Gust

OCTOBER 13, 2023

A note is a loan. That is, a lender gives a company $100, and the company writes a note to the lender stating "we will pay you back $100 one year from today, along with 10% [or some other number] per year interest". The convertible part means that in addition to the straight repayment mentioned above, the lender and the company agree that instead of the company paying back the loan in cash, if the company raises money by selling stock to another investor before the loan is due, then the original

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Stock Valuation Equity Conversion 91

Gust

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

A C-Corporation, often referred to as a “C-Corp,” is a legal business structure that separates the company from its owners, providing limited liability protection to shareholders. It is the most common type of corporation in the United States, offering several benefits and flexibility for startups aiming for rapid growth and outside investment. The post What Is a C-Corporation?

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United States Startup 91

Gust

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Taking in angel or venture money requires a setting of an entrepreneur’s expectations that may come as a shock at least at first. From the moment such an investor looks seriously at your company, the investor or VC partner is thinking of the end game, the ultimate sale of the company or even of an eventual initial public offering. There is no middle ground.

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Initial Public Offering Partner Sales 91

Gust

SEPTEMBER 1, 2023

Starting a new business is exciting. Founders often have a mental image of how they imagine their new company will be: the new Google. But before they can create a new verb, they first need to make sure that they have the best corporate setup, have raised adequate funding, have commercial contracts to protect their interests, and that their intellectual property, including patents and trademarks, are protected.

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Intellectual Property Hiring Early Stage Startup 91

Gust

AUGUST 21, 2023

For many entrepreneurs, their first experience with corporate law occurs when they decide to organize their fledgling business into one of the several forms of business entities permitted by law in most states. For the first-time business owner, the options presented by legal counsel can be confusing, in part because the differences among some types of business entities are subtle or highly technical.

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LLC Limited Liability Company Equity Management 91

Gust

AUGUST 7, 2023

When your startup is very small, it’s fairly easy to gauge its health. From your vantage point as the company’s leader—and perhaps its only employee—you can readily track the arrival and departure of customers, the growth or decline of revenues, and changes in profitability as costs rise or fall. But as your company grows and its complexity increases, measuring the success of the business becomes more difficult.

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Analytics Metrics Revenue Employee 91

Gust

JULY 25, 2023

Accelerators are as diverse and varied as the start-ups they serve. While there are some universal features, such as an application and selection process and educational programming, the specific offerings can differ widely. Most, but not all, will offer networking opportunities (with the exception of programs that focus heavily on one-on-one mentorship) and most, but not all, will offer some form of funding opportunities, either through direct investment or by leveraging their network of invest

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Startup Programming Networking 170

Gust

JULY 25, 2023

As the Growth Manager at Gust, one of my responsibilities is to evaluate accelerator programs on the Gust Accelerator Platform to determine if they are a good fit for our community of founders. The guidelines we use for this, which were built by the Gust team, leveraging the collective decades of experience we have working with startups, can also be used to help founders determine which accelerator is best for them.

Startup 171

Startup Community Programming Founder 171

Gust

JULY 11, 2023

As the influence of artificial intelligence continues to extend its reach across a diverse range of industries, the question remains: What legal rights do AI users have in output generated by AI systems? In a previous post, I reported on the recent announcement by the U.S. Copyright Office, which took the position that most AI output would be unprotectable by copyright because it is created by a machine rather than a person.

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Artificial Inteligence 70

Gust

JUNE 16, 2023

When you run a startup, securing the right types of funding at the right moments can feel like a never-ending game of chess. You have to think twenty moves in advance, and if you make just one mistake, you might end up sabotaging the whole game. And plenty of founders do sabotage the game: It’s estimated that 80% of startups don’t make it past the first year, and 90% fail over the long run.

Equity 185

Equity Security Founder Startup 185

Gust

JUNE 16, 2023

When you run a startup, securing the right types of funding at the right moments can feel like a never-ending game of chess. You have to think twenty moves in advance, and if you make just one mistake, you might end up sabotaging the whole game. And plenty of founders do sabotage the game: It’s estimated that 80% of startups don’t make it past the first year, and 90% fail over the long run.

Equity 91

Equity Security Founder Startup 91

Gust

JUNE 8, 2023

Number one, understand your business. It sounds obvious, but the majority of entrepreneurs who pitch me have obviously never thought through many of the major issues surrounding their companies. You should know EVERYTHING about your business, product, customers and competition. You should know every metric regarding customer acquisition, conversion and retention.

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Retention Acquisition Metrics Business Model 202

Gust

MAY 10, 2023

Enployable, Inc. is the world's first value-based AI job matching platform. After witnessing the challenges that my friends faced while looking for new jobs during the pandemic, I wanted to find a better approach to the job market. Traditionally, the hiring process focuses on whether a candidate's skills and experience match the job description, and the process of screening candidates can be labor-intensive.

