InvestorUniverse vs Gust

What Gust is

Gust describes itself as a place to start, grow and fund a venture. On its site it groups its tools into three stages. Starting covers entity formation and co-founder equity planning. Growing covers a company profile and accelerator applications. Fundraising covers cap table modelling, investor matching and digital signing of SAFEs and convertible notes.

It says it has a community of more than 800,000 founders, links to over 750 angel groups and more than 300 accelerators worldwide, and runs a support programme called Mission Control.

Who it suits

Gust is aimed at founders, with separate products for investors and accelerators. Its pricing page is built around company formation and equity management, with Delaware registered agent services among the features, so it will suit founders setting up or running a company with US-style structures.

If you want one place for incorporation, equity and a first look at investor matching, it is designed for that.

Many founders also use a lawyer or an accountant alongside a platform like this, particularly for SEIS and EIS. Whichever route you take, check that the structure it sets up fits where your investors are based.

What it costs

Gust publishes three annual plans, priced in dollars. START is $450 a year and covers incorporation set-up, founder stock issuance and a digital cap table. ACCELERATE is $1,250 a year and adds legal templates, cap table modelling and unlimited SAFEs and convertible notes. RAISE is $3,500 a year and adds an equity incentive plan, option grants and 409A valuation services.

InvestorUniverse is simpler. The top 10 is free, the full report is a one-off purchase, and monthly plans start with Spark at £79.

Where Gust is strong

Range. Few tools take you from forming a company through to issuing equity and closing a round with digital documents. The global reach of its angel group and accelerator links is useful for founders who are open to raising outside the UK.

The community and expert sessions are also a real draw for first-time founders.

Gust also offers products for investors and accelerators, so the same network sits on both sides of the table. That can help if you plan to apply to accelerators as well as raise from angel groups.

Where InvestorUniverse is a better fit

Our focus is the UK investor list. We score UK investors on stage, sector, cheque size, geography and recent activity, and return up to 100 best-fit investors, each with a written reason.

If your round is going to be raised in the UK, you want a ranked list of UK names and the reasoning behind each one. We also run a funding newsroom that follows UK rounds, so you can see where money has recently gone. The full report is a one-off payment, with no annual plan tied to company formation.

Our list is ranked and each name comes with a written reason, so you do not have to decide between hundreds of groups yourself. You can start with the free top 10 once you sign up and add the rest later.

When I'd use Gust instead

I'd use Gust if I were setting up a new company and wanted formation, a cap table and legal templates in one place. I'd also use it if I planned to raise from angel groups in several countries or wanted its accelerator links.

If I needed 409A valuations and option plans, its RAISE plan lists them.

If you are early and have not yet set up the company, the order matters. Getting the structure and the cap table right first saves work later, and a platform that handles both can be a sensible place to begin.

How they can work together

Use Gust to look after your company set-up and cap table, and InvestorUniverse to decide which UK investors to approach. Your cap table tool will matter once term sheets arrive, and your investor list matters from the first week of the raise.

Try the free top 10 once you sign up first, and see whether the reasons match your own instincts.

Quick summary

Gust is a broad founder platform with plans from $450 to $3,500 a year and global investor matching. InvestorUniverse is a UK-focused ranked shortlist with written reasons. I'd choose Gust for company set-up and equity tools, and InvestorUniverse for a UK raise.

Whichever you pick, check the plan details on Gust's own pricing page, since plans and prices can change. Our own prices are listed above and on our site.