The 4 Lessons “From writing a cryptocurrency whitepaper to getting funded.”

Starting a company in blockchain and becoming an entrepreneur was one of the most exciting adventures of my life, especially since my grad school empowered me to become a problem solver and independent thinker.

The first time I heard about blockchain and bitcoin was back in 2013; I did not pay much attention to them until 2015 when some people start to build an application based on bitcoin. I delved into deep research about bitcoin and thought the underlying technology, blockchain, had enormous potential, so I decided to devote myself to this industry. Of course, being an IT professional is just one side of the story; being a good communicator verbally and non-verbally is the other. I’ll get back to this point in a minute.

Let me tell how I got into the storage-related industry. During my research, I learned that there was a big problem with data storage and blockchain: public chains were not designed to store and use a large amount of data.

Today, many blockchain projects must resort to using various traditional cloud storage providers for storing large amounts of data. Prior to developing Genaro, I believed this was inefficient. It makes developers create complicated workarounds and it does not keep with the spirit of open-source development and community-driven social enterprises.

Thus, Genaro was formed to create a one-stop solution for developers. It was a way to store data for DAPPS using a Turing complete smart contract public chain backbone and a secure decentralized storage network.

Having an idea was the first step, but communicating the story via a whitepaper was another challenge. To give an analogy, one might have a great idea and fail at communicating it publicly, and another might have a less attractive idea, but brand it well and turn it into world class. I guess Airbnb was “the best worst idea” that was rebranded and worked out well.

While developing Genaro`s mission, whitepaper and business plan, our team faced multiple challenges and aha moments. I’d like to share four learnings that newbies and those interested in taking their projects to ICO could find beneficial.

A whitepaper is a document that describes the uniqueness of your project. It is another form of pitch deck to showcase.

1. The format

While the website includes teaser information and is another form of a trailer like in movies to catch the attention of the potential buyer, partner or investors, the whitepaper is a detailed, a well-written piece that has the structure, milestones, business plan, technical advantages and other information that signals the commitment of your project.According to accepted rules, all whitepapers must be in PDF format. Why? Because PDFs are not secure, can crash your browser, can be edited and redistributed, and are frustrating to create and maintain. In the cryptocurrency industry, your willingness to suffer shows your transparency and openness.

2. The length

When Satoshi Nakamoto shared his Bitcoin P2P concept, his whitepaper contained eight pages only. Ironically, today`s average whitepaper can consist up to 100 pages. Why? It is hard to say if readers enjoy reading long whitepapers or if they do they even care.

There are tons of arguments that one could think of. From a logical standpoint, 8–10 pages may seem too informative, and yet trustworthy. Arguments can vary, depending on the marketing, PR and branding perspective. In my case, I decided to stick with 50–70 page(s) option. At the end of the day, it earned Genaro an initial investment (although, it wasn`t just about the whitepaper; it was about the team, pitch and project concept, too).

3. The authorship

Since English isn`t my first language, having a professional editor and proofreader that can juggle words is another part of the story. The concern is how well can they understand the story and how well can they communicate the idea you are trying to convey, especially if it`s new.

The more information you can provide them is helpful. And of course, always carefully reviewing the work of an editor and proofreader is important to make sure they didn’t intentionally change your meaning. Remember, you are the expert, not them.

4. The meat and potatoes

Writing an article that deserves someone`s time is one of the most challenging tasks today in the age of information that bombards from all over and distracts.

Now, thinking about 30+ pages to share your project, mission, milestones, and related information may seem like an insurmountable task. However, there are some basic structures that are accepted in the blockchain industry. Usually, they include:

- A quick recap of the problem that you are trying to solve and how your gig can help to make life better, cost-effective and game-changing. For example, we talk about storage and cover all storage-related historic developments and advancements, regardless of the industry. Make sure you cover historic facts and what you have on the table.

- After you talk about the history and advancements, delving into the future and promising your reader the “holy grain” in-depth is the next thing to consider. On one side, it is important to have a good imagination to ensure the professional delivery of information. On the other, it is important to have a deep understanding. Show that you own the idea and are able to communicate it with understandable language.

- Your project can be P2P, B2C or B2B and so on. Except for users that may have interest, there will be technically sophisticated professionals. Including full-page diagrams showcasing your project will help experts visually estimate your project, model, equations, and structure, making it more credible.

- Make sure to include your team and involve advisers. The more, the better, because it will show that you aren`t only technologically sophisticated, but also you have a group of PhDs, professors, and former and current change makers that support and advise on your project.

- Last, but not least, make sure you include a section on the pitfalls and risks to show that you’re responsible. Since you are dealing with the future, no one can be certain what could possibly happen tomorrow. Even when bitcoin was developed, it had no value. It was down several times in terms of its real value, but today it has become one of the must haves.

Finally here is our teaser to have an idea about Genaro`s Blockchain 3.0 ecosystem:

Here is our whitepaper based on which we wrote and described entire project, click here, and finally, if interested in having a talk and joining our Telegram, welcome to join, click here.