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Founder Matching Hiring Employee 91

Gust

MAY 1, 2023

Once your company is incorporated, you are legally required to have a board of directors. Its official purpose is to represent the rights and viewpoints of shareholders—you, as well as your fellow company owners. But the board of directors should also serve a number of valuable purposes that can help to fuel and sustain your company’s growth and long-term success.

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APRIL 21, 2023

In recent years, artificial intelligence has emerged as a powerful tool for generating original works. The question of who owns the copyright to these works, however, has become increasingly complex. Copyright registration in the United States has traditionally been limited to human creators, but with the rise of AI-generated works, the distinction between human and machine-made creations has become less clear, leading to uncertainty around copyright ownership and register-ability.

Artificial Inteligence 91

Artificial Inteligence United States 91

Gust

APRIL 13, 2023

Don’t misunderstand sweat equity. It’s a bucket term that means different things in different contexts. Fundamental sweat equity is beautiful, blisteringly clear, and real. Most other sweat equity is full of potential problems, misunderstandings, and disappointments. The post Don’t Misunderstand Sweat Equity appeared first on Gust.

Sweat Equity 91

Sweat Equity Equity 91

Gust

MARCH 21, 2023

It is 2023, and the environment for funding has changed drastically in the last few years. What you do before you pitch is even more important than it has been in the past. The post 5 Things To Do Before Pitching Your Business To Investors appeared first on Gust.

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Gust

MARCH 14, 2023

The average length of a funding pitch to angel investors is ten minutes. Even if you have booked an hour with a VC, you should plan to talk only for the first fifteen minutes. The biggest complaint I hear from fellow investors is that startup founders often talk way too long, and neglect to cover the most relevant points. Or they get sidetracked by a technical glitch due to poor preparation.

Technical Review 113

Technical Review Angel Investor Founder Startup 113

Gust

MARCH 6, 2023

Starting and building any business other than the very tiniest one-person shop is a complicated task. Thus, the majority of businesses that aspire to become high-growth companies of the future—are launched by a founding team of two, three, or more people. Combining the strengths, insights, experiences, talents, connections, and resources of a few people often gives a new business a greater chance of success than resting entirely on the shoulders of even a highly talented single individual.

Restful 91

Restful 91

Gust

FEBRUARY 14, 2023

Taxes is like the sands on the beach by my house, it is a constantly changing world molded by the tides of public sentiment and the seasons of political changes. Sometimes I walk down and there is a ton of sand and everything is smooth and easy to walk on. Other days the sand is sucked out, leaving rocky crevices where my feet are constantly at risk of a cut.

Startup 91

Startup Developer 91

Gust

JANUARY 31, 2023

New business owners who form a corporation often wonder how to run their shareholder meetings. Answers to common questions about shareholder meetings. The post How to Run a Shareholder Meeting appeared first on Gust.

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Gust

DECEMBER 6, 2022

Convertible notes are a great tool for venture financing. They are primarily used for early-stage financings, but they are also a good solution for a bridge round when a company isn’t quite ready for the next equity financing round. The actual mechanics of converting convertible notes (in other words – calculating conversion shares) is not a simple task and requires great care.

Early Stage 91

Early Stage Equity Finance Conversion 91

Gust

NOVEMBER 22, 2022

Throughout the years of developing Gust.com and Gust Launch, we recognized a common pain point in the startup journey. Founders, the passionate entrepreneurs pouring all of their efforts into building their ventures, had questions about how to properly set up their startups. They ask those early questions: What should we be doing? How do we set it up?

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Founder Startup Issued Shares Developer 91

Gust

NOVEMBER 8, 2022

You can’t succeed in business without an operational model that delivers value to customers at a reasonable price, with an underlying cost that allows you to make a profit. There are no “overrides” – for example, businesses don’t thrive just because they offer the latest technology, or because everyone wants to be “green,” or because their goal is to reduce world hunger.

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Business Model Green Revenue Operations 91

Gust

OCTOBER 28, 2022

As a founder, you likely have a lot on your mind. Raising capital for your startup is probably near the top of your mental "to-do" list, but chances are you haven't really gotten around to starting on it just yet. It’s important to raise capital to support growth and scalability in the early stages. While it might be a stressful task, raising capital isn't really something you can leave on the back burner.

Early Stage 91

Early Stage Startup Founder 91

Gust

OCTOBER 17, 2022

How has fundraising changed in the last few years? Between COVID, the evolution of the API economy, and a increase in second, third & fourth time founders who are seeking funding. Janelle van Deventer breaks down the options for raising capital through bootstrapping, dilutive investors, government subsides and various forms of debt. The post How To Raise Capital and How Raising Capital Has Changed appeared first on Gust.

