What do you look for when investing in an ICO?

[Grim149x]

I first look at the legitimacy of the project and the team. Next is the idea if it's unique then the better it is for me. Especially if it will be utilized by a lot people.

[1714694232]

1714694232

[1714694232]

1714694232

[1714694232]

1714694232

[seanavery11]

it's good but before deciding to invest first learn the intent and purpose of the project let you not wrong in choosing project to invest. learn everything from roadmap, whitepaper, team and others

Yes you have a point and I think you are correct but for me if I wanted to invest in an ico I think the best thing to do is to really know the info about them most especially their past works or if one of their members' past works are done successfully and that is one of the most important thing to know when investing, but for me even though that it is only one advice that I can share I think that is the best choice.

[sallydavisy]

Main characteristics of the ICO: experienced developing team, working with community, high-quality technical documentation, adequate roadmap.

[vibingpositively]

Just one to add to the tips already given and that is check out the telegram group. First if there is no telegram group, then it is a no go for sure. Second if there is a telegram group, check the size because often times that indicates how many people will spend on the ICO. There could be some bots present, but there is nothing you can do at that point.

[Andreas1986]

Just one to add to the tips already given and that is check out the telegram group. First if there is no telegram group, then it is a no go for sure. Second if there is a telegram group, check the size because often times that indicates how many people will spend on the ICO. There could be some bots present, but there is nothing you can do at that point.

Sorry but telegram followers/participants is something fictitious
Many ICOs if not all of them are "paying" in many ways for having the telegram group increased in number

Check something yourself, in a "big" number telegram group join and check how many people are writing continuously and simultaneously excluding the admins   

[stigmacryptonight]

for me to start investing in ICO, is indeed the first of the whitepaper aspects, and the two technologies used by the project, and the three ecosystems.
Everything is important, and no less important is the team formed and the advisors

[Gekkoo]

First, the most important aspect in an ICO is the transparency of the project proving that the Benefit is necessary or that will aggregate in some system or platform. Second is to meet Dev, the team and everyone who has been in charge of the project, and finally, the level of disclosure and amount of access and discussion about the project and its theme. These three basics are essential to choosing a quality ICO.

[Jaycee99]

WHEN LOOKING FOR AN ICO

1. You should see what is the ICOs porpuse to the community.

Situation is when you ICO start or reach sof cap

Here you should think if people will get interested

Note: risk should be in this situation also if ICO dis not meet or in short failed the ICO team will return investments and/or burn them like it never existed.

2. Seeing if it reach sof cap it has the possibility to be successful.

This the moment when you are working for there bitcointalk bounty campaigns. 

[myigitcoin]

of course first thing to look is projects reality second one is team and advisor. actually advisors are more important than team because advisors have to lose they dont want to support bad project.

[dottom]

Actual working product.

Ignore all the "advisors" that's just PR fluff - unless the advisors are really poor then be worried they couldn't find half decent shills.

The "team" is also suspect in many cases. There may be only one main person running the ICO and everyone else is just paid in tokens or a consulting fee to be listed. Unless the team members are working full time on the project, they aren't a team member but just there to (trick) win your confidence.

[maereglapo]

Hi everyone

New to this forum but I see a lot of veteran advice here. Lately I've been researching, tracking and dabbling in a ICOs. I'm wondering what everyone's opinion is on ICOs, in general, and what your guidelines for investment might be. Note, this isn't a standard "should I invest in btc or X, Y or Z thread, but more of a place to share some strategies.

Personally I always start with the whitepaper and research it and its merit. If it sounds reasonable, I try to answer the question of "what problem does this ICO solve?" - is there a need for it, or, is it simply applying blockchain to some aspect of some industry for no real reason.

Finally, I look at the team. Have I heard of anyone, can I find them on twitter or LinkedIn, etc.

Anyone have other strategies they are willing to share? Looking forward to the discussion!

Add some verifications,google their names and their relatives,work background if these informations are accurate that would be legit people who wont scam investors,but if one of them has unknown identity you shouldnt be taking the risk,check the github account of the project if there are no development activities it might a shit project or worst scam.

[NextWorldChamp]

A well balanced and decent SWOT as well as the team experience and the usability of the final product.

[otandelapaz]

Hi everyone

New to this forum but I see a lot of veteran advice here. Lately I've been researching, tracking and dabbling in a ICOs. I'm wondering what everyone's opinion is on ICOs, in general, and what your guidelines for investment might be. Note, this isn't a standard "should I invest in btc or X, Y or Z thread, but more of a place to share some strategies.

