What are the 3 thing you look for in an ICO?

[Quidat]

What about established products? Do you care if the project is already working or it's just a roadmap in a whitepaper?

Yes, it is definitely MUCH BETTER if the project already has some working software.  That is even better than having code in Github.

Very few ICOs have working software.  Most of them have simply put together a nice looking website.

Before investing in an ICO I always look into their product if they have. Because in this way we can determine if their product is good. But mostly here in ICO project most checking is the whitepaper, roadmap and who funded their project. The most thing to check is how they can create a market strategy to attract investors because this is one of the most important also.

Marketing does really give a big role on promoting the project because no matter how good it is if it doesn't have a proper marketing then it would still fail because investors wont really see it. Real world products is one of the things I do really check first when I do see a particular ICO.If I do see that it is good and does have potential then I usually put up funds on those projects.

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[imutlinda]

The first thing I see is the prospect of the ico listed on the whitepaper. After that I glanced at the team that handles ico whether it is trusted or not. Then look at some developments during pre-ico. If the pre-ico in the beginning of good in my opinion the future will be able to grow into big. I think that is enough to see an ico that will Growing the future

[Daisuke]

As the question reads.  For me:

-  The concept/vision - is it innovative?  does it solve a real world problem?  is the problem it solves something I am interested in?
-  The team - Size and experience.
-  How the coin relates to the concept.  Is the coin a key part of the platform?  Are other payment methods available to users, etc.

For me first Im looking for the devs. Im researching about their data's and if they are real or not. Next is the fundaments and the project. then the product if it is possible or not.

[melted349]

The first thing I see is the prospect of the ico listed on the whitepaper. After that I glanced at the team that handles ico whether it is trusted or not. Then look at some developments during pre-ico. If the pre-ico in the beginning of good in my opinion the future will be able to grow into big. I think that is enough to see an ico that will Growing the future

Thats what i look for when researching some ico. I am reading the white paper and more research about that project after that when i know that it is ok so thats it.

[CUNÉGONDE]

team background
team vesting token
project significance

[Marco Ambrusini]

one of the first things to consider is ;
--the team and what they bringing on board
--the project road map
--the feasibilty of the product or service

[Champ1]

#1 existing prototype / product <--- this everytime... are you investing in a piece of paper or an existing proof of concept?!

[LouVandetta]

First, and the most important thing is their whitepaper.
Understanding its project mission and vision and their roadmap.
The team behind their project and how serious they are.
Also its prospect, that's all.

Since nowadays lots of ICOs scammed, so we need to be more careful and do some research.

[Sidas_Crew669]

Before investing in an ICO I always look into their product if they have. Because in this way we can determine if their product is good. But mostly here in ICO project most checking is the whitepaper, roadmap and who funded their project. The most thing to check is how they can create a market strategy to attract investors because this is one of the most important also.

Many ICO projects have no evidence that they can program or develop software.  Many of them say in their bios that they have software experience with titles like CTO or Developer, but there is no software or website that we can use, to confirm that they are indeed developers.

There are indeed some of the ico who have sufficient levels of harm to investors who take the path to the ico position. But one thing we did have to hold off all ico, that if a team is in the ICO is very solid I'm sure everything will end up at a huge profit. Because a solid team can provide a lot of fun things for the future, even plans that they create will be much better and more profitable for investors. keep thinking positively and always do an analysis.

[phr0stbyt3]

I bareky invest in ico because most the claims are promises they make in their whitepaper are not applicable in terms of raising money.
• I look for any real life effect of the money raised like launching a app , a business or anything which has a affect on the physical world and not only on bitcoin world meaning many gambling sites are doing ico but that is again development for their bitcoin gambling site so very less people get introduced to bitcoin
• I also look of their past history and their existence in the real world weather all the claims they are making is true or false

[jbajde]

First two steps are a quick glance at the ICO, to avoid wasting time with bad fundamentals:

1. I first look at the field it is trying to change and the main idea of the token (whitepaper). If I don't think there is potential here, I don't waste any more time.

2. Next I check how the token is used:
Is it central to the functioning of the platform / i.e. is this something that wouldn't work without a token? If not ICO is just a way to raise money, so not worth it. If token is only for raising money and handing out profits / revenue share - this token can be classified as a security, so exchanges will hesitate to list it (SEC issues) and I avoid it.

After this it is time to look at the project in more detail:

3. The team + advisors:
Past work, experience, international team? Unknown team with no experience / proof of past work is a big red flag.

4. Timeline for development and working prototype:
- How far along is the project? Avoid projects just starting out (ICO at a very early stage) unless willing to take additional risk.
- Have they met deadlines for previous steps? If not may want to avoid project - unrealistic planning shows a dysfunctional team.
- And maybe most important in this section - do they have a working prototype before ICO? If not question whether they are really able to develop on promises. I usually avoid ICOs with no working prototype.

