You do not need an ICO advisor.

The long version of this article was published first on LinkedIn on 9/28/2018. The crypto market is evolving rapidly. Check our latest articles here or on our blog for our most recent perspective.

Despite what you may have heard, you can skip the ICO advisor when putting together your advisory board. What you need instead, are good business advisors. All too many ICOs put together large panels of big name ICO advisors in the hopes that it will grant them the credibility they need to succeed, but better ICOs understand that the best way to succeed is to hire the people that will help to identify and solve critical business barriers in their industry and have a network that will help speed up the development of their company.

ICO advisors are a relic of a time where ICOs were much less scrutinized, and they could get away with unproven business models or products simply by hiring reputable people, and showing off that they are involved in their project. This resulted in a large number of projects without coordination or direction that ultimately fell flat, as well as numerous scam projects that helped to stigmatize the concept of ICOs altogether.

Don’t make the same mistake

The right advisor for your project will help steer it in the right direction, provide insight into the relevant industries, help set realistic and challenging goals as well as advise on how to meet them, and finally, connect your company with a network of potential contributors and partners, clients, new hires and other fitting advisors.

Make good use of your advisors

In order for your advisors to have the greatest impact on your project you need to have regularly scheduled calls with them. Your team should be keeping them up to date on all the recent developments your project is undergoing, both good and bad, and they should be aware of where on your progress roadmap you are currently sitting at any given moment.

Category advisors

The advisory field is massive, and the truth is many of them are amateurs looking to make an easy buck. When searching for an advisor to your project, you need to be aware of what they will actually have to offer you. This means focus on advisors with extensive experience in your particular sector or market, so they can provide you with valuable insights into how to market and build your product to have the best impact on your users.

These are the types of advisors you want to seek:

• Industry Experts
• Business process specialists
• Blockchain specialists
• ICO strategy specialists
• Regional advisors

In order to get the best out of your advisors, you need to incentivize their hard work. There’s numerous ways to pay advisors, but the important point is that it needs to be enough to get them excited and enthusiastic for making the project a big success.

In conclusion

The important takeaway from this is to not look at what other ICOs are doing. Think about what will be best for your project and your project alone. Find advisors that work for your specific subsection of the market, take their advice and wow your audiences with the big accomplishments you make. Hiring a big name advisor might seem like a good way to get attention for your project, but it is a waste of your time and your money.

Click the link to read our full guide ‘You do not need an ICO advisor.’

Propulsive is a PR and marketing firm helping up-and-coming businesses in the blockchain industry define their messaging, find their market and exceed their own expectations.

Follow Propulsive’s Linkedin company page to get the latest news, and learn more about Initial Coin Offerings.