreneur and I don't plan to expand the team until the market shifts. I am collaborating with existing Algorand NFT creators and projects instead.
I have 8 years of experience as a software engineer consultant. During these years I worked with dozens of companies - including Trivago, LiveJasmin, and DHL. I built countless products from zero to production both as a team member and as a solo developer. I have the necessary experience to hit milestones and deliver production grade solutions.
Currently I am working full-time on MINTHOL.ART, which is a multi-phase Algorand project.
So far I:
- Created a launchpad that generated and launched the mOOfys and Gekofam MIA collections.
- Created a subdomain site for the Gekofam projects.
- Created a general NFT explorer, showcasing around 3800 Algorand NFT projects and countless NFD and user profiles
- I have a clear plan to generalize and unify these building blocks into a single coherent product - detailed in this document.
IMPORTANT: This is a multi-phase project, this proposal requests funds to develop phase #3 Launchpad.
The launchpad is necessary to create and distribute new collections and requires a tighter blockchain integration. While existing collections will be supported by a wide range of blockchains, the launchpad will mint new collections on Algorand.
Collection authors from outside the Algorand ecosystem will be able to manage their existing and new collections without noticing the differing underlying blockchain tech.
The launchpad successfully launched the MIA NFT project and is currently under a feature flag. This video demonstrates the currently available functionalities.
A perk is a benefit a business is willing to provide to coupon owners. Some examples are shop discounts, online game boosts, closed chat access, or recurring donations to charities.
Businesses may provide perks for free - as a marketing or charitable effort - or charge a recurring per-coupon fee for it.
Coupons are NFTs with perks. MINTHOL will hide blockchain usage as a tech detail but will seamlessly work with existing NFTs.
Coupons inherit all added benefits of NFTs. They may be tradeable and programmable, and they may showcase custom art and traits. End-User End-users are coupon owners. They can discover, purchase, and use coupons. Coupon ownership is verified via QR codes and NFC technology for real-world cases and a public API for online cases.
End-users may freely trade coupons among themselves.
Business owners may provide discounts and benefits as perks. They can stop here or become coupon managers and curators too, to fully manage their loyalty programs.
Business owners may charge a monthly fee for their perks to generate predictable income. Alternatively, they may provide free perks as a marketing effort.
Coupon managers may subscribe existing or newly created collections to perks. They may pick multiple perks from a range of businesses for a single collection. Two interesting strategies would be thematic and geo-localized coupons.
Thematic coupons include perks from multiple businesses with a single theme. A coffee-related coupon collection could provide discounts to multiple cafes and online coffee shops around the world. Geo-localized coupons provide multiple perks in a single neighborhood to help residents save money.
Coupon managers may earn money to balance subscription fees via sponsorship and subscription programs, ads, royalties, and new coupon sales. Coupon managers and business owners are not exclusive. A business may launch its own coupons to create a more traditional loyalty program.
Curators may launch scoped “name.minthol.art” subdomain sites with custom branding. Curated sites may limit visible collections to a theme - like photography - or a specific creator or business. Large businesses will likely be coupon managers and curators too, to fully manage their loyalty programs. Case Studies
Date: independent of this proposal, will be done by the time of the grant Requested amount: 0 Algos
MINTHOL uses NFTs as coupons behind the scenes and aims to target the existing NFT scene on top of newly created coupons. The NFT browser functionality will be expanded to multiple chains and rebranded as a coupon, business, and interest browser while still seamlessly supporting existing NFTs.
The current state of this phase can be viewed on minthol.art.
Date: independent of this proposal Requested amount: 0 Algos
The main MINTHOL site will encourage everyone to create coupons and won’t censor legal content. Content curation will be handled by the community via the curator role instead. Users can become curators for a monthly fee and launch subdomain sites like the gekofam.minthol.art.
These sites can limit the displayed collections to a smaller scope, which may be a thematic one - like photography - or a collection/business-specific one.
Curated sites provide custom themes and texts and various monetization options: including ads, donation, and sponsorship programs, and monthly subscription fees. They also provide the foundation for larger brands that would like to completely avoid the MINTHOL branding in their loyalty program.
Date: Depends of the time of the grant, I expect to finish this in 3 months. Requested amount: 100000 Algos
The launchpad is necessary to create and distribute new collections and requires a tighter blockchain integration. While existing collections will be supported by a wide range of blockchains, the launchpad will mint new collections on Algorand.
Collection authors from outside the Algorand ecosystem will be able to manage their existing and new collections without noticing the differing underlying blockchain tech.
The launchpad successfully launched the MIA NFT project and is currently under a feature flag. This video demonstrates the currently available functionalities.
