If you’ve successfully launched your token distribution event — congratulations! You’ve cleared one of the biggest hurdles of your blockchain business.

But what happens next?

A clear post-sale strategy is necessary to maintain momentum and ensure that your TDE translates into the success of your startup.

Ensure Security Measures

Even once you’ve completed your TDE, you should be concerned about the security of your funds. Companies that launch successful TDEs have a target on their backs for hackers, since it’s common knowledge that a large amount of capital has been raised. It’s essential to look into cryptocurrency wallets and hard wallets (see below), as well as making sure that your security measures are in place and procedures are up-to-date. Working with a third-party auditor can help alleviate these concerns.

Another way to alleviate concerns is to make sure that the lines of communication are open with contributors. Make sure they clearly understand how they receive their tokens, and give contributors your official communication channels to avoid phishing scams.

Store Contributions Wisely

One of the first things to consider is how you will store the cryptocurrency contributed during your TDE. Although there are multiple ways to set up a TDE, generally, it’s a good idea to move your supporter’s contributions from an online wallet to a secure hardware wallet.

What is a hardware wallet?

A hardware wallet is a physical device designed to keep your cryptocurrency safe. It is usually a small device that plugs into your computer or phone to generate your private keys securely in an offline environment.

It can also act as an extra security layer for your cryptocurrency. An online cryptocurrency wallet uses public and private keys to gain access to tokens, with algorithms managing the keys and enabling you to execute transactions. A hardware wallet gives you an extra layer of security if hackers compromise your data in an attempt to steal your keys.

According to Dan Podolan, founder of www.livemarketcap, hardware wallets have some key advantages over web wallets. In a web wallet, your private keys are stored on remote servers. In this scenario, you could lose your tokens if:

• Your computer is hacked and you lose the password
• A remote server is hacked
• The company hosting your web wallet goes bankrupt
• The FBI (or other authorities) seize company servers
• There is a software bug in the wallet

Some examples of hardware wallets include Trezor or the Ledger Nano S.

Consider Currency Conversions

This will obviously depend on your development goals and the future projections for your project, but it’s a good idea to consider converting a portion of the cryptocurrency you received during your TDE to fiat currency (USD or the currency of the country your business operates in).

When it comes to cryptocurrency, volatility is a concern — and while it’s true that your crypto could be worth more at some point in the future, it could also be worth less. Fiat currency will be necessary to pay for some of your business costs, so converting a portion of the ether, bitcoin or other cryptocurrency from TDE contributions into fiat will be crucial to get your business off the ground in the short-term.

Of course, that’s not to say that you should convert all of the contributions, or that you shouldn’t consider your own long-term strategy. As always, it’s a good idea to speak to your business analyst or legal consultant for advice before acting.

Consult Your Legal Team

Beyond communication and security practices, you also need to ensure a robust legal strategy post-TDE. Make sure that you set enough funds aside for appropriate legal counsel to address ongoing concerns from regulatory agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Even if you don’t have an in-house legal team, ensure that you are consulting with experts in the blockchain space.

Develop Your Project

Post-TDE, your main focus should be on developing the technology you promised to deliver. Developing your project, communicating with contributors, and continually reviewing security will be key to running a successful business and ensuring longevity well beyond your token launch.

Contact sales@etherparty.com to find out more and sign-up for a free trial of Rocket by Etherparty, the user-friendly platform that lets you set up, launch, and track your token crowdsale without a development team.

My Business is Funded by Cryptocurrency. What Next? was originally published in Etherparty on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

It’s one of the first questions you need to answer when creating a token distribution event (TDE) — what is your funding goal? Simply picking a random number or basing your estimate purely on guesswork can set you up for failure.

And failure isn’t uncommon.

Blockchain Hub reports that 66 percent of TDEs, or initial coin offerings (ICOs), missed their goal in September 2017, highlighting the need for solid research when setting campaign goals.

Forward Planning

Before you promote your project or launch your token distribution event, you need a plan in place.

Past projects that have raised millions of dollars through blockchain crowdfunding campaigns include NEO and Ark. These achievements were not a fluke; they were the result of careful consideration and forward planning.

Offering tokens native to your project is an essential way of creating a network and incentivizing people to use your company’s product, expand your ecosystem, and bring in other users. A successful TDE can help get your project off the ground by incentivizing people to use it from the beginning.

This means considering the following factors:

1. What kind of token will you offer?

Tokens are cryptographically secured representations of a set of rights. Tokens are generally hosted on top of another blockchain and represent an asset or a utility. Your token may give a contributor the right to use a network or software application, the right to redeem a token for a unit of currency or good or, the right to receive a share of future earnings.

2. How many tokens will you set aside?

It’s standard to set aside 10–20 percent of tokens and sell the remainder. A small amount of these tokens may go to core developers as payment, but the majority should be set aside for future work. For instance, you may wish to sell or distribute the held tokens in the future as an additional source of funds. Some companies also implement a vesting plan for tokens.

You should make this funding plan clear in your white paper or on your website, perhaps both. It’s a good idea to consult a business analyst or someone with TDE experience before creating this plan.

