Countdown to Launch:
Pitch Ready
Your story is your most valuable asset.
Stop guessing what investors want to hear and start building a narrative that scales. Join a 6-week Gust Intensive, designed and delivered by Dan Manning, to refine your customer focus, sharpen your messaging, and build a fundraising-ready pitch from the ground up.
Apply for Cohort 3A great deck won't save a weak pitch
Most founders agonize over the perfect looking deck, but overlook the most important part — the actual pitch. The clear statement of what you're building, how it's going to be massive, and why you are the one to do it.
Pitch-ready founders lead with narrative, prove market-resonance, and target the right investors.
The Roadmap
Six workshops. One complete, fundraising-ready pitch.
Pain, Not Problems
This is the foundation everything else is built on. You'll learn why people pay to relieve pain, not to fix problems — and why that distinction changes everything about how you talk about your business. By the end of this session, you'll learn how to talk about the reason people will pay for your "thing" in a way that's impossible for investors to miss.
Founders leave with:
A written first draft of the pain their business relieves, framed in loss language, for a specific customer segment.
Who Are Your Customers and Why Will They Buy?
You think you know your customer. You might be right — but polite nods at conferences aren't proof. In this session, you'll learn how to clearly define your beachhead customer for investors. More importantly, we'll map out how you will reach that beachhead with your go-to-market strategy and how you'll extend beyond.
Founders leave with:
A clear, written description of their beachhead customer segment and their eventual target market, grounded in real pain and real buying signals — not assumptions.
The Two Stories Every Founder Needs
Steve Jobs said "the most powerful person in the world is the storyteller." You'll add power to your pitch in this workshop. The first is the customer pain story — a real person experiencing the real pain your business relieves. Not a fictional "Meet John." A specific, true account that makes the pain understandable for people who've never experienced it. The second is the founder origin story — why you are building this, why you won't quit, and what connects you to this problem at a level deeper than money.
Founders leave with:
Two polished stories — a customer pain story and a founder origin story — each deliverable in under 60 seconds, practiced out loud in the session.
The Business
This is the session where you prove that the pain you've identified can become a massive, investable business. You'll build out every business component of your pitch: TAM/SAM/SOM, your business model, financial projections grounded in defensible assumptions, customer acquisition strategy, your team (30 seconds max), and the ask. On the ask, you'll learn the principle that most founders miss.
Founders leave with:
A complete draft of every business section of the pitch — market, model, projections, go-to-market, team, and ask — ready to be assembled into the final pitch.
The 60-Second Pitch
This will be the pitch you give the most. It's the quick explanation of what you're doing, what's the unique value you'll deliver, how the business will be massive, and why you're the one to do it. This is the pitch that unlocks the "real" one.
Founders leave with:
A ready-to-deliver 60-second pitch.
Pitch Architecture — Putting It All Together
Now you assemble everything you've built over five weeks into a complete five-minute pitch. You'll learn slide design discipline, the standard pitch order and when to break it, and avoid the mistakes too many founders make. You'll learn why you need multiple pitches and how they are different.
Founders leave with:
A complete five-minute pitch — structured, designed, and practiced — ready for live delivery.
Live-Fire Practice with Real Investors
This is the pressure test. You'll deliver your pitch to a curated panel of angel investors and experienced mentors — people who evaluate pitches for a living. No one in this session will invest. That's the point. Because they're not evaluating you as a deal, they'll share exactly how they assess your pitch, the questions they'd have if this were real, and their specific recommendations to make it stronger. It's a fundraising meeting with no stakes.
You'll hear what lands, what doesn't, and what you need to tighten before you're in a room where the money is real. You'll also walk out with a recording of your delivery and a transcript of the feedback from every panelist.
“Dan is the essential storyteller.”
David S. Rose
What You Walk Away With
The Fundraise Readiness Package
Two Investment-Ready Decks
Walk away with two distinct decks: a standalone deck designed to pitch itself when read on its own and a “delivery” deck optimized for a 5-minute live pitch.
Word-for-Word Script
Eliminate the guesswork of what to say. You’ll build a full, written script mapped directly to your 5-minute delivery deck so your narrative is airtight.
The One-Pager Suite
Get three distinct “pitch-on-a-page” templates and finished documents tailored to send ahead to investors to capture their interest before the meeting.
Direct Coaching with Dan
Get hands-on, live pitch practice and granular feedback directly from Dan Manning to refine your presence, tone, and delivery.
2 Free Months of Gust Mission Control
After completing the program, continue your founder journey with a trial membership in Gust’s founder community. Join fellow early-stage entrepreneurs receiving direct support and expert resources from the Gust team to build a successful, high-growth company.
Learn more about Mission ControlProgram Cost
Countdown to Launch: Pitch Ready costs $1,500.
Proof of Flight
“This has solved a huge challenge that I have been having, it really pulls out the salient points and tells the story, problem and opportunity perfectly!”
Kelz
Healthtech Founder
“This is exactly the advice & help I need. Much appreciated.”
Amit
Countdown to Launch Founder
“I've definitely found everything very helpful. So, thank you. I think it's a great program.”
Swapna
Countdown to Launch Founder
“The way Dan is able to pull narratives out of tangled information is magical…and helpful for investor conversations.”
Drew
Tech Founder
“Your advice on how to compress information to make slides more 'dashboard-like' and impactful was a game-changer.”
Countdown to Launch Founder
“Damn!”— A Founder after hearing her story-based pitch
Investors don't invest for all sorts of reasons - don't let your pitch be the reason they pass. Pitch Ready will make sure investors understand your product, vision and story.
Your Mentor
Dan Manning
Dan has helped hundreds of Founders build the pitch they need to clearly communicate with investors. Founders that Dan has helped have raised millions and thank him for the clarity he helped them achieve. He is the author of The Story-Stage Founder's Guide to Startup Pitching and is also a mentor with Techstars and gener8tor.
LinkedInWho Is This For?
Stage
Pre-seed or Seed Founders who are planning a raise and want to have confidence in their pitch from the first meeting.
The Archetype
Any founder who's preparing to fundraise and wants to ensure they give the pitch investors want to see. New and experienced founders who struggle to sort out conflicting advice.
The Goal
You should be planning to pitch to investors or partners within the next 3–6 months.
How the Program Works
Weekly Sprints
90-minute live sessions each week for 6 weeks.
Feedback Loops
Private Slack/Community access for asynchronous pitch questions and help.
Dan's Pitch Book
The Story-Stage Founder's Guide to Startup Pitching, plus a resource to help AI evaluate your pitch.
1:1 Mentor Sessions
Private sessions with mentors to help you with the tough questions.
Final Demo
A chance to present to a panel of friendly (but honest) investors, plus a recording and transcript of all feedback.
Program Fee: $1,500
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I can't make a live session?
All sessions are recorded and available for replay. You can also ask questions asynchronously in the private community.
Do I need a deck already?
No. This program is about building your pitch narrative from scratch. A deck is the last step, not the first.
What stage should my startup be at?
Pre-seed or Seed. You should be planning to pitch investors or partners within the next 3–6 months.
How much time commitment is required each week?
Plan for the 90-minute live session plus 1–2 hours of prep/practice work between sessions.
How much is Countdown to Launch?
$1,500
Ready to build the pitch that gets you funded?
Applications are open for Cohort 3. Spots are limited.
Applications close soon.