For a long time now I’ve been meaning to write a post on women and gender issues, exact angle TBD: women in entrepreneurship, women in angel investing, women in tech, women in business. Those who know me are aware of my obsession with the topic after years of reflection magnified by two pregnancies and a maternity leave consumed with reading every book on career and motherhood I could find. From The Feminine Mystique through the Feminine Mistake, I have read them all. And yet, I’m continuously hit by daily insights in my professional setting. Read more
Articles by Ilana Grossman
International Women’s Day Scholarship 2012
GUST CELEBRATES INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 2012
In honor of International Women’s Day, Gust is thrilled to announce our partnership with Astia in launching the International Women’s Day Scholarship 2012. The scholarship aims to highlight the extraordinary women leaders of high-potential startups by awarding entrance into Astia’s Fall 2012 Global Entrepreneur Program in Silicon Valley.
SCHOLARSHIP
The winning startup will receive a full scholarship to Astia’s renowned Fall 2012 Silicon Valley Entrepreneur Program, a week-long event providing intensive training in areas such as capital fundraising, business leadership, and networking opportunities with prominent angel and venture capital investors.
Astia’s Fall 2012 Silicon Valley Entrepreneur Program includes candid discussions led by active investors and seasoned entrepreneurs. The program is followed by a two-month advisory period during which companies are paired with a team of advisors, including one investor, one serial entrepreneur, and at a minimum, two other start-up experts. Additionally, select start-ups will receive:
- Introductions to leading VCs and angel investors
- Market intelligence provided by investor-led panels and workshops
- Presentation skills coaching by a leading expert
- Increased business acumen and executive leadership skills
- Expert advice from VCs, angels and successful entrepreneurs
ELIGIBILITY
The scholarship is targeted towards women-led startups, and company applicants must have at least one woman in a leadership role (at C level).
SELECTION
A panel of leading industry women business executives and investors will conduct an initial screening for the top ten companies. Through Astia’s selection committee, either in-person or online, a screening will determine the final winner and award entrance into Astia’s Fall 2012 Global Entrepreneur Program in Silicon Valley.
APPLICATION
To apply, create and submit your company profile via the Gust platform. There is no fee to apply. As part of your application, you will create your startup profile on Gust, which you can return to in the future to manage all of your investor relations needs.
DEADLINE
The deadline to submit yourcompleted application is April 22, 2012 at 11:59pm EDT.
ABOUT GUST
Gust provides the global platform for the sourcing and management of early-stage investments. Gust enables skilled entrepreneurs to collaborate with the smartest investors by virtually supporting all aspects of the investment relationship, from initial pitch to successful exit. Gust is endorsed by the world’s leading business angel and venture capital associations, and powers over 750 investment organizations in 65 countries. More than 125,000 start-ups have already used the platform to connect and collaborate with over 35,000 individual accredited investors.
ABOUT ASTIA
Astia is a unique, global not-for-profit built on a community of men and women with a distinct focus and mission: to propel women’s full participation as entrepreneurs and leaders in high-growth businesses, fueling innovation and driving economic growth.
“How Do Entrepreneurs Raise Angel and Seed Funding” Webinar
Gust is delighted to announce a partnership with NASVF and NCET2 for the online certificate course “How Do Entrepreneurs Raise Angel and Seed Funding”. The course is an insider view to the early stage fund raising process. You’ll learn how angels and early-stage investors identify promising startups, what needs to be in the business plan, how to build effective leadership teams, how to do a deal and what terms to avoid, and what to do after you get funded. This course is for researchers, entrepreneurs, service providers, and tech transfer people who are involved in raising funding for startup businesses.
David S. Rose will be the lead presenter for “What does an entrepreneur need to do to write a business plan” on Tuesday, March 27 and co-instructing with Ashley J. Stevens for the class “How does an entrepreneur negotiate the deal” on Tuesday, April 10. The classes will provide entrepreneurs with the essential components to acquire an angel investment, presented by The Pitch Coach. Entrepreneurs will learn how to deliver a powerful elevator pitch, leverage capital, and get revenue as quickly as possible.
Register for the course or learn more about the class topics.
The Gust-DEMO Scholarship 2012
Gust and DEMO have teamed up to offer Gust start-ups a full scholarship opportunity for DEMO Spring 2012. The recipient of the Gust-DEMO Scholarship will have a chance to launch product to some of the most innovative people in the world. During the two-day conference, DEMO provides an environment for companies to secure venture funding, establish critical relationships, influence early adopters, and meet with top tier press. The deadline to apply for the full scholarship is March 1, 2012.
SCHOLARSHIP
The Gust-DEMO scholarship gives you and your company the chance to launch in front of a world-renown audience of leading investors, top enterprise and consumer technology press, and big company strategists. You and seventy of the world’s most carefully scrutinized emerging companies will debut your product in Santa Clara, among the best and the brightest in Silicon Valley. Your all-access pass included in the scholarship ensures that you will receive all the support and resources to help you succeed at the conference and after on demo.com.
DEMO Spring 2012 takes place April 17 – April 19, 2012 in Santa Clara, CA.
HOW TO APPLY
It costs nothing to apply for the scholarship. Simply complete the free application on Gust. As part of your application, you will create your startup profile on Gust, which you can return to in the future to manage all of your investor relations needs. Fields marked required must be completed in order to be eligible. Incomplete applications will be disqualified without any consideration of partial information received.
ELIGIBILITY
There is only one common denominator among companies chosen to present at DEMO: excellence. To be eligible to launch on the DEMO stage, and for the Gust-DEMO Scholarship, your product must:
- Solve a commercial problem
- Make an impact or change the marketplace into which it is introduced or create a new market
- Have a business plan and a management team capable of delivering the product to market
- Make its public debut at the DEMO conference
Products that are not eligible include:
- Products currently in public distribution, either as a launched product or as a highly publicized beta test
- Upgrades to an existing product
- Products entering an already saturated market category with little market differentiation
- Products that have been widely covered by technology and business media
For a Gust company to be considered for the scholarship, it has to meet all eligibility criteria described above.
Marketing Beyond Acquisition
In my conversations with people in the startup world – from angel investors through entrepreneurs and employees with vast startup experience – I often hear about their perceptions of the marketing role as being pretty limited to acquisition. It is shocking to me how prevalent this POV is. I can’t count the times I heard people saying that “product development defines the product, and marketing gets the customers”. Always in this sequence. Read more
Gust: Venture Forward
Most of us love the idea of a new beginning, a makeover, and a fresh start. Yet,
despite the tremendous amount of innovation in our space, there is still a huge
amount of, (excuse the graphic word), regurgitation going on in our blogosphere.
I’m not referring to the use of viral media to spread good ideas; I’m referring to
the frequency with which old thoughts get re-packaged and spread, under new
authorship. Read more