3. Will you host a pre-sale? A post-sale?

A pre-sale is a token event that you may choose as a kind of “soft launch” before your main campaign goes live and can be useful to build hype and gain early supporters (for instance, to fundraise to build a protocol). Almost all sales pursue a pre-sale phase that encompasses a private and public phase.

The target for a pre-sale may be lower than your main TDE, and the tokens should be available at a lower cost. It’s also a good idea to restrict the number of tokens available in a pre-sale, since essentially, contributors are buying tokens before your project is ready to launch.

A post-sale may occur after the main TDE if a company wants to find contributors to support the continued development of a project. A recent example is the FirstBlood project.

4. What model will you use for your TDE?

Consider if there is a maximum amount of funds that you would like to receive from contributors, whether you will set a price ahead of time, or whether you want the TDE to last for only a fixed period. Some examples of successful TDE models include:

• Uncapped with a fixed rate: Contributors exchange established cryptocurrency (such as ether) or fiat (government-controlled currency) for tokens at a fixed ratio. An uncapped TDE does not limit the amount of capital that can be raised. Usually, early contributors receive a better rate, so this model requires a time limit for contributions. The percentage of tokens available may not be known until the token sale ends.
• A capped TDE: This refers to the maximum or minimum amount that needs to be raised in a TDE. You may choose a “hard cap”, where the campaign ends once the number is achieved in a specified period. A low hard cap may increase demand for the tokens after the token sale, while a higher cap allows for more people to contribute and can result in a higher valuation. A “soft cap”, on the other hand, is more flexible and enables you to extend the TDE if the initial target isn’t reached in time.
• Dutch auction: This is where the price of the offering is set, usually at a high asking price, and lowered until contributors accept the price. This method may be useful for a quick sale.
• Reverse Dutch auction: This is a capped sale where tokens grow less expensive over time, encouraging contributors to take their time in purchasing tokens.

5. What will happen to unsold tokens?

Finally, you should consider what you will do with unsold tokens and the ramifications thereof when it comes to compliance with the commission that governs the jurisdiction you are operating within.

Invest in Your Project for Success

The days of launching a token within a half-baked idea are over. With the number of TDEs rising each year, contributors have the pick of the litter when it comes to supporting blockchain projects.

A startup may withdraw their token if a target isn’t reach. There are plenty of past examples across a range of industries, such as Inchain (insurance), Ark.io (linking blockchains), and Arcade City (ride sharing). Reasons for failure may include an unproven management team, no proof of concept, a poor token structure, a lack of promotion, or simply not explaining incentives or the overall benefits of the project.

The more you can develop your project — even creating a working prototype or beta model — the better. You also should ensure you have clearly articulated how your token will work, the merits of the project, the market opportunity, and the experience of your team in your white paper, as well as on your website and across other marketing materials.

Rocket by Etherparty makes it easier for startups to focus on their projects, rather than their TDE. This user-friendly platform lets you set up, launch, and track your TDE without a development team. To find out more or sign up for a free trial, contact sales@etherparty.com

Things to Consider When Setting a Funding Goal for Your Token Distribution Event was originally published in Etherparty on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Launching a token distribution event, or TDE, doesn’t need to be complicated — but too often, it can be.

Any entrepreneur looking to raise money for a new business or blockchain project will quickly discover just how much time and effort is involved in a TDE. For starters, you need to know how to create an Ethereum token and smart contract — or find the funds for an experienced development team. Then, once you’ve developed your token and smart contract, you need to be able to market your crowdsale and ensure that it will securely follow the instructions set out in the smart contract; usually, while developing your project.

For many startups, there simply isn’t enough time (or funds) available to ensure this DIY approach delivers the level of professionalism required for a successful sale.

That’s where Rocket comes in. Rocket by Etherparty is an all-in-one platform designed to make it easy for entrepreneurs, business owners, and creatives to set up, launch and track a TDE without a development team.

How Does it Work?

Rocket provides a secure platform to create, manage, and market your digital token and crowdfund with smart contract technology. Rocket enables users to upload audited smart contracts, create a digital token on the Ethereum or Bitcoin blockchains, and market the sale directly from an active marketplace. Additionally, all Rocket users have access to expert support during the setup and sale.

The below step-by-step guide gives you an in-depth sneak peek into how Rocket works.

1. Create Your Project

Rocket uses a guided workflow to make it simple to create a token workflow. The first step is to simply create your project by adding a project name, tagline, and description. You can also choose to tag your project in up to three categories to make it easier for would-be contributors to find your sale.

2. Add Your Branding

Customize your project by adding your company logo, a banner, and links to your professional website. Remember, your website should have clear messaging, your white paper, and links to your project’s social media accounts to make it easy for potential contributors to learn more and join your network.

Given the hacking scandals that have plagued the cryptocurrency community, it’s also important to present the pedigree of your team to help establish legitimacy. Rocket gives you the option to add information and photographs about your team, as well as links to their LinkedIn profiles, to give potential contributors insight into who is involved.

3. Establish Your Token

What will you call your token? It’s helpful to have a name that is easy to remember with your project. You will need to add a token name, as well as a symbol, which will be between three and five uppercase characters. For instance, Rocket by Etherparty uses FUEL tokens.