5. ICO details:
- What is the marketcap for ICO? No marketcap, no way If the marketcap is very large consider what marketcap it would have to reach for you to get a desired return (example to reach 10x n initial investment). Is this marketcap realistic for such a project?
- What share of coins are being sold in ICO? Preferably at least 50%. How is the rest distributed and what are the proceed of ICO to be used for?
- Presale? What kind of discount for presale and how many coins were sold? If too cheap and too large share of all coins you can probably expect presale participants to dump once token starts trading on exchanges.
- How is participation structured? Whitelist and individual caps? Will the ICO be used to guarantee wide adoption and decentralisation? Or are they just hunting for whales?
- And finally are you looking for a quick flip or will you look to hold long term because you are a true believer in this project? I invest only in project that I believe in long term, because this is whee the real money is made 

This are the basics.

After this, try their slack and other channels to get a feel for the team - ask the difficult questions and see how they respond. This way you will see how thought out the project really is. Are they defensive and avoid answering or are they willing to explain things? Great sign of a good team!

[VanDeinsberg12]

First two steps are a quick glance at the ICO, to avoid wasting time with bad fundamentals:

1. I first look at the field it is trying to change and the main idea of the token (whitepaper). If I don't think there is potential here, I don't waste any more time.

2. Next I check how the token is used:
Is it central to the functioning of the platform / i.e. is this something that wouldn't work without a token? If not ICO is just a way to raise money, so not worth it. If token is only for raising money and handing out profits / revenue share - this token can be classified as a security, so exchanges will hesitate to list it (SEC issues) and I avoid it.

After this it is time to look at the project in more detail:

3. The team + advisors:
Past work, experience, international team? Unknown team with no experience / proof of past work is a big red flag.

4. Timeline for development and working prototype:
- How far along is the project? Avoid projects just starting out (ICO at a very early stage) unless willing to take additional risk.
- Have they met deadlines for previous steps? If not may want to avoid project - unrealistic planning shows a dysfunctional team.
- And maybe most important in this section - do they have a working prototype before ICO? If not question whether they are really able to develop on promises. I usually avoid ICOs with no working prototype.

5. ICO details:
- What is the marketcap for ICO? No marketcap, no way If the marketcap is very large consider what marketcap it would have to reach for you to get a desired return (example to reach 10x n initial investment). Is this marketcap realistic for such a project?
- What share of coins are being sold in ICO? Preferably at least 50%. How is the rest distributed and what are the proceed of ICO to be used for?
- Presale? What kind of discount for presale and how many coins were sold? If too cheap and too large share of all coins you can probably expect presale participants to dump once token starts trading on exchanges.
- How is participation structured? Whitelist and individual caps? Will the ICO be used to guarantee wide adoption and decentralisation? Or are they just hunting for whales?
- And finally are you looking for a quick flip or will you look to hold long term because you are a true believer in this project? I invest only in project that I believe in long term, because this is whee the real money is made 

This are the basics.

After this, try their slack and other channels to get a feel for the team - ask the difficult questions and see how they respond. This way you will see how thought out the project really is. Are they defensive and avoid answering or are they willing to explain things? Great sign of a good team!

If the devs are trying to explain clearly about their project and can answer even the harder question regarding the summarize of their project, i always assume that the devs are really serious about the project. if you found that some of devs who trying to start an ICO are lack of these thing. better to stay away. but, some of the devs maybe not responsive because they are busy. but will eventually answering all your questions.

[coingrow]

I cannot stress this more, No.1 is the whitepaper. Always look at the whitepaper. If you can understand what the team wants to do, and like the concept, consider putting money - else no use. No2. is the team. Look at the engagement that they are having with the community, also look at how old are their public profile like linkedin. QUtm CEO changed his name recently before doing qtum, he has been known for doing frauds in past- so do look into the history of people involved. No3 thing that I check is the community around the project.

This is bang on the money in my eyes. Here is what i would look for in an ICO, a little more than 3, but they are all interconnected.

- Strong team - Both in development team and also the CEO's / marketing (People focus too much on the developers which is important but not everything. no point having a great team to create something, if nobody can advertise it and push the startup in the right direction.)
- Realistic vision - not aiming too high or if they do not reach their target everyone who invested will be disappointed
- Solid whitepaper - Well thought out, shows realistic goals, a strong good vision and a plan of action
- Strong social media presence - A social media that shows they are connected with everyone
- Good customer support - Shows they care, and they have invested time and money into making sure the average investor can ask questions
- Good website - A business who is willing to throw time and effort into a good website are less likely to be a scam
- finite supply - ICO's with no cap can be dangerous and can simply just damage their own coin by releasing more for more investment.
-Market they are getting involved with - Is this a new market? or a dying one? who controls the market?

