ICOrating

HOQU Basic Review (https://www.hoqu.io)

ICO dates (27.11.2017 — 26.12.2017)

Web: icorating.com

Email: info@icorating.com

Twitter: @IcoRating

Links

Project details

Name: HOQU

Ticker symbol: HQX

Project type: Marketing

Extended company

description:

HOQU is a decentralized partner platform that combines a performance marketing model and blockchain technology. The essence of the project’s aim is to employ a decentralized ecosystem for the creation of CPA services on its basis, ranging from partner programs to partner networks and related products, based on blockchain data.

[1]

Company: HOQU LLP

Website: https://www.hoqu.io

Whitepaper: https://www.hoqu.io/hoqu-whitepaper-en.pdf

ICO details

Public ICO launch: 27.11.2017

Public ICO end date: 26.12.2017 [2]

Crowdsale duration

(weeks): 4,1

Token type: ERC-20

Token supply: 888 888 000 [2]

Tokens available for

purchase (Pre-Sale

+ Public ICO):

577 777 200

The purpose of

attracting

investments:

Team 10%

Marketing 21%

Development Product 19%

Legal 3%

Business Functions 15%

Global Expansion 17 %

Overheads 12 %

Charity 3 %

1 HQX price: 0.0916 USD (0.00020 ETH)

Accepted payments: ETH, BTC, LTC

Bounty: Start date: October 10, 2017 until the end of the ICO.

Token role: Functional

Team

Team (number of

people) 33

Advisors and

partners (number of

people)

4

GitHub: https://github.com/hoqu-io

Social media

Twitter: Posting: 77, Subscribers: 1254

Telegram: Subscribers: 4300: English (3000) and Russian (1300) groups

Medium: Subscribers: 77

Reddit: Subscribers: 75

Linkedin: Subscribers: 16

Facebook: Subscribers: 3033

Youtube Posting: 31, Subscribers: 1308

Project information

HOQU is a decentralized partner platform that combines a performance marketing model and blockchain technology. The essence of the project’s aim is to employ a decentralized ecosystem for the creation of CPA services on its basis, ranging from partner programs to partner networks and related products, based on blockchain data.

[1]

HOQU will provide the following services: - organization of partnership programs - API for integration - SDK for development of own partner networks or creation of other services - provision of analytics on partner programs - direct cooperation between an advertiser and a partner - trust rating - opportunity to work with fiat budgets for some platform participants

[2]

Partners:

- Ethereum - technical partner. - FISD - strategic partner. - Blocklancer - strategic partner.

Advisors:

Kenneth A. Goodwin (LinkedIn) - Associate Professor of International Trade and Corporate Ethics at Baruch College - Continuing and Professional Studies (CAPS) (1.5 years), Senior Manager director and president at Jeanensis Capital Markets (2.5 years), vice president at HSBC Securities (1.5 years.) Alex Shifrin (LinkedIn) - Managing Partner of LP / AD (2.5 years), CEO at Saatchi & Saatchi (3 years), CEO at The Creative Factory (10 years.) Dr. Moe Levin (LinkedIn) - CEO at Keynote (4 years), advisor at Blockchain Companies (3 years), member of Executive Committee of Global Blockchain Council (2 years.)

Ralph Liu (LinkedIn) - founder and president of WeCoOwn (1.5 years), founder and

president of WePropertyOwners (7 months), CEO and founder of InvestorsAlly, Inc.

(7.6 years.)

Investments attracted:

N/A

Conclusion

There are well-known experts from the blockchain industry involved in the HOQU project. This attracts interest in the project from the community. We recommend buying the tokens of the project. Strengths of the project: - The project has been created by well-known founders. - The team works in the high-growth performance and affiliate marketing market segments. - The project also has a sufficiently detailed description of its platform and user interaction scheme. Weaknesses of the project: - Although the team indicates its target markets (comprising the world’s largest

markets), the project does not disclose its commercial strategy in either the white

paper or the roadmap.

Market and industry

According to Statista, the amount spent on Digital Advertising by 2020 will be $335.48 billion; CAGR will be 18%. Juniper Research estimates the spend for digital advertising at $285 billion by 2020. According to Go-Gulf research, the increase in advertising through CAP will be approximately 10.6% per year.

[29] [30] [31]

Internet advertising market volume According to the white paper, the volume for the world market in internet advertising grew by 15-22% annually from 2010 to 2016. The share for internet advertising exceeded the share for television in 2017. According to Statista, the volume for the internet advertising market will be $227.802 billion in 2017. According to Dentsu Aegis data, in 2018 the share of internet advertising will exceed 50% of the total advertising market in 8 countries: Australia, Great Britain, Denmark, China, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden. According to a Magna forecast, total share of Internet advertising worldwide will increase from 36% to 50% by 2021.

