Pedestal Whitepaper.pdf - Aaron Guyett

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Pedestal A growth enabling platform for the modern professional 25 June 2021 (v1.3) Abstract Changing careers is tough. A true professional is well-rounded, informed, and aligned. These traits are difficult to achieve alone. When someone wants to advance in a field or transiation into a new one, they must locate reliable resources, uncover the necessary steps to expand their knowledge and skills, and follow assumed procedures to achieve their goal. This process is often time-consuming and wildly inefficient. Professional development requires growth in skillset and knowledge. This process can be supported by a mentor who has experience or know-how in a field. When an individual develops a relationship with a willing mentor, they gain access to insight and guidance that can only be provided by a person who has already arrived at the individual’s desired destination. With the aid of a mentor, an individual’s path to success becomes clear. The benefits that one gains from a mentor’s guidance provide an incredible advantage compared to those who attempt to accomplish the same success independently. This begs the question, “Why doesn’t everyone have a mentor? “ Finding a mentor is difficult. Approaching people in the digital era is tough to do. People are busy and may recognize mentorship as different things. For some, a mentorship is a couple of emails. For others, a mentorship is a hands-on experience that requires real-time (and often additional asynchronous time) interactions. Mentors are often beneficial and fulfilling. According to Aston University1 a mentor or mentee can feature their experience on their CV, establish a sense of direction, and gain recognition through a new network. However, most do not seek assistance because of the problems one must overcome to engage as a mentor or mentee. Even if a mentoring engagement is formed, it is often unclear what that means for the pair. Proof of success is often not provided and a centralized space is either lackluster or nonexistent. Pedestal provides individuals a way to empower themselves through mentoring. The platform makes it easy to find a mentoring partner, validate their effectiveness through data generated when they use the platform and through peer reviews, and track their goals and achieve their goals with the use of industry-agnostic tools integrated into their shared work environment. The idea that a mentor is too busy is moot once engaged on Pedestal. Mentors can interact with their mentees in real-time or asynchronously to better fit their schedules. The safe and reliable platform gives users a way to track progress, communicate and achieve goals. The two parties involved in this relationship (mentors and mentees) are rewarded for their participation in separate ways. Mentees are rewarded guidance and fulfillment, whereas mentors (an mentees in some instances) are rewarded with a cryptocurrency known as the Pedestal Building Token (PBT) and quantitative reviews of their mentoring services to bring real-world value. The following whitepaper introduces Pedestal and the data-backed platform that improves CVs all around the world! Contents 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................4 Whitepaper Roadmap .....................................................................................5 2 Architectural Overview ....................................................................................5 Social Media ....................................................................................................6 Mentoring .......................................................................................................6 Goal Tracking ..................................................................................................7 3 Blockchain Components ..................................................................................7 Pedestal Building Token (PBT) .........................................................................8 4 Rewards ..........................................................................................................9 5 Business Landscape .......................................................................................10 Competitor #1 ...............................................................................................10 Competitor #2 ...............................................................................................10 Competitor #3 ...............................................................................................11 6 Development.................................................................................................11 APIs ...............................................................................................................12 Blockchain .....................................................................................................12 Token Release ............................................................................................12 7 FAQ ...............................................................................................................12 8 References ....................................................................................................15 1 Introduction When two individuals agree to engage in mentoring, they take part in a mutually beneficial partnership