Unlike other sources of funding, we know your data has value. We can help you unlock it.
Use it as collateral for your loan - we make a secure, temporary copy that is held in escrow and released once you're done.
Interest on conventional venture debt compounds at up to 25% annually and often contains rights that can be damaging to your organization.
Gulp Data provides the capital you need now, at a lower cost, and without the hooks.
Early-stage funding often costs founders more than money.
Gulp Data ensures you keep your equity and your board seats.
Average VC seed rounds can take up to 6 months to close, plundering management focus just when seas are roughest.
We aim to close loans with minimal touch points and in less than two weeks.
To provide a fair estimate of your dataset's value, we need a sample before an offer can be made. This data is submitted after the qualification survey through our secure "Gulp Data Valuation" app. The subset should be large enough to be representative of the full dataset and shouldn't be cherry-picked. We will also request that you describe the data with qualitative and quantitative information such as age, completeness, total size, type of data, and any other relevant identifiers you feel are important.
Any data you submit, including samples and backups held in escrow, are treated with an intense focus on security. We adhere to the strictest global standards and can comply with additional company-specific requirements upon request. Your data is stored in a fully encrypted form and is never mixed in any way with other client data while vaulted. All agreements and processes are designed with client rights, privacy, and security in mind.
During onboarding, initial consistency and integrity tests are performed on the full dataset to make sure the valuation is accurate. Our proprietary client software is then added to your local environment to process daily health checks and escrow snapshots. Gulp Data’s vault is designed to protect your data from anyone — even us — through the entire lending lifecycle.
After the loan is paid off, your data, including backups and samples, is irreversibly deleted from all custodian infrastructure. In the case of any financial hardship, we work with clients to provide flexible forbearance options. As a last resort, licensing use rights to the data copy in escrow are enabled to pay off the debt, and Gulp Data will take steps to responsibly and anonymously sell the formerly vaulted dataset.
Our team has learned first-hand that venture capital can be an antiquated and predatory funding method. Many startups make the mistake of raising both venture capital and debt, giving up board seats, preferred shares, and control to outsiders who don't understand their business. Modern assets like IP, software, and data aren't valued, and revenue-based metrics force founders into over-dilution. In between rounds, startups are routinely charged standard rates (22-25%) for small, short-term loans sourced from one of their own "investors" to bridge the business through to seed.
As a company grows, it can create products and infrastructure that welcomes millions of users, creating consistent data flow which is turned into consistent cash flow. But at this point, the damage is done — outsiders are in, early employees are diluted, and the company and its mission is never the same again. Why can't founders find fair financing for their growing start-up? They understand the enterprise value in having millions of unique records and data sets, so... why is it impossible for VCs to see this too?
Gulp Data Founder Lauren Cascio sits down with Douglas Laney, author of the best-selling book “Infonomics,” to take a deep dive into data valuation, neo-lending, and the unique challenges faced by folks looking to raise capital in today’s complex marketplace.
Wondering how, exactly, data valuation can help your enterprise? This splashy article from Forbes highlights how measuring, monitoring and valuing data assets can give companies a competitive edge and swim ahead of the competition.
Many thanks to ABL Advisor for helping us emerge from stealth mode! Read how Gulp Data is pioneering lending on data-as-an-asset and providing founders with a new non-dilutive avenue to raise capital.
