Mentor Spotlight: Gabe Bass

by Kraettli Lawrence Epperson in Uncategorized

Recently we had the opportunity to interview VentureSpur co-founder, Gabe Bass, Managing Partner at Bass Law. Gabe gives his take on mentorship, startups and accelerators in Oklahoma.  Check out his interview below.

Learn more about Gabe Bass on our mentor page!

What was the most important thing a mentor ever did for you? 

Being a resource willing to listen to how I am intending to approach a problem and either confirming that I am on the right track or pointing me in the right direction when I am not. When I am working in an area where I do not have much experience, I get an immense amount of value out of a mentor with relevant experience either confirming that I’m not missing something big or telling me when I am. After this type of interaction with a mentor, I am able to approach the issue with a much higher level of confidence. 

What do you think an accelerator can do for Oklahoma?

An accelerator can bring together the startup community around a common project. The relationships that will be formed and forged because of it will bring the startup scene here to an entirely new level.

What do you think a mentor can do for a startup? How can a mentor help?  

A mentor can be a very valuable resource to a startup team, particularly a mentor with experience building a business. That type of mentor can help keep the team focused on the right issues and help the team to avoid the most damaging mistakes.

What kind of technologies and companies do you currently find interesting? 

As far as technology companies go, my favorite companies are those building platform technologies that others build businesses and products on, particularly if the platform is designed to be used in a specific vertical.

What is the most important part of a company’s application when applying to an accelerator?

The team, the size of the market they are going after, and the product…in that order.  I also like to know why the team is attempting to solve the particular problem that their product is designed to solve. I like teams that are trying to scratch their own itch. In other words, they are building something because it addresses an unsolved problem that they themselves have had.

 

Need help with your business? Contact JumpPhase.com

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
The following two tabs change content below.
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Google+ profileMy LinkedIn profile

Kraettli Lawrence Epperson

Managing Director at JumpPhase Ventures
This blog is dedicated to providing advice, tools and encouragement from one entrepreneur to another. I want to keep this practical and accessible for the new entrepreneur while also providing enough sophistication and depth to prove useful to the successful serial entrepreneur. My target rests somewhere between the garage and the board room, where the work gets done and the hockey stick emerges.