Today, I’m talking with David Rose, who founded AngelSoft, now Gust, in 2004. Gust provides a platform where angel investors and entrepreneurs can connect and discuss ventures. Originally created with angel investors’ needs in mind, Gust now has more than 750 investment organizations worldwide using its platform to manage deal flow and other day-to-day tasks.
By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold Irina: What other opportunities do you offer for university students? Brian: I wanted to have more collaboration with students, bright students, MBA students – preferably in these cases. So, I created the Future Angels. Now, every meeting, every month, we have the top schools in New York
By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold Irina: What can angel groups do better? Brian: I think there are a variety of things that angel groups can do better. They could – I would say, most important – make it clear to the entrepreneur what their ability is to actually fund him or her.
By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold Irina: How do you feel about entrepreneurs who drop out of school to build their companies? Brian: I think, for the most part, entrepreneurs have to be educated. There’s no turning away from the fact that a good education represents curiosity and a desire for personal advancement.
By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold Brian: They say in the angel business, the real problem companies are the ones that keep existing. They don’t go up; they don’t go down. They just stay in place. That’s why it’s so important to look for companies that do have the opportunity for scalability. But
By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold Irina: In the past 12 months, how many new investments has New York Angels made? Brian: I’m going to say probably eight, which I hear is pretty good during a recession, and maybe five or six add-on investments. Irina: Can entrepreneurs who are not based in New
By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold Irina: So, you run the educational workshops for entrepreneurs as part of your work for New York Angels? Brian: Yes. We started a New York Angels meet-up group in New York City, and we’ll have ongoing educational workshops. Irina: How often? Brian: New York City is a
By guest authors Irina Patterson and Candice Arnold Irina: What is your source of deal flow? Brian: A good portion of the deals come from the angels themselves because of their contacts. We are on the Angelsoft platform, so there is an enormous amount of deal flow that comes through them as well. New York