To ICO or not to ICO

“Investing should be more like watching paint dry or watching grass grow. If you want excitement, take $800 and go to Las Vegas.”

Paul Samuelson, Economist

Paul Samuelson’s comment above is very interesting because it talks about patience and this is what all venture financing (VC) investors must have when undertaking to invest. It is clear that all certainly have their own criteria when committing to do so. However, despite their criteria being varied, they all have one agenda. This agenda is very succinctly summed up by Warren Buffet when he commented “Rule №1: Never lose money. Rule №2: Never forget rule №1”. Indeed the aim of the game is to gain high returns. The aim is to be a winner. The market place is often tough so staying a winner and not losing out over the years is both difficult and complex. This is clearly a factor as to why in the past often exciting projects have often not been given enough consideration by some investors.

The good news is that times are changing and “dried paint” and “the Las Vegas excitement buzz” do not necessarily need to be separated. Indeed the investment “game” is transforming as the popularity in ICOs grows. ICOs have seen what can only be described as a meteoric rise since 2017 resulting in $2.3 billion being raised to date as blockchain companies turn to crypto currency. This has been only good news for rising unknown projects such as Productivist. However the question still at times hangs in the air of whether going down the traditional venture financing path is a more solid bet. The answer to this is perhaps the question of just what you are expecting from your investment. However, one motivating pointer to favouring the ICO is that unlike VC is not a cumbersome process. ICOs offer a process which is a lot more flexible and less rule bound. Indeed this is the reason why we are experiencing a sea change in how companies and potential investors view the ICO.

It is the most revolutionary and imaginative projects which are often difficult to get off the ground because of the rigidity of VC funding. Productivist is one of many ICOs who have quickly realised that this financing method is the most efficient way to reach their financial goals and therefore ensure that their project is successful. Thanks to experts such as Olivier Bussman’s, (former chief information officer at UBS) faith in the ICO’s potential this option is spreading and it can only be seen as a good thing.

So, besides being less cumbersome and rule bound what are the advantages of the ICO over VC? In other words what is encouraging many out there to join the growing crowd of believers? The answer to this is not a one liner (and shouldn’t be so) because the pros always must outweigh the cons and there are always cons in any investment process.

One of the main attractions of crypto currencies is their liquidity. The ICO offers investors with an alternative to the lengthy investment process involving investing large amounts in a startup which is then locked up in the equity of the company. They offer the opportunity for investors to see their gains much quicker and to take out profits much more easily and of course as we have already said — the aim of the game is just that. An additional game changer is also that ICOs can appreciate much faster in value. Everyone knows by now the incredible rise in the value of the Bitcoin which was worth $100 in 2013 and by 2017 had grown in value to be worth $4000. Clearly the potential ROI for investors using crypto currency is much higher.

These are both highly attractive reasons for getting on board. Perhaps equally important is its accessibility. This accessibility is a mentality in itself. Indeed it goes hand in hand with the mind-set of those collaborative communities. Productivist was probably inspired by the fact that the ICO is open to everyone. Anyone can become an integral part of a project and therefore be a part of that engine which fires it. Just as with Freelabster, Airbnb and Uber, whereby the general public can get involved by providing a service, here anyone can become an integral part of a company’s first steps, subsequent success and growth.

Furthermore and certainly again fitting entirely in the collaborative mentality, the ICO is without boundaries. Traditional venture financing is more than often geographically limited to those financial hubs such as New York, Paris or London. However, the ICO removes this limitation and opens up opportunities for anyone in any geography. It could be described as a democratic funding strategy. Certainly the workings of the ICO could be compared to Google’s IPO in 2004 which used a Dutch auction model to allow everyday people the possibility to become a part of the company’s CAP table and so reap the benefits.

Another equally important and attractive factor is the fact that venture capital cannot create growth but ICO capital can. It was recently pointed out by an ICO expert that “If the ICO process itself drives adoption for a product, a startup might find that the first 1,000 or even first 100,000 user problem has largely vanished during the fundraise process itself. The startup is not just getting capital, but also its first customers”.

The list of advantages does not end here but my aim, as indicated earlier, is simply to whet the appetite. Clearly the ICO is here to stay because its advantages are huge. What they offer is not only attractive but it is compatible with the way we do business today in this connected world. They clearly have their place in the world of investment and as for those still sceptical, perhaps good to know, they pass that all important criteria outlined in the “howey test” in 1964. As with all investor games, however, getting in early is all about reaping the benefits more. Projects on the “market place” today such as Productivist are inspired by the mindset of the future as well as their wish to revolutionize their industry. It is this sheer modernity and way of thinking which will be one of the reasons they will be ICO success stories of tomorrow.

Times are moving, thinking is certainly changing and we can see this in the financial world. To answer the question VC or ICO, their roles can only be described as complementary. The attractiveness of the ICO leaves no doubt that it will go from strength to strength. A thought for the day, could be perhaps the story of the I-phone which, to the general public ten years ago was something improbable. However, those who were open to Apple’s vision then are certainly happy that they took the risk today.