Gust

JUNE 22, 2016

Gust announces acquisitions of Sharewave and Preferred Return; creates the most robust and affordable equity management solution for early-stage startups. The post Gust Launches Comprehensive Equity Management Platform for Cap Table Management and 409A Valuations appeared first on The Gust Blog. Read more >.

Cap Table 93

Cap Table Valuation Equity Management 93

Gust

JUNE 17, 2012

Money to build the business is the number one challenge for most startups. A large percentage of startups never apply to either. You need to explore more common and more productive approaches for getting your startup moving forward. Self-funding is the preferred source of cash for your startup – if you can do it.

Technical Review 164

Technical Review Bootstrapping Venture Capital Incubator 164

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. 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

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. Read more >.

Cofounder 70

Cofounder Framework Equity Founder 70

Gust

DECEMBER 20, 2012

There is no specific ratio between “sweat equity” and cash in a venture, and that’s actually not a good way to think about the issue. You might have created that value by slaving 18 hours a day, seven days a week for five years (in which case the value of the sweat equity is $8.70

Sweat Equity 136

Sweat Equity Equity Valuation Salary 136

Gust

DECEMBER 1, 2011

What is a startup really? Notice what is missing from this list of priorities: The company itself – that is, a business entity, most often a corporation , that will own the entire business (however defined), issue equity to founders, take investment capital , enter into contracts, make sales, pay employees and contractors, and so forth.

IP 114

IP Intellectual Property Equity Liquidity Event 114

Gust

NOVEMBER 14, 2011

All private equity groups go about due diligence in their own way, but there are a few key areas of focus that entrepreneurs should always expect: • Team strength and health. For small teams, every team member will likely be interviewed.

Technical Review 152

Technical Review Due Diligence Intellectual Property Private Equity 152

Gust

OCTOBER 4, 2012

People who tell you that VCs won’t look at a company with an even equity split are being silly. That has never once, in my experience, been even a slight hiccup, let alone a dispositive factor in a seed investment. That said, there is a core of truth in the concept that there always needs to be *some* way to make a decision.

Equity 125

Equity Founder Government Startup 125

Gust

DECEMBER 6, 2012

What’s an advisor to a startup deal? Advisors with small equity shares are good, and advisors with options are as good or even better. Advisors with options or equity should be long-term people who will stay with the company from startup to exit. Equity is forever. Options can become equity.

Startup 165

Startup Equity Capitalization Table Naming 165

Gust

NOVEMBER 8, 2012

As a business lawyer working with startups in technology and digital media every day, I’m fortunate to have a front-row seat as entrepreneurs create value out of thin air. Granted most startups will never become another Apple or Google. The Startup Visa movement is aimed at a pain point that is near and dear to my heart.

Silicon Valley 187

Silicon Valley San Francisco Intellectual Property Accredited Investor 187

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. 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

OCTOBER 29, 2014

On October 1st, 2014, after more than two years of partnership and development, Gust proudly joined the Mayor of the City of New York and IBM in announcing the launch of Digital.NYC , NYC’s new official hub for tech and startups. Most of the profiles of startups and investors are provided by Gust.

Early Stage 133

Early Stage Technical Review New York Deal Flow 133

Gust

AUGUST 21, 2023

The appropriate form of entity can depend on numerous factors, including the nature of the business, its intended ownership and management structures, the need to raise equity capital, the desired tax treatment of income and losses and the importance of limiting the personal liability of the business’s owners.

LLC 91

LLC Limited Liability Company Equity Management 91

Gust

OCTOBER 26, 2014

When someone asks me for the best way to fund a startup, I always say bootstrap it, meaning fund it yourself and grow organically. Bootstrapping avoids all the cost, pain, and distractions of finding angels or VCs, and allows you to keep control and all your hard-earned equity for yourself. Reinvest gross profit.

Bootstrapping 176

Bootstrapping Startup Merger Salary 176

Gust

NOVEMBER 13, 2013

Equity-based crowdfunding (that is, providing regular people with the opportunity to purchase stock in private companies) will not be legal in the US until the first quarter of 2013 at the earliest. Invested Interests crowdfunding equity-based kickstarter project-based startup' original post can be found on Quora @ [link] *.