Personally I always start with the whitepaper and research it and its merit. If it sounds reasonable, I try to answer the question of "what problem does this ICO solve?" - is there a need for it, or, is it simply applying blockchain to some aspect of some industry for no real reason.

Finally, I look at the team. Have I heard of anyone, can I find them on twitter or LinkedIn, etc.

Anyone have other strategies they are willing to share? Looking forward to the discussion!

I look for originality, feasibility and usefulness of the project's product or service. These are the characteristics most investors are looking and willing to take chances for.
If the product or service it provides will be very useful, the tokens for that project goes up in the market. Specially if the token is a utility token.
I also look for these characteristics because original products are created by a team who really put effort and knowledge on it. Other projects are just copy cat of previous one and usually ended as a scam.

[epidose]

I'm wondering what everyone's opinion is on ICOs, in general, and what your guidelines for investment might be. Note, this isn't a standard "should I invest in btc or X, Y or Z thread, but more of a place to share some strategies.

Personally I always start with the whitepaper and research it and its merit. If it sounds reasonable, I try to answer the question of "what problem does this ICO solve?" - is there a need for it, or, is it simply applying blockchain to some aspect of some industry for no real reason.

Finally, I look at the team. Have I heard of anyone, can I find them on twitter or LinkedIn, etc.

Anyone have other strategies they are willing to share? Looking forward to the discussion!

Since the first time there was an ICO, I always skeptical about it. I just dob't get it why people are pouring money into a conceptual whitepaper with no working product. What's worse is that most of these ICO died shortly after the distribution of the tokens and the product will never be made. I think only 1 in a 100 ICO product make it and get released to the market and have an actual use. It's even stranger that over time ICO only becomes more popular, at least so far. I thought this is unhealthy for the economy as most people just using it as a gambling to make more bucks instead of investing for better and innovative technology. I really hope ICO scene will get better in the future or simply just ends the frenzy.

My strategy is not much different from yours, it's just I don't start with the whitepaper. In fact, I rarely read any whitepaper because I could already tell that some ICOs are just there to make quick buck and not here to stay. I only read the ones that I deem reasonable and promising.

Definitely agree with you, and 1 in 100 is probably even being generous. I don't really see the 'blind' investment strategy (of some people) too strange though, as ultimately, it's basically just venture capitalism/tech start-ups. However, its definitely a strange combination in that it's a start up without any type of prototype, so something more akin to an inventor just trying to raise capital to make their own something.

thanks for sharing!

[Bit Tuka]

As for me, I first read their whitepaper so I can check if the altcoin has potential. Then, I check who the admins or campaign managers are so I can check if they are trustworthy.

[epidose]

Just one to add to the tips already given and that is check out the telegram group. First if there is no telegram group, then it is a no go for sure. Second if there is a telegram group, check the size because often times that indicates how many people will spend on the ICO. There could be some bots present, but there is nothing you can do at that point.

That's a good point; I think telegram is definitely important, as well as the other social media platforms (Twitter and then LinkedIn for looking at the team). Thanks!

[Akash1243]

As there are many ICOs which are scam so you have to see that whether the ICO you are investing in is legit and can make profits for you.Read the whitepaper, and reseach about the ICO's cap value,team behind the coin, the idea and the reviews from the people can give you basic understanding abiut the coins then you can decide whether to invest or not.

[HashieNewb]

I first look at the legitimacy of the project and the team. Next is the idea if it's unique then the better it is for me. Especially if it will be utilized by a lot people.

Some of the ICO's that get built after 2014 have improved their visual graphics. They can make a scam look genuine if they wanted it to look that way.

[epidose]

Just one to add to the tips already given and that is check out the telegram group. First if there is no telegram group, then it is a no go for sure. Second if there is a telegram group, check the size because often times that indicates how many people will spend on the ICO. There could be some bots present, but there is nothing you can do at that point.

Sorry but telegram followers/participants is something fictitious
Many ICOs if not all of them are "paying" in many ways for having the telegram group increased in number

Check something yourself, in a "big" number telegram group join and check how many people are writing continuously and simultaneously excluding the admins   

Good counterpoint, probably a fairly easy thing to fudge. In saying that, and I hope you just take this as an open discussion, but I noticed your signature contains ICO info with a listed telegram. What are your thoughts regarding any 'proof of merit' in Twitter (also listed in your sig). Thanks again for the counter argument

[epidose]

Main characteristics of the ICO: experienced developing team, working with community, high-quality technical documentation, adequate roadmap.

Working with the community is a great point, thanks! Some exposure within the community is a pretty surefire way to know if an ICO has any real merit, otherwise, they've probably already been called out by someone.