Date: independent of this proposal, will be done later in a separate grant Requested amount: 0 Algos
The first perks will be non-core functionalities on the MINTHOL site. Collection managers will subscribe to these perks for a monthly per-NFT fee.
Some features - like the NFT swapper - will become solely accessible for holders of subscribed collections. Other platform perks will include visibility boosters - to rank higher on the landing page - and MINTHOL beta access.
Date: independent of this proposal, will be done later in a separate grant Requested amount: 0 Algos
Physical perks will be implemented via ownership verification QR codes and NFC technology. Business owners can scan users’ QR codes or read their NFC chips to verify and apply the eligible perks. The whole process is handled inside the MINTHOL app for both the user and the business owner.
The perk discovery and registration system will also be implemented during this phase. Businesses will be able to register their perks and collection managers will be able to discover them via the browse UI.
Date: independent of this proposal, will be done later in a separate grant Requested amount: 0 Algos
Online perks will be implemented via a public ownership verification API. Businesses will be able to connect their users with their MINTHOL accounts and verify their owned coupons and perks. Social Network and Discoverability (0% progress) This phase augments the search functionality. A social feed will provide fresh information about users’ interests and friends. It will display new trends and recent trades and coupon usage among friends.
A map will display local businesses with available perks and the collections which are subscribed to these perks.
Date: independent of this proposal, will be done later in a separate grant Requested amount: 0 Algos
MINTHOL aims to connect with the whole NFT scene without utilizing smart contracts. The perk and coupon program is done off-chain while the browser functionality and ownership verification are implemented via simple indexer queries. Marketplace integrations provide resale opportunities and are already available on the site.
This phase will broaden the existing integrations to indexers and marketplaces outside the Algorand ecosystem. Underlying blockchains will be hidden as a technological detail and the search page will display collections from multiple blockchains.
Creators will be able to manage their collections and perk subscriptions on a unified UI regardless of the underlying chain.
Date: independent of this proposal, will be done later in a separate grant Requested amount: 0 Algos
Once the final product takes shape and the blockchain/NFT technology can be hidden MINTHOL will go through a redesign/rebranding.
Date: independent of this proposal, will be done later in a separate grant Requested amount: 0 Algos
- Crucial building blocks for NFT creators and enthusiasts - like the launchpad, and the NFT explorer.
- Real-world utility for current and new NFTs with the perks system.
- Additional revenue stream for existing Algorand projects if they become perk providers.
- A robust moderation solution with the curator system to showcase the best NFT collections as the ecosytem grows.
- A way to expand the ecosystem with the semi-cross-chain expansion. The platform will make a range of blockchain explorable but it will launch all new collections on Algorand.
The following case studies demonstrate how the platform handles traditional and next-generation loyalty programs.
A local cafe struggles with fluctuating performance and wants to boost predictable revenue. They set up a perk: “20% discount on lattes” for 2 USD per month per coupon. The manager of a coffee-related coupon collection finds this cafe and subscribes their collection of 1000 coupons to the latte perk. This generates a 2000 USD predictable monthly revenue for the cafe owner in exchange for the more fluctuating 20% discounts.
“Crazy Monkeys”, an existing NFT collection is struggling to keep users engaged. They decide to provide new perks to their users and pick a theme: animals. Searching for the keyword they find various businesses and decide to sign up for a charity perk at a zoo, a discount perk at a pet shop, and a private zoologist Discord group access. These perks boost engagement but increase monthly costs for the collection managers. They need to cover the expenses. They launch the “crazy-monkeys.minthol.art” subdomain site and set up custom branding and ad-based monetization. They create a new program: “Crazy Monkey” owners are eligible to buy seasonal high-value one-off coupons with better perks.
“Foodies”, a groceries chain wants to issue occasional coupons without developing the necessary tools. They set up a 10% overall discount perk and connect it with a one-off, user-bound coupon. They set up the “foodies.minthol.art” subdomain with custom branding and send on-demand coupons to customers who register on the site. Cashiers scan customer QR codes and apply the necessary perks before payment.
An indie game developer wants to crowdfund their next game. They mint various “boost items” as tradeable coupons and sell them via an auction to cover development costs. The game calls into the public minthol-ownership-verification-api to determine which coupons players have and what in-game perks they provide. These coupons can be traded freely between players inside or outside the game.
A young fashion enthusiast wants to try new trends in an affordable way. They search for fashion-related collections and purchase a few coupons from them. The managers of these collections regularly update their subscribed perks to provide new fashion ideas and discounts to coupon owners. The coupon owner receives notifications about the new perks and decides to try the clothing brands.
A person wants to save money. They find a geo-localized collection via the map discovery tool and buy a coupon. The local coupon provides up-to-date discounts in a variety of nearby businesses and shops.