Builder Proposals

Before the decision market opens, each shortlisted builder submits a builder proposal. This proposal includes:

• A breakdown of the work they plan to deliver
• A set of milestones, each tied to a specific deliverable
• A budget per milestone, drawn from the project treasury

The entire treasury is theoretically available. There is no fixed prize pool. You define what you need to deliver the project. The jury evaluates your proposal holistically: quality of work, realism of milestones, and efficiency of budget.

Shortlisting

Spark selects up to 5 builder teams per hackathon. This limit is set by the Combinator.trade decision market, which supports up to 5 proposals plus one "no winner" option.

Applications and proposals are evaluated on:

• Relevance of past experience to the project (POC, MVP, early traction, anything that shows you can ship)
• Quote / Milestone proposed
• Team composition and skill coverage
• Realistic ability to ship within the timeline

Shortlisting happens within 24 hours of the application deadline. All applicants receive a response.

Phase 1 - Product - Winner

The jury, composed of project backers, trades on the Combinator.trade decision market to express their conviction on which builder will create the most technical value. The result is on-chain and fully transparent. They weigh quality, timeline, and budget efficiency. The decision market includes a "no one deserves to win" option. If the jury collectively trades in favor of this option, no winner is declared and the treasury is preserved. (we’re using a 48h TWAP)

Phase 2 - Growth - Winner

At the end of Phase 2, a new decision market vote takes place. The jury expresses their conviction on which builder created the most growth value. This can be the same team that won Phase 1, a new team entirely, or someone who only joined for the Growth phase. The two phases are independent.