Dilution 184

Dilution API Bootstrapping Government 184

Gust

SEPTEMBER 21, 2022

The Inflation Reduction Act is a sweeping $750 billion health care, tax, and climate bill that was signed into law on August 16, 2022. There is a lot of news about this significant legislation and what it’s doing for lowering drug costs and subsidizing clean energy. One topic that isn’t getting enough attention, however, is that this bill is big news for small businesses and startups.

Startup 170

Startup Small Business Cost Developer 170

Gust

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

Krezzo Co-founder Stephen Newman talks cross-departmental operational alignment with OKRs (Objectives & Key Results). When start-ups begin to scale, one of the first things that becomes a big problem is keeping track of the core business priorities and performance across teams. When implemented and adopted successfully, OKRs essentially becomes your company’s playbook enabling your company to focus more on solving problems than doing homework.

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Cofounder Operations Founder 162

Gust

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

Before a technology startup becomes a company, it spends a period of time as simply a project. The founding team is usually one or two individuals building and testing products as they try to validate a demand for them in the market. At some point, founders ask themselves: when is it time to turn this project into a company? The post When Should a Tech Startup Form a Company appeared first on Gust.

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Startup Demand Founder Technology 172

Gust

AUGUST 26, 2022

Did you miss filing form 5472 at some point? Normally this means big penalties that are nearly impossible to waive, but finally there is some relief. The IRS sent out a news blast today with some great news for corporations that file form 5472 - they are waiving penalties on late filed international information returns for 2019 and 2020. This is huge for corporations with foreign owners, as many have avoided filing for fear of the $25,000 per form penalty being assessed.

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AUGUST 5, 2022

When you hear the word crowdfunding, the first image that jumps to mind is Kickstarter. We all know how this crowdfunding site works. You donate money to a company or cause, and in return you get early access to the product/service, SWAG, or a combination of both. With equity crowdfunding, individuals invest in startups and […]. The post What Is Equity Crowdfunding appeared first on Gust.

Equity 185

Equity Startup Product 185

Gust

APRIL 8, 2022

Startup founders need to be Jacks or Jills of All Trades. They are visionaries, product designers, bookkeepers, and tech support representatives. But the single most important role of the founder is to be an effective communicator. And in the context of a startup, that means “storyteller”. The founder needs to paint a mind-picture of a […]. The post The Startup Founders Pitch Toolbox appeared first on Gust.

Founder 91

Founder Startup Design Product 91

Gust

DECEMBER 17, 2017

It’s that time of year when we’re all staring down the end of the December, wondering where the months have gone. This is also the time when a lot of entrepreneurs wrestle with their plans for the next year, asking themselves: Where should I bet big? Are the growth targets right? How am I going to pay for all these. Read more >. The post Beyond VC: Funding Options for Early-Stage Startups appeared first on The Gust Blog.

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Early Stage Startup Entrepreneur 238

Gust

AUGUST 15, 2017

So you’ve developed a game-changing product, formed a business with a killer team, quit your job, and are rolling the product out to market. Your business is the next unicorn, and all is good in the world. Fantastic. Now only one thing is inhibiting your company’s growth: you have no money. For many founders of high-growth startups, bootstrapping has limits.

Bootstrapping 178

Bootstrapping Founder Developer Startup 178

Gust

MAY 16, 2017

Today we’re proud to release an updated Co-founder Equity Split tool. We released the first version back in November to help startup founders divide the ownership of their startup fairly and rationally among their team. Since then, we’ve been collecting feedback from founders about how it could better help them with their decision. With this release, the tool gives founders.

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Cofounder Equity Conversion Founder 131

Gust

NOVEMBER 4, 2016

We’ve just released our free Co-founder Equity Split tool. It’ll give you a fair and objective recommendation about how to divide your startup’s ownership, so you and your co-founders will have a sensible, real starting point for this notoriously hard, crucially important conversation. Many startup founders find themselves lacking clarity and direction when it comes time to divide their.

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Cofounder Framework Equity Founder 70

Gust

JUNE 14, 2016

In some ways, it is now difficult to imagine a world without accelerators. Many of the globe’s most well-known and disruptive startups were propelled from the hallways of legendary accelerators such as Y Combinator, TechStars, and 500 Startups. AirBnb, Dropbox, Zenefits, Stripe, DigitalOcean, Heroku, Optimizely, Intercom, Reddit, and hundreds of other startup success stories were all briskly brought to life.

Startup 70

Startup 70