Allo on Arbitrum Hackathon: Results and Recap

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Allo on Arbitrum Hackathon Recap

Also see: Allo / Arbitrum Hackaton Hosted by BuidlBox, Allo & Arbitrum - 👋 News and Community - Gitcoin Governance

Introduction:

  • Hackathon Dates: Dec 8, 2023 → Jan 10, 2024
  • Duration: 4 weeks
  • Judging Period: Jan 10 → Jan 20, 2024
  • Winner Announcement: Jan 25, 2024

Overview:

As part of “Arbitrum & Gitcoin Winter”, the Allo on Arbitrum Hackathon took place on December 8, 2023 through January 10, 2024. This hackathon was co-organized by Plurality Labs (via Arbitrum DAO) + Allo Protocol, and hosted on the buidlbox platform.

The goal of the hackathon is to empower builders to build the future allocation mechanisms, UIs, the next data structures and tools that can propel the grant funding initiatives in the Arbitrum ecosystem forward.

Organized by:

Powered by buidlbox.io

buidlbox played a key role in the support of the Allo on Arbitrum Hackathon. Serving as the hosting platform, we ensured seamless operations, collaborated with organizers, and actively engaged the builder community throughout the course of the hackathon. Our comprehensive support included marketing support, workshop facilitation, livestream hosting, Discord assistance, and growth engagement, emphasizing our commitment to empowering builders within the Allo Protocol and Arbitrum community.

Participation Metrics:

  • Number of Participants: 303
  • Projects Started: 102
  • Submission Count (Across 3 challenges): 86
  • Unique Projects Submitted: 46
    • View all projects here.

Highlights:

1. Opening Ceremony:

The official kick-off event occurred on Dec 8, 2023, via @buidlbox Twitter/X Spaces, with an audience of over 1K listeners. Speakers 0xZakk (Allo Protocol) and Disruption Joe (Plurality Labs) took the stage, offering insights into the hackathon’s purpose and challenges. During the event, documentation and resources were shared to guide participants in navigating the hackathon.

2. Challenges and Projects:

3. Workshops/Events:

On Dec 20, the Allo Protocol team hosted a workshop (via Discord livestream) titled “Building with the Allo SDK”, led by Jaxcoder. An additional office hours session was conducted on Jan 10, just before the submission deadline, to address any outstanding questions by builders.

4. Team Formation:

Team formation took place through a dedicated #team-formation channel on the buidlbox Discord for the hackathon. The breakdown of participants was as follows:

  • Teams of 2 or more: 22%
  • Solo builders: 78%

5. Challenges Faced:

GPT Summary of Jaxcoder’s ‘Allo / Arbitrum Hackathon’ Retro (via Gitcoin Forum):

  • New developers faced technical challenges due to the learning curve.
  • Many teams smoothly navigated challenges by demonstrating adeptness with Allo’s documentation and setup process.
  • Allo’s recognition as an advanced protocol acknowledges potential hurdles for beginners.
  • Participants’ experiences reflect an impressive learning journey, emphasizing commitment and growth during the hackathon.

Judging and Winner Selection:

Following the project submission deadline, judging took place between January 11-20, 2024. A total of 9 judges evaluated all 46 projects based on the following criteria:

  • Design and UX: Is it visually appealing and easy to use?
  • Originality: Does it have unique and novel features or combine features of other products or services in a unique and novel way?
  • Technical Accomplishment: Is the code elegant, clean, and technically interesting? Is the project complete? Does the project interact with Allo Protocol under-the-hood?
  • Potential Utility: Does the project fill a need that grant program managers have? Does it have the potential to be used by grant program managers?

Each project was individually scored on a scale from 1-10 in each category. Average scores were taken into consideration when selecting challenge winners.

The judging and winner selection process involved two key phases:

1) Judging Period:

  • The judging process spanned from January 11-20, during which judges individually assessed a total of 86 submissions and recorded their scores on the buidlbox platform.
  • A panel of 9 judges, including representatives from Plurality Labs/Arbitrum DAO and Allo Protocol, conducted independent evaluations for all three challenges based on the following criteria:
    • Design and UX: Is it visually appealing and easy to use?
    • Originality: Does it have unique and novel features or combine features of other products or services in a unique and novel way?
    • Technical Accomplishment: Is the code elegant, clean, and technically interesting? Is the project complete? Does the project interact with Allo Protocol under-the-hood?
    • Potential Utility: Does the project fill a need that grant program managers have? Does it have the potential to be used by grant program managers?
  • Each project was individually scored on a scale from 1-10 in each category. Average scores were taken into consideration when selecting challenge winners.

2) Final Winner Selection:

  • Following the judging period, the lead hackathon organizers (Plurality Labs and Allo Protocol) conducted a thorough review of project evaluations.
  • On January 22, during an internal meeting, the lead hackathon organizers made the final decisions on the winners.
  • While judging scores played a significant role in determining challenge finalists, it’s crucial to note that they were not the sole factors in the winner selection process.
  • Winners were ultimately chosen by the lead hackathon organizers, guided by projects that demonstrated strong potential, compelling use cases, innovation, and originality.

