Cofound.it, a platform recently spun off from digital asset investment company ICONOMI for nurturing and incubating blockchain startups planning crowd sales, has today announced its own token crowdsale, commencing May 24, 2017, 11 A.M. EST/5 P.M. CET and concluding June 24, 2017.
The token sale will be executed on an Ethereum smart contract, will raise funds for a distributed global platform that will bypass the traditional venture capital model by connecting exceptional startups, experts, and investors.
Cofound.it will issue CFI, a token that grants cryptocurrency startup teams and experts access to the platform’s advanced technical tools and features.
Cofound.it CEO and Co-founder Jan Isakovic said:
“The decentralized economy is increasingly recognizing the need to establish and adhere to stricter standards and best practices. Cofound.it is proud to be leading the market toward a new maturity level by providing high-potential startups planning crowdsales with expert coaching in business development and optimal crowdsale processes.”
“CFI will function as the currency of Cofound.it’s global marketplace platform, which will connect token crowdsale projects with world-leading experts, tools, and services. This platform, built by the blockchain community for the blockchain community, will replace the VC funding model and facilitate remote mentorship and collaboration, creating a Silicon Valley for the new distributed age.”
Some data, services, and tools on Cofound.it’s platform will be exclusive to members holding minimum amounts of CFI, such as pre-release access and more in-depth insights into projects in the evaluation stage. Other services will require direct payment of tokens. For instance, project submissions, which require expert evaluation, will come with a fee, in CFI, which will be divided among the evaluators. Since all parties on the platform are paid in tokens, the best interests of the projects are solidified and safeguarded.
The first $2.5 million USD raised in the token crowdsale will fund initial platform development and strategic regional outposts of Cofound.it.
For every additional $1 million raised above this threshold, Cofound.it will set up a new regional subsidiary and hire an additional expert for two years’ time. This structure will remain in place up to $12.5 million raised. Cofound.it’s regional targets include Europe (London, Zug, and Berlin), the Americas (New York City, San Francisco, and Toronto), and Asia (Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and Tokyo).
Daniel Zakrisson, Co-Founder, and Head of Evaluations and Mentoring said:
“Cofound.it implements a rigorous process to vet token crowdsale projects. This includes meeting members of the team in a two-day workshop to understand team dynamics and undergo full due diligence. Investors in Cofound.it’s token crowdsale will be granted access to see the projects that were rejected from the Cofound.it program, providing them with transparency. Adding stretch goals for the crowdsale will let Cofound.it accelerate its platform expansion and growth in an efficient way.”
Cofound.it has already engaged with more than 40 promising projects over the last several months, with three currently accepted to the program. The company aims to launch 10 startup projects this year and ramp up to 30 project launches in 2018.
Cofound.it’s advisory team includes The Business Blockchain author and Ethereum advisor William Mougayar; Week in Ethereum author and Ethereum ecosystem expert Evan Van Ness; blockchain apps and incentive design expert Vincent Eli; Collider accelerator Co-Founder David Prais; ICONOMI Co-Founder Tim Zagar; Senior Manager at Deloitte, Lan Filipic; and Managing Partner at Novak Rutar Law Firm Nejc Novak.
Deloitte will serve as a key launch partner in the Cofound.it mentoring program, providing a structured approach to ICO evaluation and helping to refine strategy, construct business and profit models, and determine sources of sustainable competitive advantage. Deloitte will further provide an evaluation of external drivers such as market characteristics, market attractiveness, consumer trends, and competitive positioning.
Cofound.it’s other global launch partners include Wachsman PR, a leading blockchain public relations agency, and Novak Rutar Law. The advisory team brings unmatched experience building startup accelerators, designing and evaluating distributed applications, analyzing the Ethereum ecosystem, evaluating the rise of the blockchain in the traditional economy, token ecosystem design, and providing legal advice to blockchain startups.
Jan Isakovic summed up:
“As the space continues to gain rapid momentum, Cofound.it is proud to be collating best practices from a variety of industries into a single, optimized process for crowdsales. The Cofound.it platform is a unique catalyst and a means for the world’s leading experts to provide services and collaborate.”
“The CFI crowdsale will help build a serious contender to the $130 billion startup investment space, eliminate the traditional need for venture capital investment, and empower visionaries to fulfill their entrepreneurial spirit from anywhere in the world, not just Silicon Valley.”
“Cofound.it is just one example of a crowdsale that every industry, not just fintech, can be disrupted. Cofound.it is revolutionizing the way startups are funded and formed.”
Investors can participate in the crowdsale commencing May 24, 2017, 11 A.M. EST / 5 P.M. CET with Ethereum (ETH). CFI tokens are intended to be traded on major exchanges.
Cofound.it token distribution summary:
- 25% crowdsale
- 25% reserved for future use
- 20% current and future team, advisors, experts
- 10% ICONOMI
- 20% purchase of Cashila assets
10% of Cofound.it tokens will be owned by ICONOMI, where the Cofound.it project was born and has evolved.
Also announced was that 20% of the tokens raised will be used to purchase the assets of crypto-fiat gateway payment provider Cashila, who recently stopped B2C service only to focus on B2B. The crowdsale know-how and the software platform, the foundation for Cofound.it, was developed at Cashila for the ICONOMI crowdsale. More importantly, in order to bring traditional investors into the token crowdsale world, Cofound.it needs a “bridge” to cross to get there.
Cashila is that bridge. Not only has it already developed all the services required to connect the cryptocurrency economy to the traditional economy, but it also has a recognizable brand name and a wide user base which will allow Cofound.it to present projects to a wider group of potential supporters.
