On the one hand start up financing is the toughest you will ever encounter as an entrepreneur. You've got no track record. Banks won't even talk to you. Angel investors and venture capital firms won't talk to 99% of the startups out there. So it's tough.
But on the other hand it is the easiest financing you will ever go after. First, you know the obstacles and don't expect a whole lot; and second, you're not bringing a lot of garbage to the table.
Existing companies tend to wait too long to look for financing, not realizing that it can take months, or even years, to tie down financing for expansion. In those months and years they have bills to pay, contracts to complete, employees to pay. By the time financing comes around, it is often too late.
Start up financing is a different keg of fish. You know it is going to take a long time. You either hunker down and slog on through, or you make alternate plans for starting smaller. Or starting differently. Or shifting the business to make it more appealing. But during these months and years, you are not logging up millions of dollars of debt like existing companies, which puts you way far ahead in the financing game.
Truth to be told, by the time you are able to latch onto "start up financing", odds are that you are no longer just a start up. You probably have made significant refinements to your business. You may even have a few clients. You've certainly refined your business plan. All of which makes you a much juicier prospect for any type of lender or investor.
It is the entrepreneur who sits on his proverbial duff, doing nothing, who doesn't get funded, can't get started, and rots away moping. You -- you, with the angel in your own purse strings -- you are the one who succeeds.
So take that time to do your homework and get started right. It will pay off handsomely in the long run.
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