There are millions of would be entrepreneurs walking around with millions of ideas. But what is the difference between the ideas and the success stories? Funding. Often, an entrepreneur has an idea and the skill set to back it up. They may even have a few friends willing to use teamwork to make the dream work. Everyone gets together and pitches in a couple of dollars and a prototype may even be produced, but then what?
The costs start to add up. Marketing for traction. Scaling production. A final version. Sales. Distribution. All of those in any particular order. The couple of dollars that were initially put in are drying up rapidly. What is an entrepreneur to do?
Go get funding, of course! But from where? Angel capital and VC funding seem like they are light-years away and incubators/accelerators have applicant lists a mile long. How is a young company to distinguish themselves from the rest of the pack? The answer is simpler than one may think.
Fund it yourself (not with your own money).
You do not have to bootstrap with your own money until you reach the point of a million dollar valuation for a Seed round of funding. There are a myriad of business capital sources outside of the Angel/VC route that are perfect for early growth stages. To name a few: Credit Partners, Business Lines of Credit, Micro Loans, CDFI, CDC, CDE, and SBA 7A. This list isn't complete by any means.
Over the coming weeks, we'll be discussing these sources of funding. I have met with people who are able to provide anywhere from $500 to $1,000,000+ for companies at various stages of creditworthiness and revenue and I'll be passing that knowledge along.
Keep following for tips to fund your #OvernightEmpire!