[2]

Market forecast

2016-2021 (Magna)

[2]

According to eMarketer, the volume of the internet advertising market will be $335.48

billion by 2020. A graph of online advertising market volume by country is given

below:

[2]

Market volume for

internet advertising

2020 (eMarketer)

[2]

Regarding the CPA market, according to AWIN, a company working in the field of partner marketing, the total volume of the world market in the industry is $13.2 billion.

According to expert Evgeny Prussakova, affiliate programs create from 15% to 30% of all online sales for advertisers. Since the platform is focused on Performance and Affiliate Marketing, the team gives figures in the following areas: Performance Marketing:

- UK market volume amounted to £1.5 billion ($2.12 billion) in 2016 - an increase of 12% from 2015.

- Russia - an increase of 29% from 2015. There are links to market research on performance marketing in the white paper. It is predicted that the market will grow to $232 billion by the end of 2023. Affiliate Marketing: According to estimates made by AWIN, total world market in this industry is $13.2 billion. According to Evgeny Prusakova, affiliate programs generate from 15% to 30% of all online sales for advertisers.

Comments:

The team provides figures on the development of the potential market; according to the white paper, performance marketing will grow to over $200 billion by the end of 2023. Unfortunately, the project does not provide information on the performance + affiliate marketing market niche. We believe that we can adhere to the digital advertising market growing by an average of 15% per year (average CAGR Statista and Juniper Research). Based on (Statista and Juniper Research) studies, the digital advertising market could increase over $450 billion by the end of 2023. We can conclude that affiliate marketing will be worth more than $90 billion by 2023. The total market niche of the project will be over $300 billion (by 2023). That will be 2/3 of the total digital advertising market. We believe that the team should look for a broad target

market, but we recommend the project develop a plan for the

gradual development of its functionality. This will help to make

better use of the funds raised during the crowdsale.

Competitors

The team identifies the following competitors in the white paper: Qchain - A digital advertising blockchain-based platform with the use of smart contracts. AdEx – A blockchain ad exchange which also uses smart contracts; AdChain - An open protocol built on Ethereum that enables creating decentralized applications for an ecosystem of digital advertising. We can also add: Brave - A digital advertising blockchain-based platform where users are rewarded for participation. 1world - interactive platform that allows publishers and brands to collect information about their customers using interaction tools.

In addition, there are non-blockchain platforms that can be referred to as competitors:

Hasoffers, Affise, Cake.

[2]

Resume:

The team claims that their key difference is a low service

commission and the ability to receive reports for each action,

i.e. to see the result of an advertising campaign. However, the

concept as a whole is very similar to all the competitors

presented above.

Engineering features of the platform

The platform is built on the basis of blockchain technology using API and smart-contracts. In the HOQU system, users are identified using the Civic blockchain-platform. A mobile application (iOS, Android) is planned, to work using the platform.

[2],

[31],

[32]

Technology description

[2]

1) Before using the platform, one must register on the hoqu.com web service, and confirm a phone number and e-mail address.

2) The next step is to verify identity. A hot Ethereum wallet is then created, giving the user a personal Ethereum address and a private key to the wallet required to access a personal area on other devices.

3) The user selects a specialization. 4) An advertiser places on the HOQU platform offers aimed at a specific type of

data (leads) for which he is willing to pay up to a value indicated by himself. 5) A partner who wants to promote the advertiser's offer deploys and maintains

the marketing network on his own, attracting customers. The tracking service generates lead data and adds key information to the platform (via API or by calling the smart contract method directly).

6) If the advertiser approves the added lead by calling the appropriate API smart contract method, the cost of the lead is written off his account and it is sent to the partner minus the platform commission. The affiliate network can place all its offers and leads on the platform.

Any partner working with the platform will be able to see all the affiliates of the partner

network and start working with them without making any additional adjustments

[2]

The HOQU ecosystem involves several key players: - Merchant (advertiser) - Affiliate (partner) - Affiliate Network (partner network) - Customer (client)

Comment: The white paper contains a fairly good technical description of

the platform. [2]

Technological Roadmap

In the future, with the development of technology and data capacity it is planned to implement the following: - January 2018 - development of smart contracts for all types of remuneration (CPA, CPL, CPC, CPS, CPI) - February 2018 - development of a tracking service application by remuneration type - March 2018 - release partner / advertiser application - May 2018 - add the functions of monitoring, adding, managing offers and leads, obtaining statistics - September 2018 - launch of a partner network on the HOQU platform - October 2018 - release application for operator and administrator of the appellate center - February 2019 - creation of mobile applications for advertisers, partners and CPA networks - March 2019 - development of a set of tools for developers (SDK)

[2]

Comment:

There is a description of the platform and application

development in the roadmap. The team has many software

specialists, so we may expect tasks to be accomplished on

time.

