If your business is looking for capital for specific business equipment such as office furniture, machinery, or other capital assets that are exclusively for business use, specialized equipment … more

Hard Money Lenders are lenders that offer specialized financing for real estate-backed loans. Unlike traditional banks, Hard Money Lenders typically charge higher interest rates because they back … more

A traditional bank loan (not the SBA-backed kind) looks a lot like a traditional consumer loan for a car or a home. Unlike SBA Loans which tend to be smaller and slightly subsidized, a traditional … more

A Business Line of Credit (LOC) shares many of the same characteristics of a traditional credit card, although the amount of credit issued is often much higher. Lines of Credit are typically used … more

Accounts Receivable Financing (or Factoring) allows you to use the receivables of your customers as the collateral for a loan. This is often used by companies who have a long waiting period for … more

A Merchant Cash Advance (MCA) leverages a business’s credit card sales as a form of collateral toward acquiring cash immediately. How a Merchant Cash Advance Works The key to a MCA relationship is … more

The SBA helps small businesses that may not be eligible for traditional bank loans by guaranteeing large portions of the loan on the entrepreneur's behalf. These loans are generally available … more

Debt

The most common form of outside capital for new businesses is Debt.

Debt is a great tool for a small business if you know where and how to use it. … more

A relatively new form of funding has become available to entrepreneurs in the last few years - crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is the concept of using a public offer to help solicit funds for your … more

Although they certainly don’t get credit for it (pardon the pun), American Express, Visa, and MasterCard have funded more startup companies than every venture capital firm combined! The personal … more

Sweat Equity is created when you or others contribute work to a business in the hopes that it will pay off in terms of an interest in the company as opposed to hourly or salaried wages. You may … more

Next to an entrepreneur's personal savings, Friends and Family may be the most significant source of capital for startup companies. Raising money from Friends and Family often has nothing to do … more

Bootstrapping

Contrary to what many believe, most businesses don't get started by way of a big investment from some deep-pocketed investor.  Most businesses get started by an … more

The SBA MicroLoans program provides loans up to $35,000 to new businesses or for small businesses focused on growth. The average loan according to the SBA is around $13,000. Interest rates range … more

How the Pitch Process Works

Preparing to pitch investors is about having all of your pitch materials in order.  Most investor introductions follow a common sequence of events that … more

Key Pitch Assets

Once you have your Fundraising Plan and your Pitch List together, it's time to make sure you have all of your key pitch assets in order.  Most of these assets are … more

What are Investors Looking for?

It’s the age old question - "What are investors looking for?" Unfortunately there is no universal answer here. The obvious response is " … more