Finally
- Good concept and catchy name - A good ethos and a name that makes them stand out. Personally i would avoid anything that is something "coin".

If these are in place, then it's a good sign. I am looking at Crowdholding at the minute, seems like a good upcoming ICO (They are in their pre-sale). I like this one because it is about co-creation (Which i am interested in, which also helps and i would advise) and also you can get more for your investment as they are in their pre-sale.

https://ico.crowdholding.com/

Based on the above points mentioned by you and myself, I am putting my money on Blackmooncrypto!

Their vision is to eliminate black box  investments. They have mentioned this in their whitepaper and many other places. This stuck out to me significantly. If you are familiar with some unethical strategies that are implied is the regular financial system, you will know that  building a portfolio of lets say questionable loans and then selling those assets to a pension fund is the kind of behavior that was a major contributor to the 2008 financial crisis. Because selling funds to pension funds that you know are toxic to some unwitting buyer, this is what you might call black boxes. This happens when local municipalities who are not professional investors and do not understand how the investment funds work and is structured and hence they make poor decisions. So creating transparency on what is in each of these funds that are available is exactly what blackmooncrypto is focusing on and I think they should get credit for this.

By providing the investors with tools to get detailed information about what is inside their funds that they are about to invest in, the investors are more aware and can hence make much more informed decisions. More awareness investors have, more better decisions they can make.

More details of the project can be found at:

https://blackmooncrypto.com/
https://t.me/blackmooncrypto

[qualialibre]

As the question reads.  For me:

-  The concept/vision - is it innovative?  does it solve a real world problem?  is the problem it solves something I am interested in?
-  The team - Size and experience.
-  How the coin relates to the concept.  Is the coin a key part of the platform?  Are other payment methods available to users, etc.

These are good basic things to lookup.
Personally, I check for 2nd degree data.
 -What is the history of the peoples involved. Sometimes you find bogus dev, then it's a big no-no.
 -Is it a cloned coin/tech : ex: ZEN -> ZEC, PASL -> PASC. Big no-no
 -Is the whitepaper bullshitt based. AKA if you're reading the white paper or the website and it feel more like an car/appliance adds, big no-no
 -Is it backed by knowledgable peoples. aka KyberNetwork is backed by Vitalik -> Big YES-YES !

good luck

[mvillar]

• I look for any real life effect of the money raised like launching a app , a business or anything which has a affect on the physical world and not only on bitcoin world [...].
• I also look of their past history and their existence in the real world weather all the claims they are making is true or false

I like the way you think. I've seen too many ICOs I just can't believe someone could invest in the claims made.

[StockBet.com]

Those are very good points:

(1) Is it easy to understand? A lot of bad ICOs hide behind vague and technical mumbo-jumbo. There's no excuse for this.

(2) Team: Have they built any other tech products? Where are they based? Will they suffer real consequences if it's a scam?

Quite often, I don't understand their technical mumbo-jumbo, and I've worked in the technology industry for many years.

Some ICO teams are in countries that are corrupt. So, don't expect their governments to help you out if the team members are corrupt.  You also have to wonder if the country's culture of corruption is representative of the people in the country.

[julslet84]

we can count basically;
Good, usefull original idea and project.
Experienced and successful team
Realistic and exact whitepaper + general desing
but except those, there are so many things should be exist an ICO.

[Selmor]

First of all the team. I start research about each team member. After that i read the whitepaper to check the idea and the form. Also the website should look professional.

[kamikadze69]

I think the vision, purpose and team are the most vital. so you should be able to choose it sharply.

[hajimasan]

As the question reads.  For me:

-  The concept/vision - is it innovative?  does it solve a real world problem?  is the problem it solves something I am interested in?
-  The team - Size and experience.
-  How the coin relates to the concept.  Is the coin a key part of the platform?  Are other payment methods available to users, etc.

I think this is the truth that we always see these three things mostly .
Here the first point in the OP post that the vision/concept that should be unique , if the concept of the new project will be like the old then i don't think it will be better option to have that coin .
And Second factor of the better team work and also experienced team work because the activities by the team shows that what they are doing and also increasing the popularity by taking part about the coin news .
And the last factor about the coin is use at different different platforms . Here I can give the example of the ATC coin , and i found that coin was listed at 4-5 shopping sites and also the team of the this coin making new new payment options , so this coin now jumped to about 60×times , so here you can expect that how much these things have more importance in our life of trading and investment work .