Get Some Gusts
In an entertaining corollary to the TV Show, Martin Zwilling posts a commentary entitled, “6 Tips For Entrepreneurs Who Think They Can Dance,” on the web site GUST. What is Gust? Gust is the place where entrepreneurs can enroll and describe their business idea and where angel investors from around the world search for promising investment opportunities. Gee, it’s sort of a match.com for start-up’s and investors!
The first step for the entrepreneur is of course like other sites, the user is directed to set up a username and password; then embarks upon setting up his/her company profile. As the web site states, “Your Gust startup profile contains the information investors want to know. Taking the time to complete it in a professional way will help you articulate your venture effectively to investors.”
The Gust site has resources, including a video library with investors’ tips and blog posts for education; industry and start-up data; and resources for the investors as well.
Gust enrolls investors who are accredited to connect them to other investors and start-ups. When the entrepreneurs’ profiles are complete, investors explore company profiles to find investment opportunities that match their interests. There are 36 business categories that the company profiles settle into, allowing investors to target the types of companies they are interested in funding. Over the last 12 months 1800+ startups have been funded through Gust. Its robust platform allows the investors to manage their investment processes. Gust also is a learning platform for students who are formally studying investments.
To help start-ups prepare for their investor presentations, the 6 Tips blog post by Zwilling says, “I’m on the selection committee of our local Angels group, so I know that every CEO approaching our group for funding goes through ten minutes of creative “dancing,” to give us a basis for selecting startups that are most qualified and “ready” to proceed to the next level. If selected, they go through it again in the real meeting of 40-60 investors. It’s tough and not fun for either side.” He offers six observations “to startup founders looking for funding, hoping to move to the next level.””
In summary, you can count on being the first item on angel’s assessment checklist, as being convincing you’ve got the leadership ability to achieve success. From there the post covers the rest of the known facts, including presentation timing, content, and your believability. Read the full post.
How to get funding is the most searched item on the SoMNSourceLink site. Funding is key to business success, from start-up through growth. To learn more about Gust, read about them and consider completing their information, start-ups!
Content contributed by Maria Brown, SoMNSourceLink. SoMNSourceLink is a proud affiliate of U.S.SourceLink, America’s largest resource network for entrepreneurs.
