[25.05 Grants Application] roketto

Grants & Incentives
1

Suggested title: [25.05 Grants Application] roketto
Project Name: roketto

Submission Date: 13.05.2025
Founders Name: Giorgos Karapiperidis, Ahmet Guler
Award Amount: To be determined
Project Stage: Testnet deployed
Sector: LaunchPad/DeFi/IDO

Link to Deck: Pitch deck

Links to socials:
roketto.space
X: @roketto_space
Telegram: @roketto_space

Description:
roketto is a decentralized launchpad enabling users to launch their own tokens and conduct initial token sales without requiring any coding expertise. The platform ensures a safe environment for contributors, implementing rules that aim to protect funds during the sale.

Mission:
Our mission is to make decentralized token launches accessible, secure, and impactful, empowering anyone to raise capital transparently while driving liquidity, growth, and adoption across the Rootstock ecosystem.

Product:
roketto offers two types of sales: presale and fair launch, which share several core features. Both include a soft cap, a minimum funding threshold required for the sale to be considered successful. Upon reaching the soft cap, the pool can be finalized, locking a predefined percentage of the funds and tokens as liquidity for a specified duration. Contributors are eligible to claim their tokens based on their proportional contributions if the sale successfully concludes. If the soft cap is not met, contributors can reclaim their funds in full. Additionally, all sales are time bound, with clearly defined start and end times.

In a presale, the token price is fixed throughout the sale, and a hard cap is imposed. Once the hard cap is reached, no further contributions are accepted, and any additional purchases must wait until the token is launched. This structure offers predictability for both project teams and contributors.

A fair launch, on the other hand, does not involve a fixed price. Instead, the final token price is determined by the total contributions made during the sale. Tokens are distributed proportionally, meaning each participant receives a share of the total tokens available based on the amount they contributed relative to the total contributions. Unlike presales, fair launches do not have a hard cap, allowing contributions to continue until the sale period ends.

roketto provides a versatile and efficient platform for token launches, catering to a wide range of needs and preferences for both creators and participants. By enabling secure and transparent IDOs, it helps grow TVL on the Rootstock network while offering a reliable launchpad for new projects. Each finalized sale injects liquidity into Rootstock-based DEXs, creating synergy with DeFi partners and helping drive trading volume and activity across the ecosystem.

Team:
Giorgos Karapiperidis - Founder, FullStack
Ahmet Guler - Founder, FullStack

Roadmap:
Q2:
- Feedback and FE redesign
Q3:
- Mainnet deployment
- Goto market expansion
Q4:
– Launch referral program
– Integrate analytics for usage insights

3 Likes
2

Hey roketto team,

It’s great to see an application for a launchpad project within the Rootstock ecosystem, as we’ve seen how well-designed launchpads can be very valuable for fostering growth and liquidity.

Based on lessons learned from the broader crypto space, we have some questions and areas we’d like to understand better to ensure a secure but also fair and sustainable environment for users and projects:

  • Will you have a vetting process for projects and/or how do you plan to mitigate the risk of rug pulls or fraudulent projects gaining traction?
  • Do you have any thoughts on fair allocations and preventing issues like botting or whale dominance?
  • Beyond the initial raise, any plans for ensuring sustainable liquidity for launched tokens?
  • While a launchpad is a strong starting point, do you have a longer-term vision for roketto’s evolution within the Rootstock DeFi ecosystem?

One project that we think is worth looking into is Raydium’s launchpad on Solana, which offers creators more control and flexibility over their token launches (customisable bonding curves and fine-tuning fees etc) while clearly emphasising a more “structured” approach contra Pump.fun’s one-click approach. Something worth considering.

Thanks again and look forward to your response!

2 Likes
3

@Avantgarde Thank you for reaching out and for your insightful questions regarding roketto. We share your view on the critical role well-designed launchpads play in fostering growth and liquidity within the ecosystem.

Based on the lessons learned from the broader crypto space, we have put significant thought into the areas you highlighted to ensure a secure, fair, and sustainable environment for all participants:

• Project Vetting and Risk Mitigation: Regarding project vetting and risk mitigation, our platform will implement a robust moderation process. Admins will actively monitor listed projects and have the authority to cancel fundraising pools if fraudulent activities are detected during the presale phase. In such cases, all contributed funds will be fully refundable to contributors, providing a safeguard against potential rug pulls and fraudulent schemes.

