Bitcoin Forum

Out of curiosity, what is the single most important factor you choose when investing in an ICO?

I'd love to hear what influences you the most.  Comment if you want to rank the list or note the least most important factor.

I only care about its idea, aka, its potential real-world applications. 

Just want to suggest to add up more votes because i cant only choose a single thing when i do tend to choose up an ICO but i did click on the Idea mainly of the project that it would be applied and useful into the community. If i found out a nonsense project i do really skip on that one and search for another and also Transparency on the team is one of the things i do seek too next is whitepaper/roadmap.

But execution > idea.  Isn't traction more important?

There is absolutelly no single answer to this question.

There are some good answers you can vote for but I would never decide on a single factor.

The team is a important factor but this being a very young industry not many people have a proven track record.
 
Its always a multiple of variables.

Gr E

For me the most important factor is Idea.
But few other factors are also important, like how it I'll be executed. For example I can propose a coin to fuel cheap space tourism project, idea sounds great, but what if I do not have good team to execute it ? if the team is never able to convert idea to real product, no point investing into it.
Another thing is market potential, if there is no market there is no point developing and offering product.
Another one which is also related to market potential is how this potential is converted to real value, you can call it efficiency, like how much value I return for every satoshi invested. No point investing if dev is asking a billion in contribution for a product of market potential of few millions.
Social sentiment is also one of the major factors.

The financial might of the team behind it. We all care actually only about profit, let's be honest.

If the team is known to be able to get the token listed on big exchanges, plus 1.

If the team is known to be able to pump failing price, plus 1.

If the team can raise millions, plus 1.

You forgot the marketcap.
Usually I look for project with low marketcap but lot potential.
I'm not investing in those company that raise 200M only for "words"   ;D ;D ;D

Idea the most important. I won't invest money in project that seems to be dead even before it is started. Of course it is not the only factor, but I start usually with idea. It will be interesting to see other votes.

Where is the all of the above button? An ICO really isnt anything by just being an idea. Nor is it anything by having a whitepaper or roadmap. Even the best team will be complete SOL if they do not have the first 3 mentioned. You literally need most if not all of things mentioned in your list. Otherwise, GL being anything in this market. your good gamed before you even started. not to mention wreak of scam the whole way

I agree and wish I could.  But unfortunately, the poll doesn't allow it.  Otherwise, I would have made enabled multiple selections.

Amen!  I completely agree with you.  But I did want to isolate it down to what people thought was most important to them (and because the poll only allows one selection).

Idea is not very important, the most important factor is team, Problem Being Addressed and then Prototype because I don't like companies coming with just idea and raising millions. For example, aventus has just released its alpha version before crowdsale.

The team is not the most important factor for me because even if they are trusted, there's always a chance that an ICO will fail.  That being said, roadmap and idea is the most important factor in picking an ICO to invest into. Even if there is a trusted or good team, if the idea and roadmap is not laid up well there is a high chance of an ICO failing.

In my opinion the Idea and its usecases are the most important factor.
In order to be a very successful project, it needs to be useful, adopted and used.

too many factors shall be taken into consideration, but the most important is no doubt the team. good team can gain many advantages, and a bad team will do nothing even with a excellent condition

I'm vote team. The important factor that I choose when investing in ICO in my opinion is team. Because if ICO has a good team and experienced will be able to develop ICO. And with a good team, ICO will definitely have a future and a lot of users because it has an traction. The successful ICO I believe there is a good team behind it.

Right, execution is definitely important. The problem is when you are investing ICOs, it is hard to evaluate the execution of the team since the project is still in the ICO stage. 

But isn't that the point?  I think the industry mentality needs to change.  Instead of accepting and investing millions in ICO's with no product, we should ensure that we measure results and traction with an actual product and not just a whitepaper.

Even in 3 - 6 months, a team should be able to develop the concept, whitepaper, website, legal incorporation, and a proof of concept... which in turn enables you to evaluate execution and reduces your risk.