Gust

article thumbnail

Entrepreneurs: Don’t Quit Your Real Job Too Early

Gust

Otherwise, I suggest that founders be up-front with their employers, with an honest commitment that the “side” work on the potential startup will not jeopardize committed results. In a part-time effort, a co-founder is essential to keeping you on-track and working. Pick a day and time per week where you always work together.

article thumbnail

Nuts & Bolts of Intellectual Property for New Startups

Gust

Today, it can sign one deal with a cloud service provider such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) to replace all of the above. Here are a few key questions and observations that I offer to any newly incorporating startup: Who are the founders? After eliminating all of these types of assets, what remains? Intellectual property.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

5 Things I Look when Investing in a Startup

Gust

It’s the result of several decades in high tech, three years as an investor in a local Oregon angel investment group , some consulting in due diligence for venture capital, and my experience as founder and co-founder of successful ventures. I want the founders to know that’s important, talk about it, and think about it.

article thumbnail

10 Rules of Thumb for Startup Investment Valuation

Gust

This time I’ll use a hypothetical health-care web site company named NewCo as an example to illustrate the points. Two founders have spent $200K of personal and family funds over a one year period to start the company, get a prototype site up and running, and have already generated some “buzz” in the Internet community.

Valuation 187
article thumbnail

Up-to-date Investors Want Social Proof from Startups

Gust

Whether you like Mark Zuckerberg’s mug or not, the social web is here to stay, and businesses that can integrate social proof into their marketing efforts seamlessly will join this new “socially rich” class. To me, the underlying reality is that startups and their founders are traceable on social media. Author Daniel Lay writes: .

article thumbnail

Users Guide to Startup Advisors

Gust

And it hurts the credibility of founders when they show off names that don’t really mean anything. . When a web designer is the advisor I wonder what that means down the road as the startup grows. Free web design forever? Why is the web designer not a regular team member. Why are they holding back? .

Startup 165
article thumbnail

10 Action Items to Keep Angel Investors Hovering

Gust

If the founders are not experienced, find a couple of advisors from the business sector to fill the gap. In today’s world, if you don’t have a web site up and running, you will not be perceived as a real company. Get your Internet domain name and website. Prepare an investment-grade business plan.