Role of an advisor in an ICO
ICOs, or Initial Coin Offerings, have become the buzz word of the crypto world. While not a novel idea of raising funds for an idea from the general public, they have kind of become synonymous with blockchain projects.
Running an ICO isn’t easy and any entrepreneur who has raised funds through that route will attest to it. An ICO is a complex beast and requires help from a lot of people. Many developer teams are usually good at tech, so they need assistance from people who hold expertise in the myriad aspects of an ICO. These people fall, primarily, in three categories — experts, advisors and mentors.
Launching an ICO without complying with the legal formalities can lead to complexities, and that is why ICOs enlist the services of legal experts, generally a lawyer or auditor or an accountant specializing in fund raising methodologies, like an ICO or IPO. They know the finer details related to the paperwork for the ICO, and generally have nothing to do with the dApps or the technology part of the business. Technology experts can also be advisors, to guide the company on technical aspects. However, they do not do the programming for the company. Marketing experts, accounting experts and finance experts are also generally part of the board of advisors for an ICO.
Advisors guide the project right from the initial stages like fine-tuning of the concept, creation of the whitepaper, reviewing smart contract codes, decide about structuring of the token sale, guide and build the roadmap for marketing, PR and branding, ensure legal and regulatory compliance and also strategies to engage with the investor community. They act as evangelists for the company, guiding and directing it in all aspects — marketing, technology, legal, economic and public relations.
Current scenario
Every ICO that is being launched comes with an impressive board of advisors these days. By advisors, we generally mean a person who acts as a mentor or a guide, but it is being increasingly observed that advisors are more of influencers and have little to do with the technical, marketing, finance or decision making related to the project. They lend their names to ICOs mostly for marketing purposes, and are more of endorsers than anything else.
ICOs are scrambling for reputed names on their board of advisors and these advisors are making the most of it. They not only charge heftily for being on the board of advisors, they also use their association with the ICO to further enhance their profile and then bag more such gigs. Unfortunately, these “tech celebrities” hardly offer any real value to the project and are nothing more than movie stars endorsing a product they hardly ever use of even really care about.
Advisors should ideally belong to the same network within which the business will operate. While everyone is trying to get their foot in the ICO door and turn advisor, ICOs need to look for real advisors who have a strong and clear perspective, and perform real functions for the company in any of the following ways.
Mentors
A mentor is one who has leadership qualities and long term vision. Their experience in the industry and long term association with the different professionals related to the industry enriches them with in-depth knowledge about the same and their manner of communication is open and transparent. They believe in paying it forward and help the company grow using their network of contacts.
They bring visibility to the project and mentor the senior management team to chalk out a roadmap, set goals and improve their skills. They bring the entire gamut of business, inter-personnel and management skills to the table and ensure a successful launch and smooth running for the project. Their prior achievements and background is in tandem with the company and their knowledge of the core business process adds muscle to the project.
They also have access to investors and are trusted by investor groups and can influence and convince such groups to invest in the project they endorse. Their business planning and risk management skills are also important for the project.
Advisors
Advisors are the ones whose main focus is always on the domain of the business, and they apply their strategic thinking and analytical skills to ensure that the project follows the best practices in the domain. They are usually entrepreneurs themselves, having gone through the trials and tribulations of setting up and running a business, and have similar clientele as the business, and the business benefits from their entrepreneurial acumen and network of contacts.
They are adept at transforming ideas into actions and help the company with their broad vision and global outlook. Since they have earned considerable credibility in the business domain, they are the best people to validate the policies and practices of the project. Their reputation in the industry helps the project expand its reach and their valuable guidance boosts the success rate of the company.
They are well connected with investors and are the right people to reach out to in case of mediations. They are extremely useful assets for the project, thanks to their connections with players in legal, technological, marketing (general and content) and media fields.
Experts
These are people who are experts of their fields, and bring subject matter expertise to the company. They also possess niche skills which supplement and enhance the technical skills of the team. Their hands-on ability and often unconventional or creative approach is perfect for specific tasks. They provide tactical support and services to the company and help with commercial assignments of the project.
They are not part of the day-to-day team, but boost the skill set of the operations team along with bringing credibility to it. Experts from diverse fields and with diverse skills are a part of the macro as well as micro growth of the project. They have unique connects or skills that cannot be procured from the market or through third-party service providers.
We have created an infographic that defines the roles of all three types — mentors, advisors and clients.

Parting thoughts
While all advisors might not be equally involved with the project, it is important that they take equal responsibility for the smooth running of the ICO and equally motivate and encourage the workforce towards a mutual goal. They must truly care for the product or service they are offering and must be totally committed towards making the project a success. They must contribute their skills and insights actively, not just during the ICO, but after that too.
