Dear Blockchain Startup Founder,

I have interacted with my fair share of startups in the past decade. Startups specializing in pet food, payments, beard balm, advertising solutions, bitcoin, blockchain and cryptocurrency startups. I’ve spoken to founders who are building amazing technology trying to solve some of the world’s most complicated problems. I have read whitepapers, draft papers, philosophical reasoning for the existence of their utility token, ICO or blockchain solution and browsed many, many ICO websites. Many things are different across this vast array of businesses. The one thing that has not changed is how startups sell. You are still selling a product. You still need a customer to understand, like and buy what you are selling and you still need an investor to invest.

Whether you are selling ice-cream, tyres or a “universal blockchain protocol enabling cross-ledger access through business modularization” [actual text from the website of a blockchain startup] the core principles of selling and promoting a product remain the same. Many of the ICOs that are looking for funding seem to have forgotten that they need to present a simple vision with a clear explanation of their product to potential customers and investors. It isn’t (or shouldn’t be) about how much you can trick people into giving up their cash.

If you are unable to explain to me what you do in a single, short sentence then the chances are the market isn’t going to understand your long-winded paragraph filled with twelve letter words. If that’s the case, then your startup will not have investors buying into an ICO because they believe in the underlying tech (good investors to have), you are going to find investors because you are promoting a confusing, shiny and new object that they believe can make them a quick buck (bad investors to have).

It might feel like I’m from another planet and that you know better, but trust me, in the long run you want to attract the right kind of money. Yes, there are different kinds of money. Some money is bad for the long-term vision of your business and some money will help you reach your hefty goals. If you are a flash in the pan blockchain hustler trying to get in on the wave then you already know which side of this debate you find yourself on. If you are serious about growing a business and you consider your ICO as a stepping stone to a greater goal then let’s crack on.

Who is the target market?

Yes, I actually used an old-school concept like “target market”. Believe it or not, you need to pick one. You cannot seriously believe that everyone wants what you have. If that’s your angle then I’m sorry to be the one to break it to you, but you’re in trouble.

Don’t sit the fence. Pick a target market and own it. Go after that group with vicious focus and embed yourself in their world. Targeting everyone means you are trying to boil the ocean. It’s never going to work.

What are you selling?

Using the simplest possible words, tell me what the hell you are selling. You are selling something, right? You know that if anyone is going to buy or invest they also need to know you’re selling something? So don’t beat around the bush, don’t hide behind your smart language and slick website. Tell me what I’m buying or investing in, dammit.

If you think you need a shiny website with immaculate copy to win me over then you are already a step behind. You need a good product, a clear vision and a very precise explanation of what you are selling and why I should be buying. If you can’t put that all together then you have bigger issues than your impending ICO deadline.

How are you telling your story?

Why did you start doing this? Was there a moment of truth that struck you down? Or is it really that you figured you could make a few million and fly away in a private jet untouched?

The more the ICO market grows and the more startups that enter the space, the less I trust you. If everyone can ICO then no one will stand out. How are you standing out? What is your story?

Telling stories is an age-old skill that has evolved over the millennia but has not and will not ever go away. Your narrative is as important to me and the world as your price and whitepaper. Your reason for being is probably the thing that will set you apart from the others in the crowd of blockchain startups. Your ability to explain your story and to continue to evolve and refine it is going to keep me engaged and committed to your vision and product while the dips hit and dumps.

Tell a better story.

The easy part is the technology.

Yeah, yeah, I heard you. You have amazing technology. Get in line, buddy. Everyone has amazing technology. Everyone wants to get in on the ICO craze that has taken over sensible investors the world over.

Your technology does not make you special any more. There are very few technologists who are building business who can and will genuinely change the world. What I can tell you is that none of those startups are pegging their hopes on an ICO. Sure an ICO is part of their strategy but it’s not their first and only move.

So where do you go from here, Miss Blockchain Startup Founder? Go out and build your tech. Find a niche that needs what you are building. Get it into the market and see if there’s a reason for you to raise money either through an ICO or other more traditional methods. If you get that money then put your head down and build that thing that you said you were going to build.

Thanks,

Nic Haralambous

CoinInsider CEO & Blockchain Enthusiast