Rocket by Etherparty is a token-agnostic platform that uses Ethereum and Rootstock blockchains. Choosing Ethereum allows acceptance of contributions of Ether (ETH), while Rootstock supports acceptance of Smart Bitcoin (SBTC).

4. Add Your Crowdsale Information

You need to consider how many tokens you will make available, how long the tokens will be available, how contributors can buy tokens, and when those tokens can be used. In Rocket, you will be guided prompted to add sale-related information, including:

• How many tokens will you supply? This can be 1 to 1 trillion or more.
• What wallet address will you use to receive contributions? You need to include a valid ERC20 address. All contributions will be sent to the crowdfund address, then forwarded to this supplied wallet address.
• How will you allocate tokens? You can set and utilize up to 10 allocation groups, such as presale, team, platform, and reserves.
• What are the allocation addresses? You will need to add a unique address to each allocation you have created. Each address should start with 0x and consist of 32 characters.
• What (if any) vesting period will you use? Vesting periods lock token allocations for a period of time. The vesting period starts when the sale ends, and can last from zero days to multiple years.

5. Create a Pricing Structure

Token distribution events are generally released over a number of rounds. Rocket allows you to set rounds and pricing for each round. You will need to determine how many rounds you want to create (up to 10), how many days each round will last, and what the price will be per token for each round, based on ETH or SBTC.

6. Develop a Plan for Unsold Tokens

You need to specify where you want to send any tokens that remain unsold after the crowdsale. Alternatively, you may want to “burn” tokens (permanently remove them), which will remove them from circulation. Either way, you can easily determine what should happen to any unsold tokens.

7. Deploy Your Smart Contract

Now for one of the most important steps–it’s time to launch. With a click of a button, you can deploy your token crowdsale contracts on the specified blockchain. Once deployed, users will receive a public contribution address and can schedule when they wish to contribute.

8. Schedule the Token Sale

You can schedule the TDE to begin at any time and date, with the option to modify this start time up to four hours before launch. It’s a good idea to keep the sale date to a specific time, as you will want to market the date and time of the sale ahead of time.

9. Get Featured on the Rocket Marketplace

Review your unique landing page by selecting “Preview” on your dashboard. This page is built from the information you provided in the project details, token, and sale form, and will be visible to the public, so make sure all the information is correct before you proceed further.

Once you’re happy with the landing page and your smart contract is deployed, you can publish your landing page to the Rocket public showcase. Simply select the option to “Make Crowdfund Public” and your page will be visible to investors on the Rocket Featured section.

You can remove your page from the Featured section at any time by selecting the “Hide” option. You can update your landing page at any time by selecting “Publish Update.” Updates only apply to company or project information, as you will be unable to change token or sale information once your smart contract is deployed.

10. Collect Your Contributions

You will receive contributions from anyone that sends cryptocurrency to your provided contribution address. Ensure your contributors only send the currency that you selected when setting up your token (Ethereum or Smart Bitcoin). You can view your contributions in real time via the dashboard.

All users can set up and manage 2FA. This will gate key actions, such as user log-in, and deploying and scheduling a TDE.

And that’s it! In 10 steps, you can create, launch, and market your TDE. Thankfully, if you have any questions at all along the way, our expert team is more than happy to answer your questions. Contact sales@etherparty.com to find out more and sign up for a free trial of Rocket by Etherparty.

The Step-by-Step Guide to Launching a TDE with Rocket was originally published in Etherparty on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Given the costs, time, and effort involved in launching a token crowdsale, it can be tempting to find any way that will simplify the process. Unfortunately, not all services (or service providers) are created equal. From security issues to bugs in the smart contract software, costs can quickly escalate out of control.

Whether you’re looking for a smart contract generator or a turnkey crowdfunding platform to help you get your business off the ground, make sure that your provider offers the “three C’s for success”: contract security, crowdfunding experience, and customer support.

Contract Security

There’s no downplaying the importance of a smart contract when you’re creating and launching a new token. Your smart contract is a self-executing contract that will avoid transaction errors and ensure the safety of your tokens, as well as the transfer of tokens to your contributors.

Your smart contract should be secure and audited by a third-party to avoid attacks from hackers. Recent attacks on smart contracts, including Bancor in July this year and Parity last year, cost companies and contributors hundreds of millions of dollars.

These attacks highlight how simple flaws in code and other human errors can impact the security of a token crowdsale.

“Code aside, with every situation, there are an infinite number of things that can go awry,”

according to Amy Tan, CEO of Sagewise, a company that provides smart contract audits. Aside from bugs in code, proper QA processes and professional audits can reduce vulnerabilities.

Clearly, when it comes to smart contracts, you need to demand a high standard of security. A DIY approach can be risky and expensive, as you need to hire an experienced development team and use a third-party auditor. That’s why Etherparty created Rocket, a token creation platform designed for entrepreneurs and business owners.

Using Rocket, you can create, execute, and track your token crowdsale securely, without any development experience. The all-in-one crowdfunding platform uses secure and reliable smart contract technology that makes it simple to upload audited smart contracts, create a digital token on Ethereum or Bitcoin blockchains, and market directly from the platform.

And most importantly, the security of Rocket’s smart contract technology has been given the green light in two independent, external audits, as well an internal audit with our in-house Solidity experts.

