Biggest mistake that everyone makes, not only beginner traders, is listening to others and investing based on other's suggestions/recommendations.

Unfortunately, as of right now, this space is filled with scammers and businesses that can be persuaded by money. So everything you read about a project has at least a 50% chance of being populated by a scammer, or by a paid expert (ICOBench and other ICO listing sites).

Saying this, my biggest takeaway is not only just doing your own research, but creating discussion with the actual team and learning more about them. The first thing I do when learning about a new project is joining their Telegram group and asking questions about their website/whitepaper. You will learn so much based on the team's answers, if they even provide answers.