Where We’ve Been
For the longest time, GAN’s brand has been focused solely on accelerators. For nearly seven years—since GAN started—our brand has stayed the same. We describe ourselves as a network of the most respected independent accelerators in the world.
Fast forward to 2017: We find ourselves with a growing community of more than 80 accelerators in 120+ cities around the world, nearly 30 corporate partners, and a growing portfolio of founders we’ve invested in as part of our new ventures arm.
Our community has grown, and we knew it was time to take a look at our brand.
A few years back, when we thought more about why we were so passionate about supporting accelerators, we came to the conclusion that our entire community does this work this because we believe that accelerators are the best current model we know of to empower the next wave of startups. So, after a lot of reflection in the fall of 2014, we officially declared that GAN’s mission would be to give startups the power to create and grow their businesses, wherever they are.
What emerged from all of this is a new way of talking about GAN that has always been true:
GAN accelerators are working alongside partners and investors to give startups the power to create and grow amazing businesses all over the globe.
Where We’re Going
This all led us to embark on a strategic branding process. It was time to draw from our history and look forward at what would not only be most honoring to all of you, our global community, but where it was clear the community was headed. In doing so, we wanted to be able to clearly answer three important questions: Who are we—the whole GAN community? What do we do? And, why does this work matter?
Who We Are
We’re a highly curated community of accelerators, partners, and investors.
This is a more accurate way of describing our entire global community, as it describes all of the organizations—including you—who do this work every day.
What We Do
We create opportunities for startups around the world to access the human and financial capital they need.
We’re a community with a single focus: the success of startups around the world. And, we’re deep believers in the premise that “success” requires both human (connections to other people, founder health, families, friends, and the like), and financial capital (i.e. revenue and/or investment) to succeed. As a community, this is the core function of our daily work.
Why It Matters
So that startups can build powerful businesses and make a meaningful impact, wherever they call home.
This is where it gets emotional. This is the profoundly human element of what gets our community up in the morning. Giving entrepreneurs the resources they need to build businesses has a direct effect on their lives because it gives them an increased ability to fulfill who they set out to be in the world (one of GAN’s community values). It means their lives are more personally fulfilling. And, it means they’re creating net new jobs for economies around the world, giving themselves and others access to greater economic opportunity. In turn, this helps them contribute to their own health, the health of their families, and the health of their home towns.
This gets us excited.
What Sets the GAN Community Apart
Love the experience. Trust the results.
In addition to the questions above, we had one last thing we wanted to make sure we addressed.
There are two things we want everyone in our community to feel—deeply—every time they interact with GAN people: Love and Trust. We think of GAN a bit like an independent coffee shop: You’d never sacrifice quality for a better experience, but there’s an emotional connection to getting a great cup of coffee every morning from a place where people actually care about you. That’s a coffee shop where you feel known, supported, and able to relax into the present moment. It’s feeling more connected to yourself and to others. It’s knowing that people have your back.
That’s who GAN is. A highly curated community of accelerators, partners, and investors who deeply care about the success of startups wherever they are.