Grants function as go-to-market when they are targeted at builders who create products your users need. This is fundamentally different from general-purpose grants that fund any project tangentially related to your ecosystem. Effective grant-as-GTM programs identify specific gaps — a missing DEX integration, a needed analytics dashboard, a mobile wallet — and fund teams to fill them, with clear deliverables and deadlines.

Optimism's RPGF and Arbitrum's STIP demonstrated that the most impactful grants fund teams that are already building, not teams that start from scratch in response to the grant. When structuring a grants program, prioritize teams with existing users and traction over teams with proposals and promises.