that yields intangible rewards. A mentor can gain value in exchange for their efforts by developing a sense of ownership in participating in their mentee’s success and add additional experience to their CV. Meanwhile, the mentee gains insight into their chosen field from an accomplished individual’s vantage point. A mentor’s guidance accelerates the rate at which the mentee will succeed by aligning the mentee on the correct path and supplementing their growth with insider information and trade knowledge. The mentoring relationship is believed to be an ideal by many successful companies and is practiced in an attempt to grow a healthy workforce. In 2018, it was reported that 71 percent of Fortune 500 Companies offer private mentoring programs [2]. A strong workforce can provide an advantage over a rival company and is necessary to compete in competitive industries. These companies view mentoring as a means of keeping their company at the top of their competitive industries. These companies’ mentoring programs, which are exclusive to each respective company’s employees, emphasize leadership, education, and focus. According to a recent study, 87 percent of individuals involved in a mentoring relationship felt empowered and expressed greater confidence than they had before the relationship began [3]. The effects of guidance are powerful and can change an employee’s entire approach to their career. A recent study found that 89 percent of participants in a CNBC study noticed that their colleagues value their work more after their mentorship began [4]. In the workplace, mentoring brings people closer together. The idea that mentoring is limited to companies is one that Pedestal challenges. The world has shifted from an “on-premises” model to a more remote model. Mentoring needs to change and adapt to maintain current. Under current circumstances, the development of this relationship has never been more challenging. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced people to remain within their homes’ confines and has disrupted the flow of regular human interaction. Bumping into someone at a bar or meeting someone during typical travels is much less likely than before. Despite a lower chance to meet a mentor or mentee, the need and impact of mentors remains the same. Although proven benefits are documented and reiterated by many, professionals are deterred from finding a mentor of their own because of the difficulty they experience. Reputable career advancement websites like Glassdoor and Indeed include acquiring a mentor as crucial steps in career advancement. A mentor provides live and asynchronous (now, thanks to platforms like Pedestal) feedback to actions taken in an individual’s growth process. Mentors serve as the guiding hand in an individual’s success and help them prepare for the future. Despite their benefits brought with a mentor’s addition, only 37 percent of those who realize the importance of a mentor have one [5]. Access is one of the many problems plaguing the mentoring ecosystem. When prompted to define mentoring, many of our consumers do not know how to label it. There is a gap between the guidance aspect of mentoring and what takes place during the relationship. This is due to a lack of a centralized space to work with a mentor. Video calls require time to synchronize after spending time apart. Much of the work completed in a mentoring engagement is, “Oh, I think I have that somewhere” or, “I don’t know where that is, can you re- send it?” This non-centralization can cause unwarranted headaches. Without centralization, mentors and mentees have a tough time validating their progress. Goals can be tracked through traditional hand-written to-do lists, but this is not validating and can’t be shared to others. When working towards a goal or task, transparency and accountability should be provided and often are not due to the different mediums used to transcribe goals vs. where the work takes place. On top of an inability to find and work with mentors, there exists a barrier to entry on many platforms. These come in multiple forms, but many appear as paywalls or as industry restrictions. Most mentoring platforms today require users to be a part of a specific industry— most of the time it is tech-based—or to pay to spend time with a mentor. Mentors deserve rewards and incentives for working with a mentor, but the accessibility that is lost is substantial. A solution to these problems is available through Pedestal, a social media platform that enables mentors and mentees to find one another and work together on a shared workspace.This platform allows professionals to connect with like-minded individuals who earn rewards while working together.The Pedestal Building Token (PBT) provides an additional incentive that fuels the ecosystem Pedestal offers. This token, which holds real world value, can also be earned by working with others, achieving goals, or learning how to become a better mentor/mentee. The blockchain plays a crucial role in the incentivization and data validation of goals and mentor engagements. Whitepaper Roadmap This whitepaper will explain the Pedestal platform (Section 2), the Pedestal Reward System, and its blockchain components (Section 3). It will further explain the connection between the Pedestal Ecosystem, PBT, and how users can redeem their rewards (Section 4). This paper will also describe Pedestal’s market and potential competitors (Section 5) and conclude by discussing the platform and token’s development (Section 6). A FAQ (Section 7) and Appendix/References (Section 8) will follow this whitepaper’s body to answer common questions and provide additional resources. 