• Fair Allocations and Preventing Dominance: To address concerns about fair allocations, botting, and whale dominance, presales on roketto will feature customizable minimum and maximum contribution amounts per wallet. This allows project owners to set parameters that promote wider distribution among participants and prevent a single large wallet from acquiring an overly dominant share of the total supply, fostering more equitable participation.

• Ensuring Sustainable Liquidity: Ensuring sustainable liquidity beyond the initial raise is a key consideration. A predetermined share of the funds raised during the presale will be automatically added to the liquidity pool upon successful completion. Furthermore, the resulting LP tokens will be securely locked within our platform’s locker for a duration specified by the project during the presale creation, aligning project incentives with long-term liquidity provision.

• Long-Term Vision for roketto: Looking at roketto’s longer-term evolution within the Rootstock DeFi ecosystem, our vision extends beyond being solely a launchpad. We aim to develop roketto into a comprehensive, all-in-one platform for various token management needs, including fair launches, airdropping mechanisms, and potentially other token lifecycle tools. This broader scope is why we see ourselves as different from platforms primarily focused on specific launch mechanics or highly customizable bonding curves like Raydium or Pump.fun; our focus is on providing a more complete suite of token management products for projects on Rootstock.

We appreciate you bringing up Raydium as an example; while it has interesting features, our strategic direction is towards building a more holistic ecosystem for token management.

We look forward to further discussions and building a secure, fair, and sustainable environment for both projects and users on Rootstock.

4

Hey everyone,

Thanks so much for all your valuable feedback!
We’ve consolidated everything and are excited to share our initial funding plan.

Wave 1 - Getting Started & Brand Establishment

This wave is about laying a strong foundation.

  • :white_check_mark: Testnet Deployment: Project’s been running smoothly on testnet for a month, we keep monitoring it.

  • :hourglass_done: Fair Launch Functionality: We’re integrating the fair launch (FE integration missing) — a key feature of the platform.

  • :hourglass_not_done: Brand Establishment: Funds will go towards building a strong graphic branding (logos/coloring).

Initial funding needed for Wave 1: $15,000 (in RBTC)

Wave 2 - Ship It & Production Ready

Time to get everything ready for the big launch!

  • Mainnet Deployment: Our goal is a robust product ready for mainnet.

  • Contracts Audit: We’ll get contracts audited by established auditors for safety.

  • More to Come!: Expect updates based on community feedback.

Initial funding needed for Wave 2: $25,000 (in RBTC)

The steps will be followed as expected based on the initial roadmap.
Waves will be rolled out through on-chain proposals, so you’ll have a say in every step!

1 Like
5

Thanks for putting this together, it’s clear a lot of work has gone in. A launchpad like this could really help Rootstock grow if implemented well. That said, since this is now live for voting and we have 6 days to decide, I’d love to clarify a few things before finalizing my vote:

– Sustainability: Will Roketto have its own token or revenue stream? Curious how the project stays alive after the grant.
– Audit timing: Wave 2 includes the audit, but funding starts in Wave 1. Any details on the audit provider or budget planning?
– Admin powers: How are decisions made around cancelling pools? Would be good to understand the checks in place.
– Wave 1 budget: $15K seems reasonable, but a breakdown (branding vs dev time) would help build more confidence.
– Go-to-market: Any projects lined up already? What’s your strategy for adoption?

Looking forward to your answers.

1 Like
6

Hey @Kaf_StableLab !

Thanks for your insightful thoughts. Regarding your points:
– Sustainability: We charge a fee for pool creation and tax on successful pools, so as long as we have traffic, we have revenue.
– Audit timing: Audits will be really expensive considering our smart contract codebase, and we still believe that contracts can be improved internally in the meantime until wave 2 funding.
– Admin powers: The team personally checks and verifies project legitimacy before deciding to take any canceling actions. It’s a last line of defense against projects that are clearly fraudulent.
– Wave 1 budget: We are currently looking into spending a portion of the money on brand assets (logos/banners/graphic materials) so that we can bring more value to the product itself, building trust for new customers. Dev time is approximately until the end of Q3, implementing a clearly aligned and professionally looking branding, with a ready-to-ship mainnet release.
– Go-to-market: Currently, no, we are focusing on building and solidifying our project before being able to attract customers. But we would love to see some insights from the community, as this would also be a key benefit for bringing more people into the Rootstock ecosystem.

Let me know of any thoughts of yours!

