Academic background: BE(Hons) ChemE, BSc Physics, Chemistry.
Career background:
Research science & engineering, product development, project management, quality systems.
Helped build and support the EA community across NZ and Australia on an EAIF Grant (2021-2022), and co-founded the EA Auckland University group in 2015.
Hobbies: Perfumery, bouldering/climbing, fire-dancing, chess and strategy board games
Professional generalist
Let’s meet! https://usemotion.com/meet/ivan-burduk/meeting
Appreciate the feedback here. Just to add on to what Robert said in the other comment:
You’re right that a successful referral is worth much more than a sticker or pin! When we were designing the program, we did consider more substantial rewards. But we also wanted to be careful not to incentivize gaming the system (which gets trickier the more valuable the reward), and make sure the program stayed focused on community-building rather than making it transactional.
That said, I’ve also noticed that people genuinely enjoy the small, fun merch/swag at EAG/x events—stickers, shirts, hoodies with EA-y designs, etc. And because the referral rewards will be unique, they might act as conversation starters or visible signals that quietly prompt others to refer as well.
It’s also worth noting, as mentioned in the post, that many people were already referring friends informally—this program just offers a small way to recognize and appreciate that effort! We’re hoping it serves more as a light prompt or nudge than a financial incentive.
Really appreciate you raising this, though—it’s helpful feedback, and we’ll keep it in mind as we move forward.