# Hello from Horizon! ## What a busy month July has been! There’s so much to catch up on so let’s jump right in! ## Horizon Credits Update First, we recognize many of you have been eagerly anticipating news regarding the Horizon Credit system. We thank you for your patience, and, today, we're excited to announce an evolution in our approach that's designed to reward your active participation within our community: a "use to earn" credit system. What does this mean? Starting soon, Horizon founders will be able to earn up to $1,000 worth of NEAR Horizon credits for engaging on our platform - ranging from creating and completing a profile, to attending NEAR Horizon events, to actively engaging with our community. Our goal is to ensure the more time and energy you invest in using the NEAR Horizon dApp, the more you are able to access and use the services offered. Please refer to [NEAR Horizon Terms and Conditions](https://near.org/nearhorizon.near/widget/Index?tab=legal) for more details. We're currently in the process of outlining all the qualifying behaviors that can earn you Horizon credits. Stay tuned for more details, but rest assured, our aim is to make this process simple, convenient, and beneficial to your journey as a founder in the NEAR ecosystem.We believe that by rewarding active engagement, we can encourage a deeper sense of community and mutual growth. We're delighted about the possibilities this direction offers, and we look forward to more activity and participation on the NEAR Horizon platform. ## Partnerships This brings us to our next update. In Q3, we're launching our Partner Programs with Outlier Ventures Basecamp, MLH Fellowship, and Encode Club. Teams participating in these programs will be eligible to receive larger credit amounts, a move that amplifies our commitment to fostering a dynamic and collaborative community. We’re already seeing great results from this initiative with the MLH Web3 BUILD Hacking event that kicked off at the start of the month. 890 people registered for the event, and 322 participated. The weekend resulted in 34 project submissions and 14 Web3 Incubator Fellows were selected. The Fellowship kicked off last week, and the following teams were selected to participate: * [NEAR IP](https://devpost.com/software/nearip): An intellectual property NFT marketplace * [Transpact](https://devpost.com/software/transparent-contract): Tamper-proof and transparent records of contractual agreements * [MediBridge](https://devpost.com/software/medibridge-7ky93d): Empowering Healthcare through secure decentralization * [StoreHub](https://devpost.com/software/store-hub): enabling business owners to effortlessly launch their businesses online with a single click. We’re so proud and excited to continue working with these teams through the Fellowship program. ## Events We hosted another successful networking event last month at Collision in Toronto. Jarrod Barned moderated a panel discussion with industry experts from Press Start, GCR, and Decasonic. Stay tuned for segments and highlights from this insightful discussion on the current state of the ecosystem, and what Web3 founders can do to survive the bear. Finally, last week we headed to ETHCC where our very own Bianca Momand participated in an investor roundtable at SheFi Summit, and where we hosted the second half of NEAR@ETHCC Founders Day, featuring content geared specifically towards startups at various stages of growth. Alex Matsuo from AWS Web3 shared a bit about how AWS programs support Web3 entrepreneurs. Jahed Momand from Cerulean Ventures gave the audience some simple tips to improve pitching and decks. Max Mersch (Fabric Ventures), Maggie Love (SheFi), and Bilal Al Alamy (PyratzLabs) discussed the next big use case in Web3. Richard Muirhead (Fabric Ventures) and Vanessa Grellet (Aglaé) discussed their thoughts on why Web3 is primed for mass adoption. To finish off the day, we had a quick pitch competition. Wrapping up the week, Laura Cunningham and Jarrod Barnes attended Decasonic’s Web3 investor summit in Chicago, where Laura contributed to an insightful Founder/VC roundtable discussing the challenges Founders face in today’s market. We’d like to thank these teams for participating: [Bubblemaps.io](http://bubblemaps.io/), [BillyApp.live](http://billyapp.live/), [Kboom.gg](http://kboom.gg/), [addressable.io](http://addressable.io/), [zealy.io](https://mailtrack.io/trace/link/01dc17be2476a3988ea71d6415a9c84d89f7534e?url=https%3A%2F%2Fzealy.io&userId=9822391&signature=cbc6d77ee6934b4b), [Vself.app](http://vself.app/). With a big congratulations to BillyApp, Addressable, and Zealy! ## Don’t Forget! Our [Founder Experiences](https://lu.ma/u/usr-5oZHY9dEDbDcaHY) happen every Friday, so be sure to [RSVP](https://lu.ma/u/usr-5oZHY9dEDbDcaHY) to attend. Each week offers something a bit different, from demo days to AMA’s featuring verified Horizon contributors, general office hours, and more! One final housekeeping note, **July 29-August 4th** NEAR Foundation will be closing for a holiday week, so we might be a little quiet and slow to respond, but we’ll be back, refreshed, and ready to continue revolutionizing founder support! **_Disclosure: The information provided by Horizon is for informational purposes only and Horizon Credit does not constitute a financial instrument, an offer to buy or sell securities, or any other form of investment, nor does it create any form of investment contract or relationship. Horizon does not provide investment advice or recommendations regarding the purchase or sale of crypto assets, securities, financial products, or any other investment vehicle. Any information or materials provided by Horizon are for general educational and informational purposes only. Furthermore, any service providers mentioned are not intended as a recommendation. Any decision to invest or engage in any product is solely at your discretion._**