2 Likes
7

Hello people,

After re-evaluating the milestones with the community, we came up with the below updated Waves structure:

Wave 1 ($5k)
Testnet deployed
Logo/branding - FE enhancements

Wave 2 ($12.5k)
Fair launch - FE integration (contracts are ready)
Mainnet deployment - Q3 (wave completion on mainnet deployment)

Wave 1 funding will be upfront, following up with the rest after successful completion of their milestones

Wave 3 KPIs and costs will be re-evaluated based on end product and key-stakeholders guidance

1 Like
8

Hello Karapi,

Thank you for updating the proposal and reducing the grant amount. That said, the current version still lacks several key elements outlined in the General Guidelines for Grant Applications, which are necessary for us to properly evaluate the proposal.

Specifically, we’re looking for:

  • Clear, measurable milestones

  • Technical specifications

  • A defined value proposition for the Rootstock ecosystem

  • A GitHub repository

  • Background and relevant experience for both you and your cofounder

The current descriptions that you provided (e.g. “testnet deployed” and “logo/branding - FE enhancements”) are too vague. We’d appreciate more clarity and specificity, especially around what constitutes completion of each milestone. This level of detail will help us determine whether Wave 1 has been successfully completed and whether funding can be released.

We understand that you’re still in the early stages and have not yet deployed to testnet. However, the more precise and concrete you can be with your roadmap and KPIs, the easier it will be for delegates to evaluate your grant proposal — and the greater the likelihood it may pass.

9

I’d really like to see more effort put into building a strong business plan and a clear vision.

I.e. having a 5-10 mins (ideally closer to 5) killer pitch deck, showing things like the project’s vision, the problem it solves, the public it appeals to, why it’s better than other projects, why will it succeed, presenting the founder team, exactly what is the MVP, how much money it needs to execute it, how much time it’ll take, what’s the vision for the next 12-24 months, partnerships if any, current and projected valuation for 12-24 months, etc.
Also, spending some 6-12 months in an X (twitter) profile for the project, publishing good content, growing followers, gathering some 1k to 10k followers organically, posting campaigns and partnerships.

From my own previous experience, it’s very very hard to raise any funds nowadays without putting a huge effort into maturing your vision and business plan.
Also from experience, once you launch into the world, it’s cruel out there. There’s immense competition, dozens of active blockchains, thousands of dApps, and even a bullet-proof plan will need some adaptation, pivoting, adjustment.
That’s why you need to start with a bullet-proof plan.

If this is too hard right now, it may be a good idea to look for one of these accelerator programs that, over a few weeks, help kickstart your MVP and get well prepared to raise funds.

I’ll really look forward to supporting this project in the future, if you really get it polished.

10

We’re voting “Against” @karapi

11

Hello @404Gov ,

Project Stage : Testnet deployed

As mentioned in the start of the thread the project is already up and running on our website on testnet. Milestones are already redefined, but let me rephrase them to be easier to understand.

Wave 1:
Testnet deployment :white_check_mark:
Logo/branding - FE enhancements :hourglass_not_done:

(so looking for funding here to improve our logos/branding, not to finish any functionality, its already there)

Wave 2 - Completion will be done based on:
Fair launch functionality addition - FE integration (Smart contracts are ready)
Mainnet deployment - Q3

(Wave 2 completion, will be marked as done on mainnet deployment, with the Fair launch functionality working also as expected)

Also for the technical parts, github etc. Our codebase need to be audited, before it can be publicly available. Smart contracts auditing is planned for Wave 3 as explained, after marking the product ready with its mainnet deployment (which is what ultimately give value to the rootstock ecosystem)

Regards

12

Hey @ChronoTrigger ,

Thank you for your feedback! I will take into consideration the points for the pitch deck
Right now we are in the phase of kickstarting, rather than “maturing phase” to be honest.

We implemented this idea as our first publicly available dapp and would love rootstock to be the ecosystem to be applied to, mainly for its stability, in comparison to meme-token saturated networks, as we are looking for legit long-term token launches, not rug-pulls.

That said, securing this grant is really the key to us being able to pursue this vision full-time.

Again thanks for detailed and honest input!

1 Like
13

Hello @Curia
Let me know if the reply above makes the points of the current wave more clear.

Wave 1:
Testnet deployment :white_check_mark:
Logo/branding - FE enhancements :hourglass_not_done:
(so looking for funding here to improve our logos/branding, not to finish any functionality, its already there)

In any case we will consider your feedback and have next waves explained more crystal clear.

14

Thanks for the effort you’ve put into the proposal and for staying engaged with feedback, it’s clear you’re motivated to build on Rootstock, and that commitment is appreciated.