2 Architectural Overview The Pedestal Platform enables individuals of all skill levels to connect with the intent of fostering a mentor-mentee relationship. Users can display their goals, accomplishments, achievements, knowledge, and more in an attempt to share with their peers. Like other social media platforms, Pedestal users can communicate via posts, chat, and messages. A feed provides users with updates from others within their network. If a user wants to find new individuals or organizations to follow, they can discover other recommended profiles or search via categories. When an individual wants to engage in a mentoring relationship, they can search the platform and compare potential candidates. Once an ideal candidate has been chosen, a user can request to partner. If it is accepted, the two parties can begin working together to utilize the industry-agnostic features described in the Goal Tracking section. The Pedestal Platform monitors interactions, user activity, and progress and assigns PBT as it is earned. This overview will explain PBT allocation, the incentives that draw both parties to the platform, and the organizational elements that allow goals to be accomplished efficiently. The monitoring is not used only to reward PBT. Users can opt-in to track metrics and report analytics so that they can have transparency into how beneficial their engagements and use of the platform are. The Mentor Impact Score provides a way for users to track each engagement as well as individual success overall. Social Media The social media provided Pedestal will seem familiar to its userbase. Pedestal allows users to communicate with others, view other users’ profiles, post their accomplishments, share to other social media platforms, send tips, join groups, share events, and receive praise like other social media platforms. Recognition of users’ accomplishments motivates them to complete tasks and take on new projects while incentivizing them to remain on the platform. To further this incentive, Pedestal features a point-based, rolling leaderboard to encourage users to grow. Though Pedestal utilizes many custom features, this platform’s familiarity minimizes the initial learning curve associated with using a new application and enables users to foster interest faster. In addition to the conventional features of social media platforms, Pedestal integrates blockchain components to enable users to track important updates and share PBT with others users who contribute to the betterment of the ecosystem. Mentoring Pedestal’s purpose is to bridge the gap between mentors and mentees and make it easy for them to work together and view progress. Users can search for mentors with ease, invite promising users to mentor them and work together to accomplish tasks upon accepting the invitation. As a means of fostering efficient collaboration, Pedestal features a shared dashboard and workspace between mentors and mentees. The dashboard gives the pair tools to develop a visible plan, objectives, and goals. The users can follow along as they make progress or changes in the attached workspace through their own private feed. Upon completing tasks, visual representation appears on the shared dashboard and can be posted on a user’s profile if they choose to do so. In some scenarios, actions in the shared workspace or on Pedestal will reward users with an achievement. The achievements are another way to earn PBT. They promote users to explore the platform and utilize it to the fullest. While engaged in a mentorship, the two parties can communicate via in-platform chat, messaging, comments, and video. Additional features included in the dashboard include a notepad, file storage, code editor, image editor, spreadsheets, rich-text editor, calculator, to-do list, document review, and more. As the platform continues to grow and change, expect more tools to be added. Learning modules and help features are prevalent on Pedestal to help reduce the learning curve while providing another way for users to earn PBT. The reward constantly incentivizes the mentoring process, so mentors will continue to provide knowledge and guidance to others while feeling that they’ve earned something tangible. Once they have achieved a special status on the platform, they can charge for access to their mentorship but are required to provide a percentage of free mentoring engagements so that their skillset is not lost on those who cannot afford it. Goal Tracking As a means of monitoring personal progress, users are encouraged to list objectives and tasks that pertain to their goals. Users can document their progress and generate public posts from their goal tracker if they choose to share their updates and accomplishments with other users. The recognition of goals is something that Pedestal strives to integrate into all facets of the platform. The more that users integrate their mentoring engagement with the platform, the better the recognition and validation they can receive. Pedestal supplies personal and engagement-specific analytics dashboards to showcase how individuals and duos are performing. This dashboard provides insight into how they can perform better while continuing to validate the effectiveness of their engagement. Another form of validation is offered in the form of a certification. Prior to Pedestal, mentors and mentees may add “mentored X/mentored in X” to their additional experience section of their CV. A certification can be provided to users once they have begun to work together on the platform that shows their equivalent hours mentoring or being mentored in an industry. In the same realm, a one-click résumé feature is makes it easy to transfer the profile and accomplishments of users to pre-defined usable templates. 