All three audits — from smart contract auditing firms iosiro and Coinfabrik, as well as our in-house review — found no vulnerabilities. At Etherparty, we are committed to security and, where possible, strive to push beyond the best practices in our industry.

Crowdfunding Experience

When you’re looking for help with your token crowdsale, you need to make sure that you have on boarded an experienced team.

Rocket is brought to you by the people behind Vanbex, a blockchain consultancy group that has been in business since 2013. The company offers professional services in all aspects of the blockchain industry. From grassroots marketing, application development, communications, strategy, public relations and operations consulting, Vanbex works with blockchain businesses at any stage of growth. After working on more than 70 blockchain projects, notable success stories have included Dash, Enjin and Firstblood.

The team has extensive experience in launching blockchain-based crowdfunds, and are happy to discuss whether crowdfunding is the best option for your business.

And as a direct result of our experience, we understand that not all blockchain projects are the same. We believe blockchain agnosticism is the key to growth in this industry. That’s why Rocket is compatible with both the Ethereum and Bitcoin blockchains — to give you the option to create a crowdsale and related smart contract for execution on either network.

Customer Support

Given the hacking scandals headlines in the cryptocurrency world, it’s easy to understand why some people may be wary about contributing to new token crowdsales. Open and available customer support is essential to build trust.

Unfortunately, if you’re in the midst of trying to get your project off the ground, or trying to grow your team, customer support is often low on your list of priorities. Many blockchain-based companies have slow or inhuman customer support, but in a competitive market, that’s not really good enough.

At Etherparty, we believe that customer support is an essential ingredient to a great customer experience. We have invested heavily our customer success team and support materials to ensure that business owners and entrepreneurs launching a crowdfund with Rocket can expect timely friendly customer support and great resources to fuel their own success.

Contact sales@etherparty.com to find out more and sign-up for a free trial of Rocket by Etherparty, the user-friendly platform that lets you set up, launch, and track your token crowdsale without a development team.

Why Trust Rocket? Contracts, Customer Support and Crowdfunding Experience was originally published in Etherparty on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

It’s the dirty little secret of the blockchain world — marketing is crucial to the success of any token crowdsale. Yes, that’s right. It’s not enough to just have a great product and an experienced team. Simply put, no one is going to support your project if they don’t know about it.

That’s why it’s essential to think about how you will market your product and token crowdsale early on. Consider the following four elements to build a successful marketing campaign.

1. Define Your Objectives

Your marketing objectives should support the overall company objective. Start with the basics — what is the purpose of your company, and how can your brand help achieve your mission?

For instance, say your company mission is to simplify a specific problem using blockchain. Your marketing goals, then, may be to educate and inspire customers. Educate them about the existing issue, about blockchain, and about ways to improve; as well as inspiring them to make a change and enhance their life or business.

Creating clear campaign objectives can help you define a clear path to reach these goals. Use the S.M.A.R.T principle to guide you — your goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

For example, it’s not enough to say you want lots of website visitors or more people to sign up for your newsletter pre-launch. Define how much traffic or website downloads you expect to generate in a specific time frame, or how many people you want to sign up to your newsletter before you launch.

Always consider: Does this campaign serve my underlying goals? How can I measure results? And in what time frame can I realistically achieve my objectives?

2. Build a Consistent Brand Identity

Consider some of the world’s most successful brands — Apple, Google, Airbnb, Tesla, Starbucks. All of these companies have a clearly defined aesthetic and personality that makes it easy for potential customers to identify and relate to them. To build familiarity and brand affiliation, the brand messaging and design must be consistent across different formats. A user’s experience should feel like the same brand experience when visiting your website, app, on social media, in-store and anywhere else online.

Your business shouldn’t be any different. Your company should have, at minimum, a logo, a brand message, and a consistent voice across all copy that you create. It’s a good idea to create templates and guidelines to assist your team with the consistent use of your brand or a specific brand element (such as the logo).

When you have a clear brand identity, it’s easier to plan campaigns for your website and social media channels. Your website will be the online hub for all information about your project and token sale, and it’s highly likely that it will be central to initial marketing campaigns. In fact, one of your first campaigns could be to create and promote a new professional website. It’s essential that your website is clean, visually appealing, and simple to use.

Likewise, establish official social media channels early on and make sure these channels adhere to your brand identity. Social media is an avenue to building a community of potential supporters, so its importance shouldn’t be downplayed. It’s a good idea to be active on a variety of channels, including Telegram, Reddit, LinkedIn, Twitter, Quora, BitcoinTalk and any other forum where you can engage with an active community of cryptocurrency enthusiasts.

3. Define and Promote Your Value Proposition

What sets your business apart? And when it comes to your token crowdsale, why should a potential contributor be interested in your project over another?

Defining these messages is crucial to the success of your marketing strategy, and should underpin every campaign. Essentially, your value proposition is a concise and easy-to-understand reason why your project solves a pain point, how it provides benefits, and why it’s the best solution out there.

Using the new website example, consider honing your messaging to reach your target audience of cryptocurrency enthusiasts by explaining the problem your project solves and its benefits.

4. Plan for Launch

If you know what objectives you need to achieve, have a clear brand voice and identity, and understand, the final piece of the puzzle is the “how” — that is, how you actually get your campaign off the ground.