That said, I’m voting against the proposal in its current form.

Even after the revisions, it’s still missing several core elements outlined in the updated grant process, such as:

  • Clear, measurable milestones (especially for Wave 1)
  • A public GitHub or basic technical specs
  • A video pitch
  • A more concrete value proposition for Rootstock
  • Some level of public presence or traction

Without those, it’s hard to justify funding. But I think here’s potential here if you take the time to refine the plan and gain some early traction. You might consider exploring the Collective Rewards program as a way to get started and build trust with the community.

Happy to revisit this in the future if things move forward.

15

Hello everyone,

After 3 months since applying to grants program, we’re withdrawing our application. We’ve decided not to move forward on rootstock because the process felt more like roadblocks rather than a supportive environment for people that are kickstarting their project.

Despite numerous internal and external discussions and even after refining our milestones based on feedback from key stakeholders every time, the on-chain proposals became a platform for criticism rather than constructive guidance.

Ultimately, it seemed the program’s main objective was to generate traction rather than genuinely assist builders. We hope this feedback is taken into consideration for future submissions and for new builders participating in rootstock programs.

Best regards
Giorgos

16

Hi Giorgos,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts so openly. We genuinely appreciate the feedback, and it helps us improve the experience for everyone building in the Rootstock ecosystem and participating in the DAO.

We’ve seen how engaged Roketto has been with the community, and it’s clear that you put in real effort to incorporate feedback and iterate on your proposal. It’s disappointing to hear that you didn’t feel supported during the process, especially knowing your commitment to building on Rootstock. Please know that our intention is never to create unnecessary hurdles - we’re here to empower builders, not just to create noise, but to help meaningful projects grow.

That said, we’re a small team of four and, as we continue to grow, we often have to prioritise initiatives that present lower risk and clearer near-term impact. This can sometimes mean we don’t give early-stage projects the level of support they need - and that’s something we’re actively working to address.

As I’ve mentioned before, the community tends to respond better to projects with more structure and traction - those that aren’t starting entirely from scratch. In such a competitive space, it’s essential to build visibility and trust. Strengthening your social media presence, for example, can go a long way.

I know you’re still on testnet and navigating a trial-and-error phase; that’s part of the journey. But I really encourage you to keep pushing: take the product out into the world, gather real feedback, refine your vision, and come back stronger. We’d love to see how Roketto evolves, and hope to support you again when the time feels right.

Thanks again for being part of the community and for taking the time to share your experience.

Warm regards,
Georgia

3 Likes
17

Hey Giorgos,

I know this feeling as I have also launched a project and raised funds for over a year, and have been very frustrated as well.

While doing so, I learned no one gives away capital anymore to a “semi-ready” idea. Capital providers either want to see an MVP, or a 100% finished idea with everything on it: good quality business plan, website, future projections, outcome scenarios, target audience and appeal, competitor analysis, social presence and engagement, etc.
Gone is the decade of negative tax rates in which you could raise millions with a Powerpoint.

So that forms what I call a “founder conundrum”: you have the idea and just need capital for the MVP but Capital wants an MVP to give you money. That’s a little cruel but it’s a conundrum every founder needs to overcome nowadays.

My experience is founders rarely get feedback. At best they get a “no” and most times they just get ghosted, and it’s up to the founder to keep tweaking and experimenting and collecting scarce feedback and learning how the industry works. That’s why I tried to be the most attentive possible, being very clear on what I think was missing, as that’s the kind of feedback I wanted to have had. Please don’t take it as frivolous criticism.
I think if you continue your pursuit for raising capital you’ll soon realise we were in fact very attentive on giving feedback.

What I also learned is “early stage” means you have a validated MVP, which is counterintuitive.
For pre-MVP, or pre-early-stage projects, Accelerators might be a good fit. There are many Accelerator programs out there, some free, some equity based, some last 4 weeks, some last 4 months, they all provide experienced mentors and sometimes even technical teams to help you develop your MVP, pitch deck, and prepare to raise capital. The idea is you finish the program 100% ready for your first raise.

Please also understand RootstockCollective treasury has limited capital available, and our mission is to manage that capital carefully so that every project invested brings a return to the ecosystem so that theoretically even though we’re spending, the treasury capital never ends.

And lastly, if raising capital is hard, launching is even harder. If we support a project which is not really ready for launch yet, we might actually be setting the project up for failure.

We appreciate the feedback and we’re taking it seriously.
If you ever decide to review your strategy and come back and revisit, you’ll always be welcome.

5 Likes