Opening a startup is a process full of challenges, one of the biggest challenges faced by entrepreneurs is raising funds. That's why, having a well-structured plan is crucial to ensure that your company can grow and establish itself in the market.
In the current scenario, investors are more cautious and want to see the true potential of the startup before the financial investment. This needs to prove that its solution effectively addresses a market pain and has scalability potential. In this way, she needs to win over the first clients to attract good investors.
In the so-called startup winter, we have not seen more investments in an idea just in PDF. It is necessary to already have a minimum viable product and some active customers for the market to believe that your money will bring you returns.
In the meantime, the entrepreneur will have to finance their own venture — it is what we callbootstrapping, or self-financing. When you finance yourself in the first steps of the journey, shows the investment market that it believes so much in its business, is taking out of his own pocket what he needs to get started. Of course, this has its downside: good ideas can die for lack of resources, since not everyone can support themselves.
Another common way is to seek resources from friends and family, the so-called FFF investmentfriends, família e tolos). Although it may be a quick solution, it is important to formalize all agreements and clarify the risks involved, in addition to ensuring that this investment does not harm yourcaptablewith a participation ofequityvery high.
When the startup needs funding for traction, that is, to win more clients and hire sales and marketing teams, the so-called angel investors enter — individuals who invest their own resources in startups in exchange for equity. Generally, they are interested in early-stage projects, with high growth potential, but also high risk.
At this point, there is also the possibility of obtaining government-subsidized resources, an excellent source of income without providingequity. Financing withventure debt, that can be risky, since they are resources from a loan, they are also an option.
From there, the venture capital market is already eyeing promising startups, those that have been showing good sales results, that can reach thebreak evensoon and move towards scalability. This moment occurs when the startup shows month-over-month growth, both in revenue and in new clients. It is also when she needs to improve the product, grow the team and have governance.
At this stage, venture capital is the best place to seek investment for growth. Another alternative is to seek companies to sell shares in exchange for opening doors to their clients, or even sell your product to them.
From now on, it is necessary to focus on direction strategy, where do you want to take your business and what is the path of yourexit. Raising funds for a startup requires strategy, planning and a clear understanding of the available options. The important thing is to understand the needs of your business well and assess which sources of capital are most suitable for each stage of development. By combining different approaches, it is possible to build a solid financial structure and ensure the sustainable growth of your company.