3 Blockchain Components Understanding blockchain technology and its various components is necessary to understand Pedestal’s PBT reward system. • Blockchain refers to data stored on nodes, which record all interactions with the global database. • A node is an individual user on a blockchain. All nodes store a copy of the blockchain. • Cryptocurrency is a digital currency that is secured using cryptography. The transactions on the blockchain are verified and recorded in a decentralized ledger. • Tokens are cryptocurrencies created on top of other blockchains. A token is always a cryptocurrency, but a cryptocurrency is not always a token. • A smart contract is an agreement that is carried out by the blockchain. Smart contracts act as governance between two participants within a transaction on the blockchain. They are decentralized agreements. Smart contracts used on the blockchain create secure transactions. Users can partake in cryptocurrency transactions with a sense of security and transparency. Each transaction is predefined and only executed once both parties agree to its terms. For example, a smart contract is utilized when a user agrees to participate in a learning module in exchange for PBT. A user agrees to accept PBT in exchange for their time, and Pedestal agrees to award the participant with PBT in exchange for completing the module. Pedestal Building Token (PBT) Many believe that blockchain technology is the future of currency. Over 1.5 million cryptocurrency transactions occurred per day in 2020. Judging by the widespread momentum gained in recent months, the number of cryptocurrency transactions in 2021 will likely be far greater [5]. Pedestal rewards its users with a cryptocurrency called the Pedestal Building Token (PBT) in the following ways: • Mentoring: users can earn PBT by mentoring users that have requested their connection. Mentors can earn rewards by accomplishing tasks with mentees, collaborating with mentees, or interacting with mentees via in-platform video communication. • Leaderboards: Upon completing each month, users who earn the most PBT are assigned to a public leaderboard. Users are awarded additional PBT based on their placement. • Tips: users can tip other users in a variety of ways. A user can tip others on their profile, in a chat message, on a post, or while they are in a meeting. • Learning Modules: users can earn PBT by completing learning modules that cover a variety of topics. Users are encouraged to participate in learning modules that teach them more about the platform’s lesser-known features (including the basics of cryptocurrency). • Selling Content: Users can sell their content to other users on the marketplace after achieving an individual status. Users can also purchase PBT on the Pedestal Platform or transfer externally purchased PBT to the Pedestal Platform from an external wallet. PBT purchased on the platform and only PBT purchased on the platform must be spent on Pedestal’s platform. This means that only tokens earned on the platform, and not purchased, can be transferred out to an external wallet. Users that have earned PBT on Pedestal can redeem their cryptocurrency in the following ways: • Transferring PBT to our partner wallet (off the platform) Note: Users can convert PBT to USD, BTC, or any other cryptocurrency of their choosing from the partner wallet. • Ad-hoc purchases on Pedestal • Tipping other users • Paying for mentoring services for tiered mentors • Making purchases on the marketplace • Paying for their optional subscription To learn more about the development of the Pedestal Building Token, see Section 7. 4 Rewards The mentor-mentee relationship is only possible when both parties are willing to contribute a relationship. A prospective mentee’s motivation for joining Pedestal is simple: they understand the value of experience and seek guidance. This begs the question: what motivates a prospective mentor to provide their time, knowledge, and direction? Other mentoring platforms lack added incentives for the mentor. Pedestal separates itself from its competition by offering a variety of incentives to mentors while highlighting the intrinsic value that is yielded from a mentor-mentee relationship and streamlining the process to which they can provide their services. Pedestal mentors are likely to be successful professionals who are generally busy. By offering incentives that benefit mentors, mentors appeal to their desire to participate in the platform. Mentors are rewarded for their participation in the mentor-mentee relationship with PBT, an efficient means of achieving a sense of goodwill, quantitative mentor statistics that can prove leadership experience and can yield real-world value, and an opportunity to sell content on the marketplace or charge for their services after attaining a certain status. The PBT reward is not limited only