2017 was a crazy good year for startups raising capital via ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings), a form of crowdfunding for cryptocurrency and blockchain projects. But, not so for the investors. 211 ICO projects raised around €4.5 Billion in a largely unregulated market. Most failed after raising the funds. Three patterns I observed in most of the failed ICO projects was lack of a functional product, zero paying customers, and no credible partners. Recently, I got hold of Ingmar Vroege, co-founder, and CEO, of Safeguard, an app that helps companies prevent work-related injuries and safety threats and is about to raise funding by selling tokens through ICO. I interviewed Ingmar about:
- The startup’s recent partnership with Startupbootcamp, an industry-focused network of startup accelerators
- Safeguard’s planned ICO event in which the startup aims to raise €20M
- Current and future plans of Safeguard, and the milestones it has achieved so far
Tell us something about your past experience and how you came to the realization of making an app that helps companies in accident prevention?
Ingmar: We started developing apps in 2012 for startups and large organization always with an interest in safety. In 2015 we were approached by the Amphia hospital to develop an app that could alarm safety personal and give insight into their presence. That is where Safeguard started.