You hear about a new ICO, so you begin to read the white paper. As you read the white paper of the ICO, you begin to analyze the smaller details. You look at the technical product descriptions and the financial projections, which both check out quite well.

Then, you get to the team.

Something just doesn’t look right. Following your gut instinct, you begin looking up the team members one by one to find their accomplishments. You go to the advisors. Upon first glance of their LinkedIn profile, you realize they are listed as actively present on dozens of teams. You have to click the “show more experience” over and over again. You start counting and you lose track somewhere after 30. You think to yourself that something just doesn’t feel right.

How is it possible that this one advisor has time for all of the projects that they are involved with on paper?

If the number remained at 30 projects, that would leave time for just over one hour per project per week. How can you possibly conduct due diligence, research, and dedicate the amount of time that is required to satisfy the requirements of an advisory in just one hour per week? You cannot.

What qualifies one to be an ICO advisor?

ICO Advisors come in many shapes, sizes, and hail from all over the world. While one advisor may have experience powerful real-world experience, like Buying.com’s Joshua Lamont who served as an advisor at the White House during the Obama administration, another advisor may not have any “real world” experience listed.

Some advisors are opinion leaders that are quoted or referenced in top publications. Going back to the example of Joshua Lamont, he was referenced in the Wall Street Journal as being called “a thought leader…. Unrivaled.”

However, some references are not as good, as they can be paid for. You may have experienced the marketer that cold messages you via LinkedIn who promises you that if you pay them $X.XX amount of money, that they will get you featured in this or that publication. So even if an advisor is featured in a few places that look good on paper, the reality might be that feature is merely a paid advertisement. It can be hard to separate fact from fiction in these circumstances.

School experience, although not the only measure of success, can add credibility. For example, Buying.com’s Chief Strategy Office, Joshua Jahani, received a master’s degree in Engineering from the Ivy League school Cornell University. While school is not the end-all experience trump card, it does speak to the level of preparation and time the person has dedicated to pursuing academics.

Previous company experience also counts here, too. Buying.com’s CEO Raghu Bala has experience teaching at Columbia and currently serves as the head of tutoring at MIT. These accolades speak to the amount of trust that some of the top academic institutions in the USA have placed in him.

In Closing

It can be tough deciphering the real advisors from the fly-by-night phonies that you won’t hear from once the check clears. However, these tips should serve as a general guideline for the research you are doing on your next ICO project. Remember, do your own research.

Any advice given in this document is not actual financial advice. You should consult a financial professional before making any financial investment decisions.