You may need to consider different approaches to distribute your message, depending on the specific campaign. For example, a single marketing campaign may involve:

• Content creation and promotion through your blog, website, social media channels, and email list
• Paid advertising such as pay-per-click Google Adwords, paid social media campaigns, or listing on token crowdsale websites
• Public relations and media outreach
• Attendance at events
• Competitions

Bonus: Measure and Tweak

Remember those S.M.A.R.T goals you set at the beginning of your campaign? That wasn’t just for fun. You should be monitoring the success of your campaign as you go, and determine if you need to tweak anything at different milestones.

For example, if you are halfway through the promotion of your new website and still haven’t seen nearly the traffic you’d hoped for, it may be time to consider new tactics to reach your objectives.

It is possible to simplify the marketing machine for your token crowdsale. Visit rocket.etherparty.com to find out how an all-in-one platform lets you create, track, and even market your token crowdsale, or contact sales@etherparty.com for more details.

Essential Elements to a Marketing Campaign for Token Crowdsales was originally published in Etherparty on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

It’s HODL time!

For the uninitiated, ‘HODL’ is a term derived from a misspelling of “hold” and it refers to a buy-and-hold strategy in the context of bitcoin and alternative cryptocurrencies.

Why does this matter? Well, after recently crossing a major milestone in the launch of Rocket, our user-friendly token crowdsale platform, we’re now arriving at the precipice of another marker: Team allocations of FUEL tokens!

These are FUEL tokens that have been locked away by the smart contract that governed our token crowdsale, which wrapped up at the end of October. Official details of this payout is stated in the Etherparty whitepaper (p.12) available at etherparty.com. Essentially, 5 percent of all FUEL tokens — a total of 50 million — were earmarked for distribution by the company for Etherparty staff, following the lockout period.

We know how tough the cryptocurrency market has been, and the team wants to reassure our supporters on two things:

• This is not a token dump; our team, by and large, are FUEL HODLers.
• No tokens in the company’s reserve will be touched. The reserve batch of tokens have been locked since the token offering.

If you have any questions related to this, please don’t hesitate to email k@etherparty.com, CEO at Etherparty Smart Contracts, Inc.

“I do understand it’s easy to be skeptical and negative, as many projects have not done what they said they would do, or have just vanished,” said Hobbs.

“We have remained true to our word even though there have been some delays, but that just goes with the territory in emerging tech.”

Stay tuned for more news and the upcoming feature adds to Rocket that will showcase more of our talent and dedication to building the very best products in the space.

We thank you for your continued support as we work to create the most innovative and accessible ecosystem bridging the gap between today’s crypto-enthusiast and the mainstream user. We’re confident that our community, investors, and clients, will be excited with what we have in store for the future.

Visit etherparty.com/products for more information on projects underway, and sign-up for our company newsletter to receive upcoming updates and announcements.

Etherparty Distributes FUEL to Team Following Lockout Period was originally published in Etherparty on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

No matter what kind of blockchain project you want to develop, chances are, you’ll need a whitepaper. But what exactly is a whitepaper — and why is this document so important in the blockchain world?

More Than Marketing Fluff

According to Techopedia, a whitepaper is “an authoritative guide or report that explains the benefits of a particular technology, product, or policy.” Given the new and fast-changing nature of blockchain technology, anyone looking to launch a blockchain project will need to clearly explain how and why it will be used.

Essentially, a whitepaper should answer the key question that any potential contributor will ask — why is this project needed at all and how is it relevant to my goal?

A whitepaper is more than just a business plan or a piece of marketing collateral. It’s a foundational document that details the technological solution to a real problem. Your whitepaper acts as a blueprint for the technology that needs to be developed, and should clearly outline how and why a token will be used in the blockchain space. Overall, a whitepaper is a crucial document when it comes to convincing potential supports to contribute to your project.

Understanding Token Economics

You don’t need a finished project to write a whitepaper — and in fact, given the foundational nature of this document, you should create your whitepaper well before your project is ready to launch.

To understand why, it helps to understand token economics in the blockchain universe. Token crowdsales exist to support projects with a tokenized economic model. Buyers of crowdsale tokens — whether they intend to contribute financially to a project or actively participate in it — need to understand the economic principles and technical details involved in a project to make an informed decision.

By sharing an early-stage whitepaper, you offer early adopters insight into your solution and can start to build a community. Even better, you enable an early conversation and critique of your project before launching into development.

Inviting the Outside In

Considering the costs of launching a token crowdsale, it’s worth getting feedback from supporters as early as possible. While it’s tempting to wait until you have finalized everything, offering an early outline of the problem you plan to solve, the technical details of your solution, and a roadmap for future plans will encourage people to support your project.