Securities and Exchange Commission 137

Securities and Exchange Commission Equity Early Stage Startup 137

Gust

DECEMBER 7, 2014

In my experience, that’s actually the worst way to start, for reasons I will outline here, and also the least common way, according to an authoritative survey of new startups. Even a small investor in the early days will take a large equity percentage, due to that pesky valuation challenge.

Bootstrapping 191

Bootstrapping Entrepreneur Startup Burn Rate 191

Gust

AUGUST 9, 2014

CluelessCo is an internet startup company seeking $2 million of equity financing to fund our company for at least one year. Power Pitches bad David Rose pitch startup worst' Take your choice (these are both real, honest-to-God pitches, and I’ve got the originals in my possession): Contestant A.

Startup 131

Startup Database Open Source Equity 131

Gust

NOVEMBER 2, 2013

Since equity crowdfunding under the recently passed JOBS Act will not be legal until some point next year, there is currently a great deal of smoke, although not necessarily a lot of fire, around new entrants into the space. Industry Experts angel investors AngelList CircleUp crowdfunding Gust kickstarter startups' Steve Schoettler.

Angel Investor 129

Angel Investor Startup Equity Operations 129

Gust

DECEMBER 6, 2012

It depends on the quality of the idea. I’m a firm believer in Derek Sivers ‘ calculus, which goes like this: AWFUL IDEA = -$1. WEAK IDEA = $1. SO-SO IDEA = $5. GOOD IDEA = $10. GREAT IDEA = $15. BRILLIANT IDEA = $20. The real value, of course (as other answers here have noted), comes from executing on the idea.

Equity 150

Equity Distribution Entrepreneur Startup 150

Gust

NOVEMBER 15, 2012

But by far the biggest issue is that the very essence of public markets (and what makes them “public”) is that the SEC mandates an enormous amount of transparency, including complete quarterly financial statements, complete publication of the company’s cap table including all significant shareholders, and so forth.

Seed Stage 131

Seed Stage Hockey Stick Cap Table Liquidation Preference 131

Gust

NOVEMBER 8, 2012

The bottom line is that the very question you are asking is one of the trickiest things of all when it comes to startup founding. Good luck!

Founder 134

Founder Option Pool Vesting Cofounder 134

Gust

NOVEMBER 2, 2014

Many entrepreneurs seems to be convinced that the “crowd” of regular people using the Internet will somehow solve their startup funding needs, when they sense a lack of interest from accredited investors. But safely seeking equity investments from the crowd via the Jobs Act of 2012 is problematic and has still not been defined.

Non-disclosure Agreement 160

Non-disclosure Agreement Intellectual Property Accredited Investor Equity 160

Gust

NOVEMBER 11, 2011

Startups and investors discover each other, and the community wins because the event becomes visible evidence of new business and new jobs locally. Or the in-kind winning includes legal work or management consulting, but the startup that wins has its own providers. Investors and startup winner end up never agreeing on terms.

Software Review 79

Software Review Term Sheet Due Diligence Angel Investor 79

Gust

AUGUST 10, 2014

However, making no projections, or non-credible projections will get your startup marked as unfundable. Here are some basic rules of thumb that every Angel or venture capital equity investor uses, to help you anticipate their reactions. That makes their $1 million investment for 10% equity worth $25 million, or 25x.

Liquidity Event 176

Liquidity Event Equity Venture Capital Merger 176

Gust

JULY 29, 2012

Barter your skills or equity for services you need. Exchanging equity for services is worth negotiating with legal counsel, accountants, engineers, and even sales people. Another example is the Amazon.com model, where they order your product for direct shipment, only after they get your payment. Consultants don’t need any inventory.

Bandwidth 155

Bandwidth Bootstrapping Equity Startup 155

Gust

SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

Under the Crowdfunding provisions of the JOBS Act, a startup company will, for the first time, be able to sell shares of stock to anyone (that is, “the crowd”) once the SEC publishes the final rules for the program in January of 2013.

