10Plus Ways to Raise Capital for your Start-up Business

Fundraising is not just a means of raising money, but also a way to promote the message and goals of a business. After all, without the goals being clearly explained and set out, nobody would want to support and fund your dream or business. However, gaining funds is obviously important to the continued survival of a business. Without funds, a business simply cannot continue to promote itself or its chosen products.

On a previous post “The 3 categories of fundraising",  we explained the three categories of fund raising, you can go through it for better understanding of what is here. So in this article, we'll be sharing 9 of the ways to raise capital for your business.

Author: Mike Novotny

(1) Bootstrapping your startup business:

Self-funding, also known as bootstrapping, is an effective way of startup financing, specially when you are just starting your business. First-time entrepreneurs often have trouble getting funding without first showing some traction and a plan for potential success. You can invest from your own savings or can get your family and friends to contribute. This will be easy to raise due to less formalities/compliances, plus less costs of raising. In most situations, family and friends are flexible with the interest rate.

Self-funding or bootstrapping should be considered as a first funding option because of its advantages . When you have your own money, you are tied to business. On a later stage, investors consider this as a good point. But this is suitable only if the initial requirement is small. Some businesses need money right from the day-1 and for such businesses, bootstrapping may not be a good option.
Bootstrapping is also about stretching resources – both financial and otherwise – as far as they can. 

(2) Crowdfunding As A Funding Option:

Crowdfunding is one of the newer ways of funding a startup that has been gaining lot of popularity lately. It’s like taking a loan, pre-order, contribution or investments from more than one person at the same time.
This is how crowdfunding works – An entrepreneur will put up a detailed description of his business on a crowdfunding platform. He will mention the goals of his business, plans for making a profit, how much funding he needs and for what reasons, etc. and then consumers can read about the business and give money if they like the idea. Those giving money will make online pledges with the promise of pre-buying the product or giving a donation. Anyone can contribute money toward helping a business that they really believe in.
Why you should consider Crowdfunding as a funding option for your business:

The best thing about crowd funding is that it can also generate interest and hence helps in marketing the product alongside financing. It is also a boom if you are not sure if there will be any demand for the product you are working on. This process can cut out professional investors and brokers by putting funding in the hands of common people. It also might attract venture-capital investment down the line if a company has a particularly successful campaign.

Also keep in mind that crowdfunding is a competitive place to earn funding, so unless your business is absolutely rock solid and can gain the attention of the average consumers through just a description and some images online, you may not find crowdfunding to work for you in the end.

(3) Get Venture Capital For Your Business:

This is where you make the big bets. Venture capitals are professionally managed funds who invest in companies that have huge potential. They usually invest in a business against equity and exit when there is an IPO or an acquisition. VCs provide expertise, mentorship and acts as a litmus test of where the organisation is going, evaluating the business from the sustainability and scalability point of view.

A venture capital investment may be appropriate for small businesses that are beyond the startup phase and already generating revenues. Fast-growth companies like Flipkart, Uber, etc with an exit strategy already in place can gain up to tens of millions of dollars that can be used to invest, network and grow their company quickly.

However, there are a few downsides to Venture Capitalists as a funding option. VCs have a short leash when it comes to company loyalty and often look to recover their investment within a three- to five-year time window. If you have a product that is taking longer than that to get to market, then venture-capital investors may not be very interested in you.

They typically look for larger opportunities that are a little bit more stable, companies having a strong team of people and a good traction. You also have to be flexible with your business and sometimes give up a little bit more control, so if you’re not interested in too much mentorship or compromise, this might not be your best option.

(4) Get Funding From Business Incubators & Accelerators:

Early stage businesses can consider Incubator and Accelerator programs as a funding option. Found in almost every major city, these programs assist hundreds of startup businesses every year.
Though used interchangeably, there are few fundamental differences between the two terms. Incubators are like a parent to a child, who nurture the business providing shelter tools and training and network to a business. 

Accelerators so more or less the same thing, but an incubator helps/assists/nurtures a business to walk, while accelerator helps to run/take a giant leap.
These programs normally run for 4-8 months and require time commitment from the business owners. You will also be able to make good connections with mentors, investors and other fellow startups using this platform.

(5) Raise Funds By Winning Contests:

An increase in the number of contests has tremendously helped to maximize the opportunities for fund raising. It encourages entrepreneurs with business ideas to set up their own businesses. In such competitions, you either have to build a product or prepare a business plan.

You need to make your project stand out in order to improve your success in these contests. You can either present your idea in person or pitch it through a business plan. It should be comprehensive enough to convince anyone that your idea is worth investing in.

(6) Raise Money Through Bank Loans:

Normally, banks is the first place that entrepreneurs go when thinking about funding.
The bank provides two kinds of financing for businesses. One is working capital loan, and other is funding. Working Capital loan is the loan required to run one complete cycle of revenue generating operations, and the limit is usually decided by hypothecating stocks and debtors. 

Funding from bank would involve the usual process of sharing the business plan and the valuation details, along with the project report, based on which the loan is sanctioned.

(7) Get Business Loans From Microfinance Providers or NBFCs

What do you do when you can’t qualify for a bank loan? There is still an option. Microfinance is basically access of financial services to those who would not have access to conventional banking services. It is increasingly becoming popular for those whose requirements are limited and credit ratings not favoured by bank.

Similarly, NBFCs are Non Banking Financial Corporations which are corporations that provide Banking services without meeting legal requirement/definition of a bank.

(8) Govt Programs That Offer Startup Capital:

If you comply with the eligibility criteria, Government grants as a funding option could be one of the best. You just need to make yourself aware of the various Government initiatives.

(9) Quick Ways To Raise Money For Your Business

There are few more ways to raise funds for your business. However, these might not work for everyone. Still, check them out if you need quick funds.

Product Pre-sale: Selling your products before they launch is an often-overlooked and highly effective way to raise the money needed for financing your business. Remember how Apple & Samsung start pre-orders of their products well ahead of the official launch? Its a great way to improve cashflow and prepare yourself for the consumer demand.

Selling Assets: This might sound like a tough step to take but it can help you meet your short term fund requirements. Once you overcome the crisis situation, you can again buy back the assets.

Credit Cards: Business credit cards are among the most readily available ways to finance a startup and can be a quick way to get instant money. If you are a new business and don’t have a tons of expenses, you can use a credit card and keep paying the minimum payment. However, keep in mind that the interest rates and costs on the cards can build very quickly, and carrying that debt can be detrimental to a business owner’s credit. This also varies from country to country.

Conclusion & Next Steps:
If you want to grow really fast, you probably need outside sources of capital. If you bootstrap and remain without external funding for too long, you may be unable to take advantage of market opportunities.

While the plethora of lending options may make it easier than ever to get started, responsible business owners should ask themselves how much financial assistance they really need.

I hope this article has helped you to understand the various ways for raising capital for a business. Make sure to share this article with someone who may need it.