Hackathon Date: 7-8th Oct 2023
- Problem statement: vechain track
- Are you applying for the grant with the same project you submitted at the vechain Hackathon: Yes
If you select "Yes," please provide:
- Project name: PropelPixel
- Team name: PropelPixel
- GitHub handle: N/A
- College / Employer: University of Pennsylvania Wharton
- Payment Address: USDC (ERC 20) payment address. We don't accept payments for the program in other currencies at this stage. 0xbc9b2eabfe40d2b67ea0743c92bfca8ada4ffaed
⚠️ The combination of your GitHub account submitting the application and the payment address above will be your unique identifier during the program. Please keep them safe.
Switching to sustainable transport could reduce per capita carbon emissions by 50%. So what’s stopping us? Biking, public transit, and carpooling are simply less attractive. PropelPixel changes that. We’re building a one-of-a-kind social experience around using sustainable transit.
We incentivize users by prompting them to take a picture every time they carpool with friends, ride the subway, and more. Users can then build and show off their virtual city with customizable NFT buildings linked to each picture they take—a new level of interactivity to the typical social media feed. The more they document and trade buildings, the more $VET they earn, which can be used to purchase products from sustainable companies partnered with PropelPixel.
VeChain allows for tracking NFTs so friends can know which carpool moment each building came from. The Vechain Thor platform's quick transactions and low energy are perfect for PropelPixel's active user base and high-volume transactions. The dual-token system ensures that transaction costs are minimized and nonvolatile, and VeChain's anonymity for users keeps their speed, photo, and location data secure.
PropelPixel's target audience is young, everyday people. PropelPixel’s friendly and accessible interface will be the introduction to blockchain technology for many users. By associating the benefits of sustainable transit with VeChain's platform, users can become familiar with how blockchain works and its potential applications. Users sharing their experiences and achievements on the app fosters community and promotes VeChain. With a total addressable market of 144 million young adults and $172.8 million, PropelPixel will elevate the VeChain platform.
Tech Stack Overview:
- Node.js
- Solidity
- Flutter
- Mongo.db
- REST API
- React Native
Several competitors have implemented social media to advance sustainability. For example, Litterati seeks to reduce pollution by encouraging users to snap pictures while collecting trash. However, they lack the crucial social aspect. PropelPixel fills this gap by motivating users to actively share photos with friends. Our platform’s community will increase engagement and drive long-term retention as friends encourage each other to continue riding sustainably.
Another competitor, JouleBug, gamifies eco-friendly actions by integrating a point system where users can compete and share on external social networks. However, JouleBug focuses only on employee engagement and has a subscription model, making it inaccessible to most individuals. On the other hand, PropelPixel is a free platform open to everyone, lowering the barrier to entry and targeting a larger market.
Other projects like SweatCoin passively reward users with tokens to incentivize eco-friendly behaviors like walking. However, Sweatcoin lacks compelling incentives to keep users engaged over the long term. PropelPixel encourages users to socialize and frequently interact with the app to take pictures, customize and share their virtual city, and more.
PropelPixel seeks to build an open community between friends who use the app to document their eco-friendly transportation experiences. The social aspect of taking and sharing pictures with friends and developing personalized cities makes PropelPixel stand out. When all of their friends are already on the app, users will be more inclined to join and stay on PropelPixel. An additional advantage is that PropelPixel will utilize the VeChainThor blockchain, adding an unparalleled level of security compared to all of our competitors.
PropelPixel’s mission, utilizing blockchain technology to advance sustainable practices, is aligned with VeChain. Additionally, carbon emissions initiatives on VeChain, such as the Carbon Calculator, will allow us to build on the PropelPixel user experience.
- Jean Lin
- Victor Wang
- Carson Wang
- Asanshay Gupta
- Sarah Dufays
Our team comprises six students from Wharton, MIT, and Stanford with over 20 years of combined entrepreneurship, blockchain, and app development experience.
We have proven our ability to establish successful startups that solve real-world problems. One of our projects was “Oxygen Planner,” a tool to aid medical professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic in over 2,000 hospitals across 120 countries. We also developed and secured $60,000 for Etana, a cost-efficient device that enables women in low-infrastructure environments to create unique biometric IDs. Etana won MIT Solve and was recognized as a Pozen Social Innovation Prize Winner. Our team includes one of the world's youngest Certified Ethical Hackers.
