Tips to get the most from an ICO Roadshow:
According to data collected by CoinDesk, Initial coin offerings (ICOs) raised more money in the first three months of 2018 than the whole of 2017. They found that, at $6.3 billion, ICO funding in the first quarter of 2018 was 118% of the total for 2017.
As a Blockchain Accelerator, we know this all too well. Demand and need for Roadshows in particular attract the majority of inquiries we receive in this ICO frenzy. Roadshows are a great way to increase exposure and link with local partners to gain credibility through network effect.
We also know that the current market is oversaturated with ICOs touring the world with their own groundbreaking ideas, so in order to stand out and make the most of an ICO road show, first and foremost:
- Be sure to keep in mind that VC’s are not your only investors. This is crowdfunding 2.0, you’re not only pitching to VC’s. You may be speaking in front of an audience of 20 or 2,000 individual crypto investors, so have a pitch that speaks to crypto investors. Every investor wants to see returns but in Blockchain specifically, investors want to see problems being solved that now Blockchain enables you to solve and why your project requires Blockchain to function. The hands down most asked question from audiences our startups have pitched to is: ‘what is the utility of your token? Why is your token necessary for this platform to function.’ This should be incorporated in your pitch without the need for question.
- NO brainer but…Practice, practice, practice. Use a coach, use a mentor through your accelerator whether in person or video for your pitch. All too often, these details make your presentation unclear and steal attention away from the impact of your project. It’s a lot of work. It is a lot of time and work. You’re a startup, running an ICO with the clock ticking. You have a small amount of people and an overwhelming amount of work to do -but do not discount the importance of this. If you have an incredible project but no one understood you, your message or the central need for your token, they will not invest. Contrary to popular belief, ICOs are not free money and introductions will only open the doors, it’s up to you to sell the tokens.
- Organize schedules including minor details in advance: This is huge, for Asia Roadshows in particular where language barriers and customs can be confusing. Conferences are long, quick, busy and draining. Do not get stuck wasting time lost, organizing transportation, creating community buzz before arrival to next location while also trying to squeeze meetings, etc. At StartupToken, we do the majority of this leg work for our startups. We work with local partners on the major events, marketing & publications prior to each arrival, assign introductions to best suited investors or potential partners and in many global locations also offer working spaces to use as home base between meetings. We also source flight, hotel suggestions to save time and money hiring hands to organize. We also schedule sponsored dinners & events so startups can use near to every moment meeting strategic players with more intimate time to converse. Roadshows are fast, far and often costly so whether you are working with an accelerator like us who manages this or organizing on your own, to make the most, use local partners and have a team member with you to split the small details of travel and organization while the other manages meetings.
4. KYC: Know Your Community. This ties into pitch prep, the investors are there, don’t worry. Take the time to know a bit about each country and it’s communities you will be speaking to. For example, the investors or VC’s correlated to the events you are presenting at- do they have a strong dev background, do they tend to invest heavily in decentralized financial solutions, Blockchain for social impact..etc. and tweak your speech each time accordingly to make the most of knowing this information beforehand. Generally, if you are working work local partners or an accelerator who is organizing these events for you, this info is easy to get and take some notes before your tour begins. Use the down time at airports/airplane between countries to reviews your notes and prep some extra or revised statements in your pitch.
5. Allocate your tour resources wisely depending on what is best to participate in and where. We blueprint each global location for our startups and manage continents differently. Don’t undervalue Meetups & overvalue conferences. You are doing an ICO and focusing on future token users not speculators- otherwise you would be doing an IPO. Often times these are the investors linked to tight, loyal communities that attend Meetups dedicated to the space. Our experience has shown that some conferences are best to skip and focus on smaller scale Meetups while other locations and conferences are imperative to be seen at. So before shelling out the hefty fees to participate, be sure it’s worth the $.
6. Due Diligence. Name the week, there is probably a Blockchain conference going on somewhere in the world. If you are organizing your own roadshow, do your homework, Blockchain conferences have become a big business. Don’t be lured by the numbers, there have been instances where attendees are not in fact would be investors but randoms incentivized to show up. There have also been cases of large scale conferences with equally large fees but it’s turned out to be startups pitching to an audience of startups.
7. Know which networking hat to wear, where. Each location and event will be different from the last so make the most of every moment with some key prep work. For example, if you are headed to China, it is without questions you have a WeChat account set in place perhaps even rather than business cards. Dr Moe Levin, Founder of World Blockchain Forum which is the longest running, most attended, financial global conference for the Blockchain & Bitcoin industries, suggests to prepare for conferences by coming with specific goals of what you want to get out of the event in terms of business or partnership goals. He says:
Make a hitlist of people or other speakers you’d like to connect with ahead of the event
Arrive a day earlier to rest, there is a finite amount of time that you will have at these events and not a lot of time to rest
There is no replacement for face to face interactions, try to spend as much time meeting people as possible
His message couldn’t be more appropriate for the Blockchain space where funding reached $6.3 billion this year for Q1 alone. Community is key and face to face interactions remain a strong determining factor when investors choose which ICOs to participate in.
A roadshow is an intense and effective way to rapidly gain community in target locations. They help propel your project and unite a network with links to investment, future partners and Blockchain enthusiasts as potential community marketers. Take the time to do some prep work, remember your strongest investors are future token holders that believe in your project and make the most of those road shows!