While there are no hard and fast rules about what information to include in a whitepaper, it’s a good idea to at least consider the following:

• Identify the problem you are solving
• Outline the proposed technical solution
• Include details about the project, including what is already developed
• Describe the token’s characteristics, governance and use
• Outline the qualifications of team members and advisors
• Suggest a roadmap for the future, including critical dates for your token sale

Creating a Polished Product

Since your whitepaper is a vital component, you should put in the effort to create a compelling document. As a professional document, your whitepaper should be:

• Accurate: Don’t inflate your statistics or make bogus statements about your company or the market. Any potential contributors worth their salt will do due diligence, and false claims (including honest inaccuracies) could trigger doubts about the authenticity of your product or company.
• Professional: Your whitepaper should be clear and free from grammar mistakes. Avoid using jargon or complex language unless absolutely necessary — the aim is to tell your story in a way that convinces potential supporters from all walks of life to contribute to your project.
• Attractive: Humans are visual creatures. Format your whitepaper so it is easy to read, and where possible, break up walls of text with graphics, charts, or other visual cues.

Developing a solid whitepaper is just the first step to developing and launching your token crowdsale. Visit rocket.etherparty.com to learn how you can create, launch, and track a token crowdsale without a development team, or contact sales@etherparty.com for more details.

To Launch a Token Crowdsale, You Need a Whitepaper was originally published in Etherparty on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Feeling overwhelmed by your blockchain project? You’re not alone. Spend a few minutes on sites such as ICOBench or CoinMarketCap and you’ll see that more companies are wading into the world of crowdsales and cryptocurrency every day. Even traditional venture capital companies like Bain, Andreessen Horowitz, and Lightspeed have jumped on the bandwagon, participating in token sales for the first time this year (raising $133 million for Basis earlier this year, for example).

Researching the tactics and strategies of successful crowdsales can be useful, but simply following in someone else’s footsteps does not necessarily guarantee your success. If you’re not sure where to start, below are 10 steps to guide you to a successful token crowdsale.

1. Create a White Paper

Without overstating it, your white paper will be the single most important document when it comes to the success of your token crowdsale. Why? This document outlines why anyone should contribute to your project. It should clearly state the problem you are trying to solve and how your project will solve it.

Beyond this high-level information, you should also include technical details about your project. Such as, its architecture, development and implementation plans, how contributors can use your token, and information about the team involved.

2. Build a Brand

Unfortunately, it’s not enough to have a great idea; you need to create a real company to implement your project. This includes deciding on a company name, branding, and incorporating your business. You may be able to complete these tasks yourself, but it’s likely that you will need to outsource or consult with contractors, for instance, a marketing agency to help with branding and a lawyer and accountant to provide advice about your business structure, incorporating and more.

3. Budget for Development

How much will your project actually cost? It’s important to make sure that you have enough funds for at least six months before your token crowdsale, as you need time to develop your project, build a prototype, and market your crowdsale before launch.

4. Clear Any Legal Hurdles

It’s all well and good to have a plan for your project and to launch, but legal advisement, such as whether the token you’re offering is a security or a utility, is not just highly recommended, it is required under the absence, currently, of a global regulatory framework. A legal expert with experience in blockchain is essential to avoid issues with regulators down the road.

5. Plan a (Realistic) Funding Goal

You should have a strategy for your token crowdsale in place well before launch day. This plan will be based on how much money you hope to raise from supporters.

The funding goal is just a start. Some initial factors to consider are the characteristics of your token, implementing a minimum and maximum cap, campaign timeline, and what will happen to tokens that aren’t sold.

Make sure to also look into other token-related factors, such as how much should be allocated to team members, advisors, marketing and more. Down the road, decide whether or not incentives to early contributors will be employed.

6. Establish a Timeline for Your Token Crowdsale

Once you’ve set your funding goal and token allocations, establishing a timeline can help plot out exactly how you will reach your goal. Break out tasks by phase: pre-sale and public sale — essentially, determine what needs to happen before you launch, and what should come afterwards.

7. Develop a Smart Contract

All token crowdsales require a smart contract to facilitate and govern the terms of the crowdsale. Engage an experienced smart contract developer for this stage of your project, as it is critical to the success and security of your launch. Your smart contract should be free of vulnerabilities to shield it from malicious attacks.

Even if you hire the best of the best, you still shouldn’t rely on a single developer to complete such an important project milestone. Hiring an auditor may seem excessive when you’re on a budget, but the cost will be insignificant compared to the potential issues you can face if your smart contract is developed with errors or security flaws.

8. Plan Your Marketing Strategy

Once you have all the pieces of the puzzle in place, it’s time to consider how you will bring your token crowdsale to the attention of contributors. Your marketing strategy should employ different tactics around your pre-sale and public sale project phases.

For instance, you need to consider:

• Whether your website effectively reflects your brand and tells your story
• If you have enough content to educate potential contributors about your project
• How you can build and engage a dedicated community through email newsletters, events, and social media
• Whether you can generate industry or mainstream media attention through PR tactics
• Where to advertise your token crowdsale to reach the right audience
• How to gather metrics and tweak your tactics to improve results

9. Pull the Trigger

Once you’ve transitioned to the public stage of your token crowdsale, it’s time to pull the trigger on your smart contract. A seamless execution is important, but you should also ensure that you are able to easily track the results of your token crowdsale and adapt accordingly.

10. Complete Marketing Tasks

Ideally, you will finalize promotional tasks ahead of your launch, leaving you to focus on contributor relations in the immediate lead up to launch and during the duration of your token crowdsale. Communicating with supporters before, during, and after the campaign will be essential to build credibility, motivate your community, and ultimately, ensure a successful campaign.