to mentors. There are numerous ways that users can earn PBT: • Mentors earn rewards through their actions in a shared workspace • Individual achievements • Shared workspace achievements • Leaderboard placement • Sales in the marketplace • Mentor sales • Tips • Learning module rewards 5 Business Landscape Mentoring services and software are available to both the public and private sectors, with many more offerings provide only as B2B services. However, few people are aware of their existence because their associated prices or their inability to proper convey a beneficial engagement. The demand for mentoring is maintained despite the market’s shortcomings. This section will describe the competitors that Pedestal faces in the mentoring market and individually explain its advantage over each competitor in its market. Competitor #1 Competitor #1 is a mentoring platform that was created in the UK and markets towards a global audience. It was made in January of 2018 and has gained over 40,000 users. Competitor #1’s users can build a profile, mentor or mentee, gain points (which do not hold any significance aside from bragging rights), and track goals (which are not monitored by anyone but the user and their mentor). This platform also features a leaderboard that displays the website’s top lifetime performers but offers no reward for placing on it. Competitor #1 has amassed 40,000 users despite lacking a place for mentoring partners to engage after pairing. Mentees are drawn to this website by the opportunity to find a mentor, but there is no incentive for mentors to join or remain on the platform. Competitor #1 assigns points to its users that do not hold real-world value and are not given tasks that correspond to professional growth or development. The product itself needs to submit itself to additional rounds of usability testing to ensure that its layout and functionality meet the needs of its users. Despite its low product quality, Competitor #1 has achieved steady growth since its inception in 2018 (over 7,000 users joining the platfrom from January-March, 2021). Competitor #2 Competitor #2 is a for-profit venture that has a lot of large names on their board and team. They amassed a $1.7B valuation in 2021, but focus on the B2B aspect of their platform more than their consumer offering. They throw around the term mentoring but often relegate themselves to providing quality coaches. These coaches do not come at a light cost. To work with a coach, users must subscribe to a $499 monthly fee that provides them with 2 meetings per month. The platform requires users to complete a 150+ questionnaire before they are able to match with recommended mentors. These mentors are vetted by Competitor #2, showcasing their commitment to “quality”. Quality mentors can only be obtained if they are proven to be quality by those engaging with them. The coaches provided must pass a “rigorous” onboarding process that only 8% can do. This barrier is not only negative for mentees but for mentors as well. Competitor #3 Competitor #3 refers to itself as a tech mentorship platform that offers mentoring services in exchange for a steep fee. Applicants receive guidance from paid, qualified mentors that are only admitted into their mentoring pool after a series of vetting procedures. The company formed in 2017 and has seen steady growth since its inception. The platform has barriers to entry for mentees in the form of industry and payment. Many of the mentors charge hundreds of dollars per hour. Once the engagement starts, the pair are to vacate the platform to provide services to one another. The industry restrictions and cost make it difficult for pairs to form meaningful relationships. Pedestal and the Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Market The mentoring market is large and lucrative. The demand continues to grow as more and more individuals realize that they will not stay in one position for 40 years. The traditional “loyalty” that previous generations had is fading due to the lack of growth opportunities. Platforms must provide users with growth opportunities, and the current offerings do not do so effectively. Pedestal has a clear advantage in its usability, efficiency in facilitating the mentor- mentee relationship, and incentives for mentors and mentees to participate on the platform. In the following five years, the market for mentoring software is expected to grow at a rate of $102.5 million per year [6]. The market is going to triple in that time frame because individuals understand the need for mentoring. The gap in public mentoring software is large and can be filled by a tool that is accessible, validating, rewarding, easy-to-use, and intended for the global market. 