I just took a look at the value proposition of the Populous platform and their ongoing ICO.
First off, labeling the first part of their ICO as a "Pre-ICO" is a pretty unique twist and quite smart marketing.
This way they can already raise funds while getting the word out before creating urgency with the "launch" and impending deadline of the ICO. When the "real" ICO comes up they will have a significant part of their cap already filled.
Taking a look at their smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain explorer we can see that at the time of this writing they have already raised about $9 million USD.
Sidenote: I checked the numbers last evening. Currently their Pre-ICO page shows a 404 error:
Not exactly confidence inspiring. The links "Career", "Introducers", "Developers", "Case Studies" and "Frequently Asked Questions" are also dead.
How serious can one take an technology company that cannot even build a proper website?
The Populous Platform - All Fluff No Substance?
Populous throws around big numbers mentioning a $3 trillion USD worldwide invoice financing market.
The magic ingredient of their platform is EXTENSIBLE BUSINESS REPORTING LANGUAGE (XBRL) which is simply a reporting standard used in the UK since 2011.
But what about the rest of the world?
Can you see the addressable market size shrink in front of your eyes?
The content on the website and in the whitepaper is of little substance, missing detailed explanations but full of empty sound bytes like "Smart Contracts, Stable pegged tokens and more".
Why wouldn't any big factoring company in the UK not already be using the XBRL format and apply algorithms to model risk?
I see absolutely nothing new here.
They are claiming their system will increase efficiency but they don't write a single word about specific numbers.
There is also absolutely zero information for investors regarding the projected returns, default risk etc.
One would think a simple example of what an investor can expect would be a good idea to attract an investor base.
No such thing.
Major Red Flag: Compensation
Populous is aiming to raise a total of 58,577 ETH or $19.3 million USD at the current exchange rate.
They are allocating 13,200 ETH, a whopping 22.53% of the raised funds for the team!
The equivalent of $4.35 million USD.
Now let's take a closer look at the Populous Team...
Steve Nico Williams, founder of Tramp Magazine is the Founder & CEO. I guess with the launch of the Populous ICO he aims to join the "Top 100 Jet Set Socialites" or "The Top 50 City Big Wigs" lists.
Little is know about Zvezdomir Zlatinov, their Solidity developer as he either couldn't be bothered with creating a Linkedin profile or their webmaster is unable to place the proper hyperlink.
John Morton describes himself as an "Interim CTO" on his Linkedin profile. In other words a part-time gun for hire.
It is doubtful that he has a significant stake in this operation if he will soon abandon the project and move on to greener pastures. One would assume that if he really believed in the project he would join the team permanently on a fulltime basis.
Jasun Tuang is a young accountant with little experience that is currently still attending business school.
Furthermore we have an external risk consultant and a blockchain advisor from Trivandrum, India.
Triv...where?
A credible team looks different.
It looks like the only person with real skin in the game is Steve Nico Williams.
The bottom line
It looks like the Populous ICO is little more than a vehicle to line the pockets of Steve Nico Williams.
If the platform will ever attract a significant investor base and will deliver any real value whatsoever is highly doubtful.
Especially compared to the numerous existing invoice financing solutions that are readily available in the marketplace.
This looks like nothing more than factoring wrapped in blockchain with a cherry on top in order to make a quick buck.
My recommendation is to look elsewhere for solid investments in the crypto space.
However, I'm sure glad their website is available in Igbo and Yoruba so investors in Nigera will be able to participate
