Founder Information

Name: Jollè (houseofdrey) Social Links:

• Farcaster: @houseofdrey Are you looking for co-founders?: No - I have a team including Herbertonic (art/design), Koh (website creation), and local employees for production

Project Overview

Project Title: VRBS Candles - More Than Light, It's Livelihood What does your project do?: VRBS Candles provides affordable, Vrbs-branded candles to churches (CCC, C&S, Catholic), mosques, and underprivileged homes in local communities across Nigeria. Born from a moment of stillness in a chaotic season, VRBS combines candlelight, intention, and impact. Each candle carries inspirational words to promote mindfulness, and every purchase supports health wellness, job creation, and community improvement.

Problem & Solution

What problem are you solving?: Many churches, mosques, and underprivileged families in local communities across Nigeria lack reliable access to affordable lighting solutions. Religious institutions need candles for services, and families without electricity depend on candles for basic lighting needs. How do people currently solve this problem?: They buy expensive imported candles or low-quality local alternatives that don't last long, creating ongoing financial burden for communities that can least afford it.

Revenue & Business Model

How will you make money?: Direct sales of candle packs at affordable prices What will you sell?: Vrbs-branded candle packs with inspirational words, sold at $0.87 per pack Do you currently have revenue?: No - still in planning phase, but have candle-making experience from years ago

Progress & Execution

How far along are you?: Planning and marketing phase with positive community response Are people already using your product?: Not yet - currently in setup phase What's your timeline to launch/completion?:

• Month 1: Workshop setup, equipment purchase, marketing
• Months 2-6: Production and sales of 1,500-2,000 packs monthly via markets, WhatsApp, and small shops How long have you been working on this?: Currently in planning phase with team assembled

Technical Details

What tech stack are you using?: Local iron molder for production (240 candles per batch), website by team member Koh, crypto payment integration Implementation plan: Set up workshop with iron molder equipment, source materials locally, establish distribution through markets and small shops, integrate crypto payments with Vrbs education quiz system What's a non-obvious detail about your project?: Each candle will feature inspirational words to promote mindfulness, and we'll offer discounts/gifts to customers who register on Vrbs and correctly answer questions about the ecosystem

Founder Background

Why are you uniquely qualified for this?: I have a BSc in Business Administration and proven track record executing community impact projects including JOLLÉ (FoodNouns DAO-funded hunger relief program), solar street light installations funded by Lil Nouns DAO and Vrbs DAO, and various environmental cleanup projects through Flows. How did you come up with this idea?: Building on my experience with community impact projects and seeing the daily need for affordable lighting in churches and homes. A Vrbs DAO proposal was already passed for this project, showing community support. Past achievement: Successfully distributed Jollof rice to thousands of people through JOLLÉ program and installed 40+ solar street lights across Nigerian communities, demonstrating ability to execute large-scale community projects.

Funding & Growth

How will you use the funding?: $250 for iron molder equipment, initial materials (wax, wicks), and packaging supplies to start production If you had 10x more funding, what would change?: Could set up multiple production workshops, hire more local employees, expand to other Nigerian states, and increase community impact programs Best-case outcome: Become the leading affordable candle supplier across Nigeria while onboarding thousands to crypto, creating sustainable livelihoods through job creation, and funding ongoing health wellness and community improvement projects with 50% of profits after break-even

Additional Information

How did you hear about this accelerator?: Through the Vrbs community - already had a Vrbs DAO proposal passed and needed additional funding for scaling Break-even plan: Need to sell 7,576 packs over 4-5 months based on current production capacity. With Vrbs Accelerator funding, production capacity will increase significantly, allowing faster break-even and higher monthly sales volumes. After break-even: 20% to Vrbs, 30% reinvested in Vrbs Candles, 50% to community projects Crypto onboarding strategy: Accept crypto payments and offer incentives (discounts/gifts) for customers who register on Vrbs and pass quiz about the ecosystem