There are no open modules in the open repository: - platform - platform code - hoqu-geth-api - providing all projects with access to Ethereum via RESTful API

Screenshot of

repository

Comment:

In the repository one can get acquainted with the platform

code and the API. Unfortunately, there is no additional

development underway.

Documentation

We have analyzed the HOQU website and documentation for sufficiency and

consistency for making an investment decision.

The documentation consists of the white paper, available in English, Chinese,

Japanese and Russian. HOQU is described in sufficient detail in the submitted

documentation. The focus is made on platform functionality, the market and the

problems being solved as well as financial plans and possible risks. Registration is

required to view the white paper on the website.

The website also provides information about the project, token distribution, the

staging of public ICO, advisors and the team. The website is available in English,

Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Russian. An additional advantage of the website is

the presence of a link to the registration in the whitelist.

[1]

Resume:

The documentation allows to form a comprehensive view of

the project. The best way to ask questions to the team is via

the link below: https://t.me/HOQUIO

ICO

Public ICO launch: November 27, 2017

Tokens to be

released, % 65%

Token type: ERC-20

Accepted as

payment: ETH, BTC, LTC

1 HQX cost 0.0916 USD (0.00020 ETH)

Crowdsale period: 4 weeks, until December 26, 2017

HQX token will perform an infrastructure function and it is necessary for settlements between platform participants. The amount of remuneration for partner networks and partners will have both a fixed price in US dollars and a floating one in tokens. In the white paper the team claims that HQX tokens will get turnover via: - payment for services of partner networks by advertisers; - payment from partner networks to partners; - payment from advertisers to partners; - HQX will circulate on platform-independent exchanges.

[2]

HQX development

stages

Token issue limit: 888 888 000

Advantages of token holders: limited tokens, functional tokens which allows using the

platform services or sell them.

Maximum planning

amount of profit: $15 000 000

Current amount: ~ $4 500 000

Bonus:

Token sale is

implemented in

several stages:

Comment:

HQX tokens will not be considered SEC Securities based on the Howey test. Registration in the whitelist is needed to participate in the token sale.

[2]

Bounty

Link https://bounty.hoqu.io/

Scheme of interest

distribution by

program

Allocated to the bounty: 17,777,760 HQx (1 HQX = 0.0002 ETH) Distribution: 39% (6,933,326 HQx) Signatures and avatars 26% (4,622,218 HQx) Content Creation 20% (3,555,552 HQx) Social media including: Twitter, Facebook, Medium, Telegram, YouTube, Reddit, Instagram and WeChat 15% (2,666,664 HQx) Translation and moderation The project also has an affiliate program: "HOQU has been using the model of performance marketing since the very beginning of its activity. We offer a partnership program for which 0.5% of the total issue (4,444,440 HQX) will be

[2]

allocated. Tokens will be distributed among partners in proportion to attracted investments. The partnership program will be launched from the beginning of the Pre- Sale and will go on until the end of the Main Sale".

Resume: The project has an extensive bounty program. All the

conditions of the program are detailed by the link above.

Tokens and capital distribution

Tokens and capital distribute according to the following scheme:

Tokens and capital

distribution scheme

Resume:

Tokens do not affect the distribution of shares in the company.

The incentive system is set up such way that it is more

profitable to buy tokens earlier.

Development plans

According to the roadmap, the project team is planning to focus on the following markets: - North America: USA, Canada; - South America: Brazil, Argentina, Chile; - Europe: Germany, Great Britain, France, Netherlands; - Asia: China, India, Japan. Also, it is planned to transfer the business of the Marketcall project to the HOQU platform.

[2]

Roadmap

Resume:

21% of funds raised will be channeled to marketing to increase popularity of the HOQU platform (if Hard cap is reached, this will be $6.595 million.) Adding the Marketcall business (https://www.marketcall.ru/) to the platform can also bring benefits, since there are already about 55,000 people on this platform. However, the white paper does not specify time intervals and

specific activities to attract users.

