Gust

Gust Mission Control Founder Spotlight: Zoya Lehrer, Co-Founder & CEO of Orgo ?? From immigrating to the U.S. at age nine with just $8 in her family’s pocket, to building a tech solution that’s transforming family logistics, Zoya’s journey is the epitome of resilience, vision, and leadership. As the Co-Founder and CEO of?Orgo, Zoya is making waves in the startup world with an app designed for multi-sport families juggling chaotic schedules. Here’s a look at her inspiring story: ???The Problem Raising three athletic daughters (ages 13, 9, and 7), Zoya experienced firsthand the logistical chaos of youth sports. “We were living in constant confusion—emails, texts, and WhatsApp messages about pickups, practices, and travel schedules. It wasn’t sustainable.” ???The Solution: Orgo Zoya and her team bootstrapped to build Orgo, a mobile app that simplifies and centralizes family logistics. Features like preparation time, travel adjustments, and clear driver assignments make it a game-changer for busy families. One recent test? Zoya and her husband left their kids’ schedules to Orgo while on a 4-day trip. The result? “Not a single logistical question came up,” Zoya says. “It was proof of what we’d built—a tool families can truly rely on.” ????Building Orgo from the Ground Up Bootstrapping for 18 months, Zoya and her three co-founders wore every hat. From marketing and product design to financial modeling, they leaned into the challenge of creating a scalable product. “Our team became experts in areas we’d never touched before. It was tough, but it prepared us for the journey ahead,” Zoya shares. ???The Fundraising Journey Like many first-time founders, Zoya faced hurdles in fundraising. “I targeted the wrong investors at first and didn’t have metrics to support our story,” she admits. But she quickly pivoted, refining Orgo’s investor pitch and financial model. The result? A clear, compelling story that speaks to both the product and its market potential. ???Lessons for Other Founders 1???Lean into Your Story:?Zoya’s deep connection to Orgo’s mission gives her pitch authenticity and passion. 2???Learn and Iterate:?“Every conversation is a chance to refine your narrative. Fundraising is as much about listening as it is about pitching.” 3???Build a Network Early:?Zoya credits communities like Gust and Mission Control for providing critical feedback and resources. ???What’s Next for Orgo? Zoya and her team are laser-focused on growth: improving key metrics, refining their marketing funnel, and preparing for their next round of fundraising. Her advice for founders? “Don’t be afraid to start messy. You don’t need to have all the answers—you just need to begin.” ? ???Learn more about Zoya’s story and how Orgo is transforming family logistics:?orgohq.com???

Another Wins-day! ?? We love highlighting successes in the Gust ecosystem. This week, we've got an exciting update from Forecastr, our financial forecasting partner and a Mission Control education partner! Today, they launched Forecastr 2.0, the next iteration on their incredible financial modeling toolkit. We can wait to see 2.0 in action! Congrats on the launch, Forecastr team. ???????? Check out their full announcement in the post below.??

Gust Mission Control Founder Spotlight: Timothy W., Founder of SafetyVue ?? Entrepreneurship isn’t about ideas. It’s about solving problems that won’t let you sleep at night. For Tim Wolter, that problem was twofold: 1?? His daughter struggling in school—not because she couldn't learn, but because the system wasn't built for her. 2?? The construction industry treating safety reactively, rather than preventing accidents before they happen. Tim's first attempt at adaptive learning helped his daughter go from struggling to straight A’s. His next? Revolutionizing construction safety. With SafetyVue, Tim is shifting the industry from reactive safety to proactive prevention. Using real-time data, targeted training, and VR simulations, SafetyVue helps construction professionals anticipate risks before they turn into accidents. ?? The key insight? Learning environments matter—whether it’s a classroom or a construction site. And when people are equipped with the right tools in the right way, they make better decisions. Tim’s story is a testament to grit, problem-solving, and the power of building for impact. It’s also a reminder to founders: ? Listen to your customers, not just investors. ? Obstacles aren’t walls—they’re puzzles waiting to be solved. ? Success isn’t just about traction, it’s about resilience. Tim doesn’t just talk about breaking barriers—he builds solutions that do it. Know someone in construction who should hear about SafetyVue? Drop a comment or tag them below! ??

?? Deadline approaching: tomorrow is the deadline to file and pay your Delaware Franchise Taxes! If your business is incorporated in the State of Delaware, you are required to file and pay a Franchise Tax, which gives your company the right to operate in the state of Delaware. Everything is straightforward, but just in case, we've put together some great resources to help as needed. We have a written guide, as well as a full video walkthrough explaining each step. Here's an excerpt from that video, showing how some companies may see a crazy $84,000 bill, but with some easy adjustments the true amount, normally closer to the $450-$500 range, comes up. Have any questions? Let us know below!

It's Delaware Franchise Tax Week! If your business is incorporated in Delaware, you must file your annual report and pay a yearly franchise tax by March 1st. The annual report and franchise tax payment buy your startup the privilege of doing business in Delaware and utilizing the state’s court system. Here's your reminder to get it done asap! We've created two great resources to aid in this yearly task, including a detailed written guide and a recording of Peter Swan and Ryan Nash walking you through the process. Have you paid your Delaware Franchise Taxes yet? If you've got questions, let us know below. ?? ?? ?

Wins-day! Highlighting successes of founders in the Gust ecosystem: After landing 3 B2B clients in their first 3 hours live, last week SafetyVue added 4 additional enterprise prospects to their sales funnel through inbound and referrals. Congrats on the progress Timothy W.! Thanks for giving Mission Control the opportunity to help ?? Since July, Tiki has brought 100 billion data records to market for more than a dozen companies. Now they're expanding their program to help another 100 companies turn their data into a new revenue stream. Congratulations to Mike Audi and the Tiki team! Thanks for choosing Gust Launch =) What successes are you celebrating right now? Let us know in the comments below! ??

We can't wait! Want to see exactly what a great financial model looks like? Join Gust and the Forecastr team Thursday afternoon for a financial model breakdown, where we break down a startup's model and build it back better! ?? ???

?? AI has the potential to revolutionize many industries—but what does it take to convince investors to bet on YOUR vision? Pitching an AI startup isn’t just about the tech. There's nuance to the problem you're solving, the market you target, and the impact you're striving for. What makes a winning AI pitch? ?? ? A clearly defined problem and solution ? A believable TAM ? An articulated competitive Moat ? A focus on the user's Stefan Kwiecinski breaks down the most common pitch mistakes in the latest Gust blog. ?? If you're looking to raise funding for your AI startup, this is for you. ?? Read it here: https://gust.ly/3WODnld #Gust #AIStartups #ArtificialIntelligence #Startups #VentureCapital #Fundraising #Pitching #Entrepreneurship #TechStartups #Investors

“Losing control of your accounting, it’s worse than losing control of your codebase” Many aspects of the startup landscape can be confusing, especially for first-time founders. When it comes to managing your finances and dealing with taxes, the best advice is this: wrangling your startup finances may seem a bit much when so much is uncertain, but taking proactive steps early on can prevent the snowball effect of unmanaged accounting.?

One of the fundamental aspects of fundraising is the pitch. That's why we provide monthly "Pitch Practice" sessions for our Mission Control founders. These sessions give founders a chance to practice their pitching skills, the pitch itself, and get some incredible tips and observations from our panel of startup experts. We had a great slate of startups and experts in our December session, with a ton of amazing advice, including this tip about targeting investors with your pitch, from Dan Manning: "There are other people out here who want to solve this problem as well, you just need to clearly give them the signal 'I am passionate about the same thing you are passionate about and we're trying to do something about it.' Now, you have their attention, their interest, and you can take them through what you are doing."