I've noticed that the success of ICO's depends on the services offered and mainly on the advisors of the Dev Team (e.g. a well-known banker or a Bitcoin/Ethereum Developer). When I read any article about an ICO, I always ask myself 2 questions: why is blockchain needed and what is the added value of blockchain ?
I'm analysing and comparing ICO's using websites such as:
https://icobazaar.com/
https://wavesplatform.com/
About lending and borrowing crypto-currencies, Poloniex offers this service (and automation tools exists) but I've never used it: https://www.poloniex.com/lending#BTC