How to prepare your first round on Krows.

01Before you start

Krows is for raising a round yourself, with your investors and your rules. Before opening the dashboard, check that it fits:

• You have a concrete plan. The product does not need to exist yet, but you need to know what you will do with the money and in what order.
• You can show progress. Each part of the money is released when you show something: a demo, invoices, metrics.
• You are willing to report. Every two weeks or every month, without exception, for the whole round.

02How much to ask for

The round target is not "as much as you can get", but what you need to reach a point where your startup is clearly worth more. A simple way to work it out:

1. Pick that point: a launch, some sales, a certification.
2. Add up what it costs to get there: team, production, marketing, legal.
3. Add a 15 to 20% buffer for the unexpected.

A realistic target fills sooner, and a completed round attracts more investors than one left halfway.

03Design your milestones

Milestones are the most important part of your round: they decide when you receive the money and they are what your investors will vote on. A good milestone has three things:

• An outcome, not an activity. "500 units manufactured", not "work on manufacturing".
• Clear evidence. Decide from the start what you will show to get it approved.
• A matching amount. What it costs to reach that outcome, no more and no less.

Not like this

Like this

For a first round, three to five milestones usually works. None may exceed 40% of the goal, and each passes after three days of voting if at least 20% of tokens vote and more than 51% say yes. There is a full example in Milestones.

04Prepare your page

Your page is what investors read before deciding and what the Krows team reviews before approval. Tick each point when you have it: your progress is saved in this browser.

05Choose your reporting frequency

You choose biweekly or monthly when creating the startup and it cannot be changed. The rule of thumb:

• Biweekly if your startup moves fast (software, launches) and you want to keep the community engaged.
• Monthly if progress takes longer to show (manufacturing, certifications) or if your team is small.

When in doubt, choose monthly: it is better to always keep a smaller promise. Each period without a report costs 5 points of your trust score. See a sample report.

06Look after your trust score

You start at 50 and need 31 or more to create startups. What weighs most:

• Adds: each active month (+0.83), each approved milestone (+0.5), voting and taking part in chat, verifying your email and completing your profile (+0.5 each).
• Subtracts: a missed report (−5), a referendum against your startup (−3), a rejected milestone (−1).

At 76 or more you unlock free withdrawals and featured campaigns. Try it in the simulator.

07Launch and communicate

To launch you need all 10 steps complete, your integration detected in live mode and a test investment. The round starts the day you sign and lasts 90 days at most. Before tapping “Launch round”:

• Tell your network before opening: the first days set the pace of the round.
• Put your investment page on your domain and link it from your socials. See ways to integrate.
• Answer quickly in the chat: everyone reads the first questions.
• If you want more reach, promote your startup with pay-per-click ads on the board and in search, or a post on our socials.

08After the round

The round does not end when it closes: this is where you show that people were right to trust you.

• Always report on time, even when the news is not good.
• Request each milestone with clear evidence and explain it in the chat before voting starts.
• If the plan changes, say so before your investors find out.