Today, we are happy and proud to announce that Gather has been accepted into the exclusive TinySeed accelerator program. TinySeed was designed by, and for, bootstrappers to help them reach the next level of quality and growth.
As many of you probably know, we here at Gather have been vocal advocates of the bootstrap ethos.
From day one, we have felt that it is important for us to maintain autonomy over our product and company. We are adamantly opposed to excessive influence or direction from outside forces because we believe in being customer-driven not investor-driven.
The Venture Capital Trap
When a company decides to take Venture Capital (VC) money, in exchange for shares in their business, they are choosing to play a very different game. The goal for VC-backed companies is, explicitly and purposefully to get big and get big fast. That’s fine, but it usually means breaking a lot of eggs in the process, including sometimes, the trust of their customers.
However, the landscape of funding has been going through some interesting shifts lately.
There is a new breed of investor who is looking to back already growing companies but without demanding board seats, or pressuring the companies in their portfolio to sell-out to larger corporations in order to realize their investment return.
TinySeed, a New Path Forward
TinySeed is one of these “new breed” investors and, in our opinion, the best. But, TinySeed is SO very much more than just investment.
Like I alluded to, TinySeed is an Accelerator Program. What that means, is that in addition to some capital investment, Gather will also have mentor-level access to some of the most brilliant minds in the Software as a Service (SaaS) space.
As a member of the TinySeed program, we will…
✔️ Be a participant in weekly “mastermind” sessions with the other companies in the cohort (there are 8 in our batch).
✔️ Have regular access to some AMAZING mentors who have built, grown, and scaled their own businesses with little outside investment and on their own terms.
✔️ Attend intensive private retreats in order to learn and grow as business and product owners
✔️ Receive funding that can help us to build more great features, improve existing ones, and reach more designers and architects in the industry
TinySeed’s founder-friendly investment terms dictate that we, the owners of Gather,…
✔️ Maintain 100% control of our company (no board seats)
✔️ Do not need to sell out to a larger corporation for the investors to see returns (they instead can receive profit dividend distributions)
We just couldn’t be more excited and proud to join this group of amazing companies chosen for TinySeed’s first “batch”.
Over 900 businesses reportedly applied to the program, and 8 companies were chosen, Gather being one of them. We are honored that the founders of TinySeed saw so much potential in Gather, and are we are 100% aligned with Rob and Einar’s (the founders of TinySeed) mission and purpose.
So…make sure you keep an eye on what we’re up to over here because there is a lot of very interesting things in store for Gather over the coming year! We’ll be writing more about our game plan very soon.
Now is a great time to join the Gather family.
Sign up for your free 14-day trial today and experience the most beautiful and collaborative specification management tool servicing the design industry today.
I am the founder and CEO of Gather, the best Interior Design specification tool on the planet.
I live with my lovely wife and 10-year old son in beautiful San Miguel de Allende Mexico.