Together, we have accumulated over $120,000 in hackathon prizes and have aligned with industry leaders like ALTEN, Google, and Microsoft. Our members have worked with the Federal Reserve to research and develop Central Bank Digital Currency. Most recently, our team was awarded $2,000 by pitching PropelPixel to representatives from VeChain and BCG at the EasyA x Vechain hackathon.
Our innovative mindset, combined with our diverse experiences spanning from marketing to backend development, will allow us to strategically develop and execute our business plans.
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-dufays/
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/asanshay/
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/carsonjwang/
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/jean-t-lin/
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/victor-wang-se/
| Milestone 1 | Milestone 2 | Milestone 3 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimated Duration | 60 d | 60 d | 60 d | 180 d |
| Full-time equivalent (FTE) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Cost | $ 6,000 | $ 3,000 | $ 6,000 | $ 15,000 |
| Number | Deliverable | Specification |
|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Smart Contract | We will craft smart contracts tailored for diverse NFT tasks. Our minting function ensures each NFT's uniqueness and verifiability on the blockchain. Our contracts will transparently track NFT ownership, maintaining each asset's authenticity. We'll also facilitate easy VET transfers for sponsorships and integrate image creation and indexing tools, streamlining the overall experience. |
| 1.2 | Backend | We will create a backend service with two primary functions: Sponsorship Management and User Notification. The Sponsorship Management System will facilitate initiating, tracking, and completing deals with sponsors, ensuring transparent and efficient communication. It will also periodically rotate between sponsors. The User Notification System will handle real-time alerts, allowing users to receive timely updates on deal statuses, interactions, and other platform activities. |
| 1.3 | White Paper | We will publish our white paper to introduce the market to social media for sustainability and sharing NFTs. This create-to-earn model is new to the market, so we will present our business models to the broader community before releasing our product. |
| Number | Deliverable | Specification |
|---|---|---|
| 2.1 | Alpha Testing | We will launch the Alpha version of our app to a select group of 100 users for feedback. This closed testing phase will last for three weeks, during which we'll actively solicit feedback on user experience, functionality, and potential bugs. Utilizing a dedicated feedback portal, participants can document their experiences and suggestions, ensuring that we comprehensively understand areas for improvement before the public release. |
| 2.2 | Frontend | We will design an intuitive UI/UX and integrate our app with the platforms of our eco-partners. We will prioritize a UI that reflects simplicity and clarity while ensuring that the user experience (UX) will be mapped out with a user-centric approach, providing smooth navigation, rapid loading times, and responsive design for both mobile and desktop users. |
| 2.3 | Partnerships | We will sign contracts with eco-friendly businesses targeting sectors such as renewable energy, sustainable fashion, and organic farming to partner with them for the deals on our platform. These partnerships aim to bring exclusive, eco-conscious deals to our platform's users, ensuring they benefit from sustainable options while supporting environmentally responsible businesses. |
| Number | Deliverable | Specification |
|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | Market Launch | We will release the app to all users in the US initially. |
| 3.2 | Market Campaigns | We will create a campaign in the lead-up to the launch as well as follow the launch with exclusive promo NFTs and referral rewards to grow our customer base. This includes a college student ambassador program, in-person events, and an increase in promotional content on Instagram, TikTok, and X. |
We will publish Medium articles for all of our milestones. We will also be sharing our progress on Twitter/X @carsonwang with regular updates while keeping our code open source by uploading to Github.
We will publish Medium articles for all of our milestones. We will also be sharing our progress on Twitter/X @carsonwang with regular updates while keeping our code open source by uploading it to Github. We hope to launch a college student ambassador program and create TikTok and Instagram content to further increase the popularity of VeChain and PropelPixel.
- What work has been done so far?
We developed the app’s UI and conducted extensive market research through surveys and hypothesis-based trials to test market viability and desirability. Through this, we have gained a concrete understanding of the market and geared our development towards the gap in the current landscape. - Are there any teams who have already contributed (financially) to the project?
No - Have you applied for other grants so far?
No