Want to learn more? Stay tuned for next week’s post to find out more about the most important foundational document for your token crowdsale: the white paper.

Discover how you can simplify the token crowdsale process by signing up for email updates about Rocket, the all-in-one platform that lets you set up, launch, and track your token crowdsale without a development team.

Visit rocket.etherparty.com or contact sales@etherparty.com for more details.

10 Simple Steps to Launching a Successful Token Crowdsale was originally published in Etherparty on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Launching a token crowdsale can be intimidating. Whether or not you are familiar with the world of blockchain, there are a lot of factors to consider before diving into a token crowdsale. One of the first considerations should be how much the process will cost — and whether you can afford it.

Unfortunately, most start-ups hugely underestimate the amount of time and money required to launch a successful token crowdsale. Founders are more likely to focus on the positives — the potential to find a worldwide base of supportive contributors and raise funds without losing equity.

In our recent interviews with startup founders, we found that on average, founders expect set-up costs to be around $75,000. Only later down the road, they find out that costs can be upwards of $500,000, when all elements needed for a successful token crowdsale are considered.

That’s an 85 percent increase in costs. Clearly, somewhere, there is a breakdown between expectations and reality. What is really involved in a token crowdsale — and where can you save on expenses without sacrificing the success of your project?

The Phases of a Token Crowdsale

Like any project, different phases of your token crowdsale will come with different challenges and costs.

The first phase is concept development. What project are you building? If you already have an existing product or service, how do you plan to enhance it with blockchain? How will blockchain help solve a specific problem?

You may need to develop a basic prototype. This ideation and prototyping stage could cost $10,000 or more, depending on whether you already have the resources in-house to help plan or build a concept design. If you don’t, it will cost considerably more to outsource an expert. For example, recruiting a developer or research scientist with blockchain experience.

Once you have a concept, the next step is to build your company, your project, and your team.

Developing technology can be costly, as you need the right expertise on board to plan and research how your blockchain project will work. On top of R&D, you need to start considering how you will market your project and find supporters for your upcoming crowdsale.

This lead-up (the presale phase) can take anywhere from three to six months, or longer. Potential costs include:

• Company incorporation and legal advice
• Company naming and branding
• Project development (hiring developers, analysts, data scientists, etc.)
• Consulting or hiring a legal expert
• Hiring analysts and/or advisors with experience in blockchain
• Finding a marketing expert to plan marketing activities and strategies
• Web development and design
• Smart contract development to facilitate and govern your token crowdsale
• Expanding your marketing team or hiring contractors for social media management, public relations, copywriting, product design and other marketing tasks

Clearly, there are a lot of factors associated with this phase — and remember, this is before the actual launch of your crowdsale (the public phase), where you will need to actually execute the smart contracts and consider your next steps.

In the words of a CTO of a company currently undergoing a token crowdsale:

“ICO launch is a six month distraction in building our product. We have to become a marketing company instead.”

Buy vs Build: What’s the Best Bet?

Creating and uploading a secure, audited smart contract is one of the most important steps to a successful token crowdsale. For many startups, building a token crowdsale and smart contract from the ground up is simply not realistic, given the expertise required. Although there are some clear advantages to building a custom solution — you get exactly what you want. But, you have to consider that the associated price tag can be steep, and the risk of failure remains the same.

Costs vary for a custom-built solution, depending on the experience of developers and experts involved. When conducting a rough estimate, consider what hires and contractors you would need for token creation, smart contract auditing, and efficient smart contract execution, bearing in mind:

• You need to factor in the cost of consultations, requirement collection, smart contract creation, smart contract testing, whitelisting, and audit services
• The whitelisting and audit services listed above often involve third-party contractors, and can add on, typically, $10k to $50k to the final price tag
• The majority of costs come from services and features, rather than a quality product

Using contractors, a custom-built solution could range from a budget-friendly $15,000 to a pricier $100,000, not including your own staff salaries, marketing costs, legal costs, or post-token crowdsale tasks.

But the costs could be far greater. In addition to the expense of using a highly trained development team for six months or more, it’s worth considering the potential security threats in this fast-growing space and if you have the experience to navigate a highly technical industry. Building your own token and smart contract is fraught with danger — you risk dragging out costs through auditing, testing, and unforeseen events, or worse still, creating a smart contract that isn’t secure.

On the other hand, a token creation platform can eliminate a number of costs, as well as a great deal of time. A market-ready solution is a great option for a time-poor startup, particularly one looking for guidance and a way to lower risk in a new industry.

At a minimum, this kind of ready-made token solution should include:

• Token creation, management, and technical implementation
• Smart contract creation and execution
• Security
• Strong customer support
• Built-in auditing
• The ability to work on at least one major blockchain

Again, you need to consider marketing costs and how you will build a community to support your token crowdsale. All solutions involve some kind of upfront fee, but prices vary widely, from barebones kits at $5,000 to ongoing solutions that demand a share of token success as well as $100,000 or more.

Finding a platform that offers professionalism, high security standards, and ease of use will enable you to launch quicker, without dragging out costs or risking the success of your project.

