Fund raising through an ICO

[zero9119]

It is possible. After creating the coin for such a company and deciding on which blockchain to adopt, people who invest in the coin can have shares depending on the amount of that particular coin they owe. If the company has achieves much success with their project , demand for their coin goes up and consequently prices go up too.

If this happens, ICO investments will become safer and more efficient. I also participated in many ICO projects and I felt very interested in this idea. If there is an organization or type of fund to insure your ICO investments, it is great.

[yojodojo21]

Fund raising through an ICO is really Possible but the more investors you pull and be a part of that Project the more stock holders there will be, but if you are lacking money then that would be the way you must do in order for that project to run, but it is better into a certain group to have atleast founded their capital by their own money so that they will not be dependent to the investors, and that is why some ICO eventually doesn't succeed. depends also on marketing strategy.

[Lanatsa]

Fund raising through an ICO is really Possible but the more investors you pull and be a part of that Project the more stock holders there will be, but if you are lacking money then that would be the way you must do in order for that project to run, but it is better into a certain group to have atleast founded their capital by their own money so that they will not be dependent to the investors, and that is why some ICO eventually doesn't succeed. depends also on marketing strategy.

Case to case basis if you do plan to make use of investors money or on your own money came from your own pocket.Sometimes or there are really instances where possible investors would understand such situation that you havent any start up amounts but will definitely depending if they do saw that your project or plan is really worth to invest on.Sometimes trust and potential profits and developments will matter.If they would able to see how good this thing is then they might able to invest without any hesitations.

[HPQ.IO]

Is it possible for a company to raise funds through an ICO even if it is not a startup?    For example: Say company X manufactures chocolates but now it wants to further expand its operations and needs funds for it, can it opt for ICO instead of a Private Equity fund or a Bank Debt?
Please help I am a complete newbie and this concept is confusing me a lot 
Thanks

Yes, there are cases of successful fundraising via ICO for industrial projects (like zrcoin... And ours will join this list soon https://hpq.io  ) and, moreover, if the company is not a startup and has some history it will be easier to raise because investors will feel more confident with existing business and proven business model and track records.

[tailwate07]

Yes its possible some ICO's are already have their products/services before their conduct an ICO and I think its good to do this thing if your business is good. ICO is really meant for this thing, aside from putting an imagination business, I believe more investors will come if there's a business already.

Fund raising and that too through ICO is indeed a very good idea and that this is something which can not only help you in having more money at the end but it will also help more number of people to know more about bitcoin and crypto currencies and that they will surely be able to have a chance of making some good earnings by participating in any of the campaign or by investing their money into ICO.

[Jazz1993]

Okay so if I go ahead with ICO I would prefer security tokens over utility tokens as utility tokens don't suit my business model. But do security tokens like conventional equity shares offer ownership in the company to the holders? and how will they be different from equity shares if I anyway have to comply with the SEC regulations?

[HPQ.IO]

Okay so if I go ahead with ICO I would prefer security tokens over utility tokens as utility tokens don't suit my business model. But do security tokens like conventional equity shares offer ownership in the company to the holders? and how will they be different from equity shares if I anyway have to comply with the SEC regulations?

Well, here you do need a good lawyer and/or choose an ICO-friendly, flexible jurisdiction for your ICO. It is possible to find a really good scheme which will be 100% legal.

[Jazz1993]

But what about my other question? Do security tokens give ownership to the holders like equity shares?

[HPQ.IO]

Okay so if I go ahead with ICO I would prefer security tokens over utility tokens as utility tokens don't suit my business model. But do security tokens like conventional equity shares offer ownership in the company to the holders? and how will they be different from equity shares if I anyway have to comply with the SEC regulations?

If you plan to give out some equity to backers you can have a holding company or one of shareholders / owners at ICO-friendly jurisdiction with easy (but still solid) shareholding relations. That company will have an ownership in your project and backers will have shares in that company.

If it is a buy-back scheme (where you sell the tokens/coins and later buy them back at a higher price) a good option is to have a different company for such ICO in suitable ICO-friendly jurisdiction. That company will collect the funds, provide a loan to your project, and after your project repays the loan and interest distributes the funds again via coins/tokens buy back.

You can also do this via main holding company in ICO-friendly jurisdiction directly, of course with all needed paperwork for compliance and to prevent any issues with banks and regulators.

[HPQ.IO]

But what about my other question? Do security tokens give ownership to the holders like equity shares?

It depends on how well your paperwork is done and whether your jurisdiction considers it legal or not.

[moonblocks]

ICO's are more for technology projects particularly blockchain based

You could try crowdfunding platforms like Kickstart or similar to raise funds for this sort of purpose

[gamalzour]

Indeed, any company can just start off an ICO rather than coming from a start up but most of them would just resort to stock issuance as it would be a better overall outreach. For most of the part, ICOs are always linked up with start ups as they need funding for the development of their project and it is much easier to raise funds through it rather than by other means.

It all depends on how motivated you are and that how much knowledge you do have regarding the things related to bitcoin and the crypto currencies. In my opinion, investing in ICO is far more secure and beneficial than that of starting off an ICO. You need to be sure that you are doing the right thing and that you need to take guidance from the experts as well before making any final decision.

[wandino]

It is entirely possible to do an ICO. Keep in mind that users should have some return on their investment i.e your token/coin If you're able to convince that part, then go right ahead

[the13thsymphony]

If the goal of the company is to have a platform and form of payment for their product then yes ICOs are a great way to raise funds. However the company must adhere to what they have promised in their whitepaper and road map, because ICOs are intended to have a decentralized platform with the use of a token/altcoin in exchange for their products. So in case that the company is just raising funds to save their company then the investors in the ICOs will just badmouth it and the ICO will not push through.

[tienigarazz]

It is a good idea to create an Fund raising through ICO. But you need to become expert in crypto first.
Because all your decision will affect the performance of your ICO and it should be attractable, so that all investors will invest on your project.
Creating an ICO is not that simple, so always think twice or thrice before making any move.

[Ivo2012]

There are too many shitty ICO's by "companies" (often they only have an idea in the form of a whitepaper and a team) that don't really need a token but just want to jump on the blockchain/ICO bandwagon.

I think a company should only do an ICO if they really need a token and blockchain, not just as an easy way of funding an idea.

[gunhell16]

Is it possible for a company to raise funds through an ICO even if it is not a startup?    For example: Say company X manufactures chocolates but now it wants to further expand its operations and needs funds for it, can it opt for ICO instead of a Private Equity fund or a Bank Debt?
Please help I am a complete newbie and this concept is confusing me a lot 
Thanks

It CAN, this is what really ICO (INITIAL COIN OFFERING) do to businesses.
they are launching their own coins or tokens to have fundraising and get into a good business.
But of course you need to dish it out and make it a better platform to do for the people have interest in your future business.

[tabas]

Is it possible for a company to raise funds through an ICO even if it is not a startup? 

Yes it is very possible. ICO's main objective is to raise funds through it.

Please help I am a complete newbie and this concept is confusing me a lot 

It doesn't matter if you are a newbie or not. What are you planning? Are you going to start your own ICO very soon?

[entrepmind23]

Is it possible for a company to raise funds through an ICO even if it is not a startup?    For example: Say company X manufactures chocolates but now it wants to further expand its operations and needs funds for it, can it opt for ICO instead of a Private Equity fund or a Bank Debt?
Please help I am a complete newbie and this concept is confusing me a lot 
Thanks

Yes it is possible that an already established company can just launch an ICO to raise funds. It is even possible for an individual that have no existing business before to launch an ICO so what more for an already existing company. It would even attract more attention to the investors especially if that company is already reputable. Some example of these companies are telegram and Kodak. More information in this article https://blog.icofunding.com/meet-a-new-generation-of-icos-launched-by-existing-companies-4-examples-1e15ab3af422

They are already established company but still they launch an ICO. They may want to expand their operations as what you mentioned and wanted to integrate blockchain technology as well. There may be a few companies now but as time goes by, more traditional companies would transition to blockchain technology as they see the importance of it in their business operations.

[oombobie]

In order to have a successful ICO you need to create token or coin, have a website for ICO, whitepaper or business plan and a lot of marketing activities (bounty campaign, twitter, facebook, youtube, telegram, etc) to draw traffic to your website.

These things cost money, time and effort. Please do some research first and calculate carefully how much capital you need to have an ICO.

If you could come up with the capital needed for ICO, think again. Would you invest that kind of capital into ICO or use it directly to expand your existing business?

And please be cautious while thinking about it.