Gust

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The Planned Iteration Startup Launch Minimizes Risk

Gust

Find customers, partners and channels early. There is nothing like a real customer pipeline to convince you that you need partners and channels, and to convince partners, channels, and investors that you are real. The planned iterations can then be applied more productively to enhance the right offering.

Agile 163
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Gust Blog - Thoughts on startups by investors that fund them

Gust

I want a forecast that starts with specifics like channels or traffic and conversions or segments and builds up. Tell me what it costs to produce one unit, what the channel pays for it (if channels are relevant) or what the buyer pays for it, what it costs to ship, and so on. . I want unit economics. I want realistic expenses.

Startup 180
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Entrepreneurs Need To Keep Their Business Focused

Gust

Focus on one channel at a time, measure results, and then move to the next. Claiming you have no competition also implies lack of focus, or you don’t have a business. For a startup, it’s impossible to run an effective Facebook, Twitter, content marketing, and Google AdWords online campaign all at the same time.

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The Funding Gap

Gust

A medical device company, on the other hand, may need cash resources to pay for FDA testing, designing the prototype, manufacturing the product, establishing an inventory of the devices and establishing marketing and sales channels for the products. Most high-impact companies need substantial cash resources to sustain their rapid grow.

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10 Things I Look for When Reading a Business Plan

Gust

I want a forecast that starts with specifics like channels or traffic and conversions or segments and builds up. Tell me what it costs to produce one unit, what the channel pays for it (if channels are relevant) or what the buyer pays for it, what it costs to ship, and so on. . I want unit economics. I want realistic expenses.

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3 Essentials for Selling Your Marketing Plan to Investors

Gust

Believable paths, triggers, and channels. Investors will be thinking, as they watch your pitch or read your plan, about how easily some future competitor can jump into your marketing plans, co-opt your tag lines, jump on your topics, pre-empt your channels, and use your own marketing against you.

Marketing 119
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What do investors consider the most important aspect of a potential deal?

Gust

Size, Growth, Concentration, Geography, Demographics, Competition, Channels, Regulatory Environment, Technological Developments, Adjacent Markets, Characteristics of the Deal. Team, Business Model, Traction, Customer Acquisition, Scalability, Defensibiity, Capital Efficiency, Churn, Time to Breakeven, Exit Strategy.