In this blog post I'll introduce a good generic model for due diligence for an ICO.
The following information is especially useful for groups who are planning to introduce their own token through a public offering.
A successful ICO should consider at least these issues before going public:
Team:
-Make sure your team is diverse in professional background or talent. This is more important than star advisors or star individuals. A good average team with diverse background can work out solutions in real world problems because they have a wider perspective.
-The team should be composed of at least:
-Technology management
-Financial management
-Legal management
-Business strategy management
-Experts on the marketplace
Team members should blog regularly.
Community:
-Maintain a relationship with crypto-media. Especially popular online magazines and news sites should be kept up to date about the progress. Mainstream media such as Forbes, Fortune, Bloomberg, Financial Times, and so on should be kept up to date. Visiting conferences is also useful.
-Maintain an online presence on at least these forums:
-An up to date website with social feeds
-Reddit
-Slack, Riot, Telegram or equivalent
-Twitter
-Facebook
-Bitcointalk
Engage the audience to comment about the project and maintain a good public relationship with the target user group.
-Announce partnerships truthfully and transparently. It's better to be honest than to hype.
-Maintain a regularly updated GitHub with clear documentation, so anyone who wants to audit the code can see and comment on the development. Make sure the technology stack is clearly explained.
Technology:
-Keep the pipeline, milestones and management as open as possible. Openness gives investors confidence and helps to mitigate any arising issues based on actual data. Recording meetings where decisionmaking takes place helps to fix any mistakes early-stage, thus making the project more resilient.
-Make informative videos and graphics to educate, explain and inform the public about the token and the service behind it.
Whitepaper:
-The Whitepaper should contain the following things:
-Most importantly the main problem the product solves
-Team
-Product description
-Market research
-Technological description
-Token structure
-Business description
-Governance structure
-Service pipeline
-Development roadmap
-Token generation event and ICO offering
-A clear list of references
Market and competition:
-Go-to market strategies
-Main competition
-Why is this product better than the rest
-The token type, whether it is a security or a utility
-Clear legal description
-Geographical market
-Financial strategy
Business model and legal side:
-Crowdsale contract as clearly illustrated as possible
-Investing instructions as clearly as possible
-Official links
Vitalik Buterin on token sales:
