ETHDenver - Event Recap

Aave Grants DAO - Event Recap

ETHDenver Denver, CO, USA Main Activations: ETHDenver | Boys Club x Aave Grants DAO

Mile High DeFi: Proliferating the GHOst at ETHDenver

March 2nd - 5th 2023

OVERVIEW

Summary

ETHDenver was the first event since AGD’s fourth renewal in January 2023 and marks one year since AGD’s first sponsored event at ETHDenver 2022. ETHDenver was included in our latest governance proposal and was the first opportunity to engage the community at an in person event since Devcon in October 2022.

AGD had two main activities during ETHDenver: hosting a booth at the main conference and sponsoring one of the premiere events of the conference with Boys Club.

Personnel

Representing AGD at the booth were Cree, Migi & Bill. Aave Co also had a delegation attend ETHDenver dedicated to supporting the Aave booth, including founder Stani Kulechov.

Aave Co arranged local support to help with operations during the event. This helped reduce the operational burden on the core people working the booth and allowed them to focus on engaging with the community.

There were also multiple reviewers (Andrew, Omni, Fig, and Corbin) who attended ETHDenver and supported the booth.

ACTIVATIONS

ETHDenver

In total over the week:

2,600 different addresses minted Goerli GHO - see Appendix 4 for some of the Goerli GHO minters we met. Attendees could receive Aave merch based on minting or holding Goerli GHO.
607 booth visitors collected the Aave @ ETH Denver POAP, one of the highest at an AGD-sponsored event
19 grantees engaged in-person

Aave and AGD received several shoutouts after ETHDenver (see Appendix 1) acknowledging our presence. In particular:

The Aave merch continued to be a must-have. The Aave ghost was designed through the lens of American collegiate sports for distribution on hoodies, sweatpants, t-shirts and socks, along with the term “Mile High Defi”, a little homage to Denver (the Mile High city!).
The Boys Club x Aave Grants event was one of the top events in terms of interest and feedback from the whole conference.
More anecdotally, the Aave booth and Aave team always had people around them and there was a strong interest in engaging with Aave. In total, we recorded 35 different valuable interactions AGD had at the booth. This included 19 past grant recipients, numerous promising teams interested in applying for a grant, and other partners or potentially valuable relationships.

Boys Club x Aave Grants DAO

Boys Club’s marquee event for ETHDenver received a ton of attention, notably having a waitlist of over 1,000+ people before ETHDenver even started. In total over 2,000 people registered and over 500 attended. Partnering with Boys Club for the event exposed AGD to a group with a strong and growing reputation.

GOALS

The overarching goal for AGD sponsorships at all events is to proliferate the ghost. This is done through:

brand visibility and community engagement

attracting and cultivating top contributors

fostering innovation and supporting the development of new projects

Brand visibility and community engagement - Make Aave top of mind

Expanding brand recognition and extending the reach of the Aave community to become the top ecosystem contributors think of to build on.
This is achieved through things like:

Distributing Aave branded merchandise
Having an engaging booth presence
Participating in community side events

Attracting and cultivating top contributors - Connect with the community

Attracting exceptional contributors and fostering long-term relationships to drive innovation and growth.
This is achieved through things like:

Building relationships with strong communities
Providing perks for Aave grantees and Aave builders
Hosting the signature rAAVE

Fostering innovation and supporting the development of new projects - Support builders

Empowering and incentivizing participants to explore new ideas, drive impactful solutions, and support the development of innovative projects.
This is achieved through things like:

Offering hackathon prizes
Conducting developer workshops
Facilitating knowledge sharing

RETROSPECTIVE

ETHDenver was planned as the branding-focused event for Q1 and Q2. As a result, the outcomes skewed more towards brand visibility and community engagement.

Brand visibility and community engagement - Make Aave top of mind

The impactful engagement with attendees at the booth, along with the distribution of exclusive merch and the successful Boys Club x Aave Grants event, created a strong sense of community and left a lasting impression amongst a significant number of participants.

Attracting and cultivating top contributors - Connect with the community

The impactful presence of Aave throughout the week, including the highly sought-after Aave merch and the successful Boys Club event, resulted in positive community feedback, emphasizing the impact of the sponsorships in connecting with the community.
Notably, this allowed us to foster relationships with 19 previous grantees, the highest yet at an AGD sponsored event.
The below message from a grantee shows the impact exclusive merch can have on contributor acquisition and retention:

Fostering innovation and supporting the development of new projects - Support builders

Despite AGD not sponsoring the hackathon or hosting a developer workshop, the booth presence excelled in introducing GHO to the community by encouraging attendees to mint Goerli GHO. Hackers were also encouraged to build on Aave with exclusive merch, and several projects ended up leveraging Aave including one of the winners.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Even with additional people attending from AGD, Aave Co is crucial in order to properly activate at events in a large and impactful way.
Merch continued to be a big hit and a way for the Aave booth and Aave brand to stand out.

Actionable items for future events/hackathons

Have a technical talk and/or workshop on GHO to teach and attract developers.
Switch booth branding from ‘Aave Grants DAO’ to ‘Aave’ to streamline conversation and draw in the Aave community.
Be more intentional with knowing which grantees are attending before the event and meeting them during the event.

FOLLOW UP

In 6 months we plan to revisit this report and see if interactions have progressed to a grant application or other actions that benefit AGD or the Aave ecosystem. Key stats we will look for are: