Founded
January 2019
Gust Launch helped me start a company, raise money, and build out a team in just a few months.
Arjun Thyagarajan
Location
California
Founders
2
Team size
16
Founder Experience
Second-time founder
Industry
FinTech
Plan
Raise
Fundraising Status
$1M+ pre-seed round
Website
Who is Arjun Thyagarajan?
Arjun is no stranger to the entrepreneurial world and boasts 14 years experience in software development. Prior to founding his current company, Arjun founded and served as Head of Product for TeamsID, a successful business password management service. Arjun’s excitement and passion for the fintech space as well as his ample professional experience in software led him to found Wise.
Changing how small businesses think about banking
Driven by his passion, Arjun saw a need for banking services that specifically cater to small businesses, a largely underserved market. He founded Wise with the goal of impacting the future of banking and fintech, hoping to change small businesses’ attitudes toward banking by making it easy, accessible, and tailored to their needs.
Unsatisfied with other services, Arjun turned to Gust Launch
Prior to joining Gust Launch, Arjun tried LegalZoom and several other startup services. He found himself struggling to make sense of the individual, one-off providers such as ad hoc legal help or cap table creation; it was hard to determine how to piece them together, and he wasn’t always sure how each individual service was adding value to his startup. He soon realized that what he really needed was a complete, full-service experience provided by one team that truly understood his goals. After Arjun evaluated all of Gust Launch’s competitors and read insights from Gust’s Founder and CEO David S. Rose, he ultimately chose Launch because he believed it could help him transform Wise into a scalable business. He was particularly excited that Launch could accommodate his fintech business; through more detailed research, he found that many other startup services only catered to certain industries.
Making fundraising more successful
Arjun believes that Gust Launch is one of the reasons why he was able to raise money in such a short period of time. Gust Launch gave him the tools he needed to be fully prepared to talk with investors. Having all of the necessary documents and information available to send to investors made the fundraising process smoother and Arjun’s company look more professional.
From incorporation to hiring a team
Most founders look for ways they can save money, especially early on in their startup journey. That was very much the case for Arjun, and Gust Launch Start was just what he needed to get Wise up and running affordably. As the company quickly grew, so did its financial, operational, and legal needs. In order to be able to raise money on platform through a convertible note, Arjun upgraded to Launch’s Accelerate plan. After raising a substantial pre-seed round, Arjun was ready to hire his team and set up a startup bank account, leading him to upgrade again to Raise. Gust Launch guided Arjun through every stage of his startup journey, providing him with just about everything he needed to get from incorporation, to fundraising, to building out a full-fledged team in several months.
Arjun’s fundraising success taught him a lot about investors and raising money
Having successfully raised over $1 million through a Gust Launch Convertible Note, Arjun gained some important insight on the fundraising process. He learned that the best way to engage with investors is to show rather than tell. That means coming to the table with a prototype, not just an idea. It also means having the proper supporting material, like a pitch deck, completed and ready to present. Arjun also learned that having a well-rounded founding team with the right combination of expertise can make approaching investors a lot easier.
Creating an Equity Incentive Plan
Once Arjun raised a convertible note round, he was ready to start building out the Wise team. Creating an equity incentive plan on Gust Launch made the hiring process a lot easier and more efficient for Arjun because he already had an attractive offer laid out to present to potential employees.
Gust Launch helped Arjun stay focused on building Wise
Gust Launch afforded Arjun the ability to remain focused on product development and fundraising, giving Wise a big head start. Arjun is incredibly pleased with his Gust Launch experience; the platform is user-friendly and comprehensive, but most importantly, it has saved him a lot of time in terms of decision making and back and forth communication between stakeholders. And, as he knows all too well, when you’re a founder trying to build a successful company, time is an invaluable commodity. Arjun plans to continue using Gust Launch and truly believes that any founder could benefit from being on the platform.