Fuel Your Blockchain Project with Rocket

Given the costs involved, getting your token crowdsale up and running as soon as possible should be a priority. That’s why Etherparty launched Rocket, the world’s first user-friendly, smart contract creator designed to simplify crowdfunding.

Rocket is a token creation platform designed for entrepreneurs and blockchain business owners who need to get their project off the ground. Secure and simple to use, this all-in-one platform lets startups launch and track a token crowdsale without requiring a development team.

Created and supported by experts in blockchain programming, Rocket is a fully audited solution that drastically reduces the technical and development costs associated with token crowdsales. It achieves this by removing costs associated with:

• Development: As a ready-made solution, Rocket eliminates the need for blockchain coding experts — one of the biggest costs associated with token crowdsales
• Auditing: Rocket is fully audited, eliminating a further $10k to $50k from your budget
• Marketing: The solution includes a simple, secure landing page where you can market your crowdsale, which includes a featured listing in the active Rocket marketplace
• Tracking: Access live statistics from the smart contract regarding the token crowdsale
• Support: An expert team is on standby, ready to help out with any issues

But beyond the cost savings, an all-in-one solution like Rocket offers something less tangible, too — peace of mind.

Contact sales@etherparty.com to find out more and sign-up for a free trial of Rocket by Etherparty, the user-friendly platform that lets you set up, launch, and track your token crowdsale without a development team.

How Much Does it Really Cost to Launch a Token Crowdsale? was originally published in Etherparty on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

“It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do” — Steve Jobs.

Tech founders looking to launch a token sale would be wise to take the advice from the late Steve Jobs. To paraphrase the former Apple CEO, building a successful blockchain business requires a great degree of skill and expertise — and it’s unlikely you can do it all on your own.

If you’re looking to launch a token crowdsale to find supporters for your blockchain project, you need to consider filling a few gaps. Beyond product development, there are a number of key positions you should be looking to hire.

Here’s what to expect from each.

Chief Technology Officer

To attract contributors, you need a clear technical vision for your company. This is where the CTO comes in. This leadership role requires a high degree of technical competency, project development experience, and the ability to lead a team.

The CTO may be a savvy computer programmer or developer with experience in the blockchain space. They will be responsible for creating a white paper that outlines the technical details and roadmap of your project. More importantly, they will need to develop and drive technological innovation at your company, now and into the future.

Business Analyst

You may have a fantastic technical vision, but without a business strategy, it’s just that — a vision. That’s why it’s important to have someone on board who is capable of business forecasting and providing a crypto-economic audit for your project.

A business analyst will be crucial for you to take a strong, strategic approach to your token crowdsale. Hiring a candidate with an economics or business background — particularly if they have experience with cryptocurrency — is also useful when it comes to providing the nuts-and-bolts information about your company and token to contributors.

Marketing Director/Manager

Preparing for your token crowdsale requires a great degree of research and planning. You are essentially bringing your early-stage project to market — and to do this successfully, you need someone with marketing experience.

A marketing director works with executives to lead the marketing and communications strategy, which includes building out the marketing team. Depending on the size of the team, this person may also act as the marketing manager, and lead the day-to-day marketing activities, with a number of direct reports as their team grows.

Essentially, this person will live and breathe messaging, positioning, and marketing strategy. They will likely need to hire a few more key players in order to successfully implement the marketing plan for your token crowdsale.

Social Media Specialist

Building a community of supporters prior to launching your token crowdsale is key to your success. Social platforms such as Reddit, BitcoinTalk, Telegram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are hotbeds for cryptocurrency enthusiasts and advocates. These platforms are great place to rally engagement and find potential contributors to your project.

A social media specialist should know how to best utilize each platform, as well as analytics tools to measure engagement. A successful hire should be experienced in organic and paid social strategy, content management,reporting, and be creative, adaptable, and have excellent communication skills.

Public Relations Manager

Rounding out the marketing and communications teams should be someone in charge of investor relations and public relations. Token crowdsales can live or die based on whether or not anyone has heard of your project. PR can go a long way to help build credibility and competitively position your team as industry thought leaders within the field.

A PR manager will reach out to potential contributors, cryptocurrency influencers, and decision-makers. This may include pitching story ideas or profiles about your project or team to cryptocurrency or trade media, as well as mainstream media and industry groups, depending on your project.

It’s possible that the PR manager or marketing manager will dream up other creative strategies to gain publicity, such as experiential marketing and live events, bounties, competitions, award applications and more. While it’s possible to roll the PR position into the social media or marketing job description, it’s a good idea to hire an experienced PR professional specifically for the job, especially as you ramp up publicity closer to launch and need to field a lot of questions.

Growing Your Business for the Future

Finding the right people for your project is absolutely essential to your success, but don’t be tempted to drag out the process for too long. A recent study found that startups are most likely to succeed when technical founders quickly hire business people — that is, they look beyond their technical skills and concentrate on how they can grow their business.

A token crowdsale is essentially a way of finding supporters for your business to fuel growth. With Steve Jobs’ mentality, hiring a dynamic team of smart people will benefit your business well beyond launch.

If you’re interested in learning more about how you can simplify token crowdsales, sign up for the Rocket newsletter at rocket.etherparty.com. You’ll receive exclusive giveaways, helpful information, and early access to product updates.