6 Development This whitepaper provides an overview of the platform but does not delve into the nuances of development. A future whitepaper will cover the development of the application. The framework used to build the application is AWS Amplify. The application uses AWS as a platform for development and production. AWS serves the application to the global audience with features like edge locations and CloudFront. The application is a progressive web app (PWA) that utilizes server-side rendering (SSR). The application is installable on tablets, mobile devices, and desktops/laptops. The technologies used to build the platform include: • React with Typescript for the frontend components • Tailwind as the CSS library • GraphQL for queries and management • MongoDB and DynamoDB as database engines • Node and Django for backend processes • Websockets for real-time updates and chat As the product goes through the software development lifecycle (SDLC), this list will likely change. For a more detailed overview of the technology, please review the upcoming whitepaper. APIs Numerous APIs provide users with an optimal experience on the platform. Some of these are: • Zoom’s API integrates video messaging. • Stellar’s API accepts blockchain payments. • OpenSeas’s API creates a marketplace for purchases with PBT. Blockchain The blockchain components of the platform will utilize an existing blockchain to enable users to easily exchange the token to other cryptocurrencies or fiat currencies off the platform. The blockchain is likely decided and will be announced in a future whitepaper. Token Release The release of the token is to be determined. There will be no initial coin offering as the token is not a security. Enabling users to make purchases within the platform is critical to Pedestal. The monetary value associated with the token is not dependent upon any action by Pedestal and is likely speculative. Continuous updates to this whitepaper occur as more details about the release of the token’s platform and development become apparent. 7 FAQ How do I become a mentor? Signing up on the platform is comfortable and familiar. A user can choose to be a mentor at the time of account creation, when requested by another, or any point in time through the profile page. How do I receive PBT? A wallet unique to each user on the Pedestal platform stores the PBT. The wallet is associated with a user’s Pedestal account. Users can choose to use the PBT on the platform or transfer it to an external wallet. Once moved out of Pedestal, PBT acts as a cryptocurrency and can be sold or converted to other currencies (digital or fiat). Creating a wallet requires user validation. When is Pedestal launching? Pedestal is currently in development and planned for a Q4 2021 launch. Our website and blog supply the latest updates. Are there any limits to receiving mentor help? There is a limit to how many mentor engagements users can have without a subscription (1). What can I learn on Pedestal? The learning modules give users a sense of the Pedestal platform. Walkthroughs of different actions on the app give insight into using the platform. Users can continue to learn about the blockchain and cryptocurrencies for additional PBT. Users can learn how to be a better mentor and mentee. The mentoring engagement is not fully reliant on the mentor. With a mentor, learning and development are uncapped. Users are free to work on any field if it is not outside our Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). Who provides the PBT? Pedestal provides PBT to users as rewards and it is available for purchase post-launch on the platform. I do not want a mentor or mentee. Why would I use Pedestal? Pedestal provides users with a way to track and enforce their professional growth. Goal tracking and networking run rampant throughout Pedestal. Foundational social media practices translate well on the platform and open the door to many professional relationships that do not involve mentoring. Additionally, accomplished goals and achievements on Pedestal can be shared or rewarded with PBT. When is your Airdrop? Pedestal announces all promotions on Twitter: @ThePedestalApp. I am a developer and want to know more about the development of Pedestal and PBT. Where can I find this information? Please keep an eye out for our next whitepaper, coming soon. I am interested in investing but would like to know more. Who can I contact? Please reach out to [email protected] for any business inquiries. Are you hiring? We are currently hiring a blockchain engineer. Please submit résumés to [email protected]. Pedestal Team Members Aaron Guyett – Founder and CEO Alyssa Maac – UX/UI Designer Jimmy Batuhan – Lead Engineer KJ Schelling – Junior Full-Stack Engineer Daniela Angay – Business Development Analyst 8 References [1] Aston University. (n.d.). Benefits of Mentoring. Retrieved from https://www2.aston.ac.uk/current-students/get-involved/mentoring-at-aston-university/peer- mentoring/benefits-of-mentoring [2] Bolotin, T. (2018, 02 March). Most Fortune 500 Companies Have Mentor Programs. Do You?- PSA. Retrieved from https://www.psafinancial.com/2018/03/most-fortune-500- companies-have-mentor-programs-do-you/ [3] Dimmock, L. (2017, 07 September). New UK research: Mentoring is improving gender balance in organisations. Retrieved from https://moving-ahead.org/press/turning-the-dial [4] Wronski, L. (2019, 16 July). Nine in 10 workers who have a career mentor say they are happy in their jobs. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/16/nine-in-10-workers-who- have-a-mentor-say-they-are-happy-in-their-jobs.html [5] Comaford, C. (2019, 03 July). 76% Of People Think Mentors Are Important, But Only 37% Have One. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinecomaford/2019/07/03/new- study-76-of-people-think-mentors-are-important-but-only-37-have-one/?sh=5ee025044329 [6] Statista. (2021, 25 January). Daily cryptocurrency transactions 2017-2021. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/730838/number-of-daily-cryptocurrency-transactions-by- type/#:~:text=At the end of December,330,000 daily transactions that month.