Results and Awards:

Winning Projects:

  • Best Novel Funding Distribution Tool
    • First: Conviction Voting App
      • “A fun, simple app for allocating funds using Conviction Voting. Useful for grants programs that find themselves struggling with high admin overhead and are repeatedly funding a lot of the same projects time after time.”
    • Second: Spray
      • “Funding distribution tool based on Allo with the inclusion of components, strategies and vesting from Hedgey.”
    • Third: DAO Driven Crowdfunding Platform
      • “A DAO-driven crowdfunding platform enabling investors to fund developer proposals, gain committee voting rights, oversee and guide milestone-based fund distribution, with the option to revoke funding if agreed milestones aren’t met, ensuring accounta”
  • Best Use of the Project Registry
    • First: Alloliance
      • “Alloliance, a web3 compliance protocol, powered by Allo Protocol’s stack, streamlines KYC submissions and approvals for grant seekers.”
    • Second: SolidGrant
      • “This DAO dapp is built on top of Allo Protocol, a decentralized governance platform on the Arbitrum network. The dapp allows members to propose and vote on proposals, manage treasury funds, and track community activity.”
    • Third: Margari
      • “Margari is a cross chain fund distribution tool that enables users of Allo to efficiently distribute funds cross chain to contributors removing the need for Grantors and Grantees to be on the same chain.”
  • Best Review and Evaluation Tool
    • First: AGDM
      • “Arbitrum Grants Defense Manager (AGDM) is a dashboard designed for grant managers. It offers a user-friendly interface for monitoring round statistics and employs advanced threat detection to safeguard against QF round attacks.”
    • Second: Allo Explorer
      • “The Allo-Explorer is used to monitor the flow of pool funds. You can easily see how the fund is distributed and how the application is requesting funds from the pool.”
    • Third: Build3r
      • “Build3r is a platform focused in the real estate development sector through blockchain technology. It democratizes real estate investment by enabling transparent and efficient fund management for development projects.”

Feedback and Improvement:

Throughout the hackathon, the builders expressed overall positive feedback with the hackathon organizers and buidlbox. Upon the winner announcement, some builders raised concerns about the judges’ objectivity and the winner selection process. Allo Protocol and Plurality Labs promptly responded, providing constructive feedback on the projects and clarifying the context behind their final decisions.

In response to the concerns, buidlbox issued a follow-up statement on Discord to offer deeper insights into the judging process and winner selection. Initially, builders were frustrated, believing that judging scores alone determined the winners. The statement from buidlbox clarified the two phases involved in judging and winner selection (see “Judging and Winner Selection”), aiming to provide a more comprehensive understanding for participants.

Moving forward, buidlbox is committed to transparently collaborating with future hackathon sponsors and organizers to prevent any future miscommunications. While the judging and winner selection process is determined by the organizers, we are committed to implementing process and feature improvements to ensure participants have a clear understanding of the evaluation process in every hackathon.

Other Areas of Improvement:

GPT Summary of ‘Allo / Arbitrum Hackathon’ Retro (via Gitcoin Forum) by Jaxcoder:

  • Developer Experience Setbacks:
    • Limited availability of the Allo team during the December holiday period.
    • Future planning should include consideration of global holidays to avoid scheduling conflicts during hackathons.
  • Resource Enhancement Suggestions:
    • Expand video content showcasing Allo’s functionalities.
    • Improve general documentation, with comprehensive SDK documentation and practical examples.
    • Increase the number of video tutorials for better user support.

Conclusion:

Reflecting on the Allo on Arbitrum Hackathon, which took place from December 8, 2023, to January 10, 2024, it is evident that the 303 participants embarked on a dynamic four-week journey marked by creativity and commitment. The hackathon witnessed 86 unique project submissions across three challenges, showcasing a diverse array of innovative solutions that made a lasting impression on the Allo Protocol and Protocol Labs teams.

The hackathon’s activities, including Twitter/X Spaces, workshops, and other livestream events, fostered a collaborative and dynamic atmosphere, contributing to a positive hackathon experience for builders.

The winning projects, such as the Conviction Voting App, Alloliance, and AGDM, showcased remarkable innovation and creativity within the community. As a result of the quality of project submissions in this hackathon, Allo Protocol is excited for future collaborations with the talented builders, fostering more collaboration and growth within the Allo Protocol and Arbitrum communities.

Closing Thoughts:

Warm congratulations to the winning projects, and a heartfelt thank you to all the participants who dedicated their time and effort to submit projects. Our sincere appreciation extends to every participant, sponsor, organizer, and judges who played a crucial role in the success of this event. At buidlbox, our commitment to continuous improvement remains steadfast. Looking ahead, we are excited to build on this momentum, fostering even closer collaborations with hackathon organizers, co-sponsors, and builders, and creating more enriching experiences in future hackathons. The future holds exciting possibilities, and buidlbox is thrilled to continue empowering builders and advancing innovation within the Allo Protocol and Arbitrum community. Thank you all for being an integral part of this incredible journey!

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