Team

The team consists of 33 people and 4 advisors. Information about the main team

members based on LinkedIn is given below:

Alexei Shmonov (LinkedIn) - CEO and co-founder. Presently: CEO and co-founder of Marketcall.ru, co-founder of Novostroyki.org, CEO and co-founder of Vkostume.ru (carnival costumes) since 2009, co-owner of the real estate website Move.ru since 2008; Maxim Anikeev (LinkedIn) - co-founder and director of marketing. CEO at PROMOPAGE LTD since 2006. Previously: CEO at MaxStyle. Alexander Duzhnikov (LinkedIn) - co-founder and COO. Co-founder and director of marketing at MarketCall, co-founder of Vkostume.Ru, Novostroyki.Org, Military.Ru, Vipbikini.Ru, Trike Motors. Earlier co-founder of Allflat.ru, closed in 2014.

Roman Kaufman (LinkedIn) - CVO. Co-founder of International Blockchain

Consulting Group (IBCG). Previously: Key Account Manager of Hygiene Kinetics,

Territorial Director / Key Accounts Specialist at Philip Morris International.

The team comprises 29 more people in addition.

Resume:

The project has a team of more than 30 people. The main

team indicates its affiliation with the project, which will increase

the credibility of the project for the blockchain community. The

team members are mostly from Russia. Unfortunately, not all

team members were found on LinkedIn. Only a consultant on

public relations and marketing in the Asian market and an

assistant editor of HOQU did not specify their affiliation with

the project. The team also includes a technical director, a

business development specialist, communications specialists,

a chief editor, a sales manager, a corporate identity designer, a

director for international development, project managers, a

copywriter, event manager, analysts, CEO promotion and

advertising specialists, software and smart contracts

specialists.

Marketing

Information about the project is available on Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, BitcoinTalk,

Reddit, Instagram, YouKu, Steemit and Medium. There is Bounty program.

The project is active on social media. Twitter, Facebook, Medium and Steemit

regularly update news. The team communicates with users on Telegram. The format

of articles about the project shows that they are written mainly to order.

Comment: Interest in the project is at a high level. The marketing

campaign covers almost all available social media. [1]

Analysis of website traffic based on Similarweb.com data showed the following:

Traffic sources

(Similarweb.com)

[6]

Comment: 54.83% traffic - direct links, 20.76% - - referrals, 5.87% -

search, 11.19% - social media.

Traffic through

search:

5.87%: 84.04% - "organic" traffic, 15.96% - ad clicks

Referral links:

20.76% Top 5 websites: bitcointalk.org: 43.33%; bountylord.com:

9.22%; icobench.com: 8.29%; coinjinja.com: 7.65%; golos.io:

7.05%

Comment:

The popularity of the website is growing fast enough (909,000 people in the last month) as well as the number of subscribers on social media which indicates interested users. Top 5 countries of the website visitors: Russia - 47.65%,

Ukraine - 14.19%, the USA - 5.9%, Cyprus - 3.22%, Japan -

3.14%

Resume:

According to the available data, it can be concluded that users

are interested in the project. The team is published in the

press, conducts an active advertising campaign on social

media, uploads videos on YouTube regularly and actively

communicates with users on Telegram.

Contacts

The developers may be contacted using the links below.

Website: https://www.hoqu.io

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HOQU_IO

Telegram: https://t.me/HOQUIO

https://t.me/HOQU_rus

Medium: https://blog.hoqu.io/

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/HOQU

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/11291764

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HOQUio

Github: https://github.com/hoqu-io

Bitcointalk: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2254410

Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcfcY4aMC4liK8FAxmZP2

Qw

Useful links

1. Website https://www.hoqu.io

2. White Paper https://www.hoqu.io/hoqu-whitepaper-en.pdf

5. About Bounty https://bounty.hoqu.io/

6. Similarweb https://www.similarweb.com/website/hoqu.io

29. https://www.statista.com/statistics/237974/online-advertising-

spending-worldwide/

30. https://www.juniperresearch.com/press/press-releases/digital-

advertising-revenues-to-double-by-2020

31. https://www.go-gulf.com/blog/online-ad-spending/

32. https://tokensale.civic.com/#about

The information contained in the document is for informational purposes only. The views expressed in this document are solely personal stance of the ICOrating Team, based on data from open access and information that developers provided to the team through Skype, email or other means of communiction. Our goal is to increase the transparency and reliability of the young ICO market and to minimize the risk of fraud. We appreciate feedback with constructive comments, suggestions and ideas on how to make the analy-sis more comprehensive and informative.