Accredited Investor 121

Accredited Investor SEC Stock Startup 121

Gust

APRIL 23, 2014

From a completely biased perspective, I’d nominate the nascent and not yet completely visible rise of online equity investing platforms. Gust News angel groups businesses financial industry Gust innovations startups' Note: The author of this answer is completely biased, as he is the founder and CEO of the aforementioned platform.

Angel Groups 127

Angel Groups Accredited Investor Private Equity Deal Flow 127

Gust

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

How to finance a new seed-stage startup? Convertible equity? The new form of convertible security or “convertible equity” is essentially a convertible note containing most of the usual terms — except it’s been stripped of the features that would make it a loan. Convertible debt?

Finance 134

Finance Convertible Security Equity Seed Stage 134

Gust

OCTOBER 15, 2014

Gust and AngelList are equity-based platforms, used by Accredited Investors to facilitate the investment of money for an ownership interest in a company. For the equity group, however, it is not uncommon (and there is no downside) to listing on both Gust and AngelList.

Accredited Investor 144

Accredited Investor Angel Investor Equity Networking 144

Gust

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

The most successful serial entrepreneurs in the world may found three or four, perhaps even eight or ten venture-backed startups over the course of their careers. For more on working with startup lawyers, see Mark Suster’s classic post, How To Work With Lawyers At A Startup.). Knowledge is power.

Finance 178

Finance Term Sheet Preferred Stock Bridge Financing 178

Gust

NOVEMBER 2, 2014

Many entrepreneurs seems to be convinced that the “crowd” of regular people using the Internet will somehow solve their startup funding needs, when they sense a lack of interest from accredited investors. Invested Interests crowd funding entrepreneur funding startup'

Accredited Investor 96

Accredited Investor Equity Internet Entrepreneur 96

Gust

MARCH 12, 2014

But as a general rule of thumb, the investors in each round of financing will get somewhere between 15% and 35% of the equity in the company, and the total amount raised in each round should be enough to get the company to a significant increase in value. Invested Interests angel investors investors seed funding startups'

Angel Investor 133

Angel Investor Equity Finance Startup 133

Gust

FEBRUARY 8, 2014

Invested Interests accredited investors Bolstr CircleUp crowdfunding JOBS act startups tech' original post can be found on Quora @ [link] *.

Accredited Investor 128

Accredited Investor Securities and Exchange Commission Equity Security 128

Gust

DECEMBER 6, 2011

Idea, pre-seed, startup. Pre-seed, startup. Most for startups and growth stages. Startup and growth stages. Most for startups and growth stages. The figure below shows the number of investors by investment size for startup ventures. GEM Studies. Government Grants. $3 US Government. Angel Investors. $20

Angel Investor 179

Angel Investor Venture Capital Valuation Software Engineering 179

Gust

JULY 16, 2012

The lack of rational analysis about equity crowdfunding is remarkable to me. Sure, it sounds like an easy source of startup capital that should lead to happy entrepreneurs, delighted investors and job creation galore. However, this will likely not be the case.

Equity 117

Equity Entrepreneur Startup 117

Gust

JULY 19, 2012

1) Non-equity, creative project crowdfunding portals, which are currently allowed and are not subject to legislation under the JOBS Act. 2) Pure-play equity crowdfunding portals as directly envisioned by the JOBS Act. I believe this is likely to continue, and that at least the two leaders will be very successful.

Accredited Investor 144

Accredited Investor SEC Equity Early Stage 144

Gust

DECEMBER 8, 2011

In Part I , I gave a quick summary of the who, when and why of forming and documenting a new startup company. This week we’ll delve into what , exactly, is necessary or desirable to lay a solid legal foundation for a startup to build upon. Pick a name for the new legal entity (e.g., Newco, Inc.”) Newco, Inc.”) Yes, it’s a mouthful.

Intellectual Property 139

Intellectual Property Non-disclosure Agreement Delaware Stock 139