The opening of a new business, particularly an e-commerce and technology company is easier than ever. But it can be difficult to get funding to fund the startup, particularly with other new companies vying for the same seed capital. We all know that e-commerce is an inexpensive and highly profitable business and to scale it, you need substantial funding. Since the VC trend has grown a lot over the last few years as a means of financing, they have become a lot wiser today. They want to profit from their investment, not in years, but within a few months.
With such a situation, getting any sort of VC funding is merely a mirage; does that mean there is no other way?
Don’t worry, this article will show you 4 pragmatic ways to fund your e-commerce startup without any C funding.
Let’s dive right into it.
Bootstrap it
The best way to fund your start-up is bootstrapping it. Simply put, have you put any money in your business yourself? You needn’t mortgage your house or sell you car, but if you’re serious about your business and intend seeking further investments (in the near and distant future); you must first invest your own money. Bootstrapping keeps you on your toes and you’ll get a fair idea whether your business is creating any noise at all in the market. Not everyone is going to be impressed with equity in the form of blood, sweat and passion; real investors believe in those startups who’s founders have injected their personal finances in the idea and are willing to take the risk themselves first.
When In Doubt, Join an Incubation Program
There is immense benefit when you join an accelerator, incubator or business mentoring programme. In almost every country, startup accelerators and start-up incubators are home to a growing number of cities. It doesn’t matter whether your business is tech related or not, everyone and anyone can benefit from these programmes. Another advantage of entering an accelerator, incubator or mentoring programme is that teach you various things which will be instrumental in your journey as an entrepreneur and they also allow access to useful instruments, tools, partnerships and skills to help finance startups.
Start a Crowd Funding Page
When you have goodwill in your community, and you believe your startup can benefit them in many ways, you can start a crowd funding page for your company. This provides greater financial flexibility for startups (in contrast with VC and other investment funds). The need that your company tries to solve will be validated or invalidated immediately. And if done properly, this can be an effective publicity method as well.
Seek Help from Your Family and Friends
Those people who love you and have faith in you will trust you and your abilities the most. That is why they will always support you in any way possible. Unlike a bank, don’t take a loan from them, but include them as your (potential) shareholders of your company so that your friends and family who supported you from the beginning will potentially make money too when your business takes off. Who knows, you might also collect funds for a donation if you’re lucky. Chat with your parents, your siblings, your grandparents or your wealthy uncle. Just remember one thing that you definitely don’t want to take a loan your friends gave you in good faith and lose it; there is equal amount of sentimental value attached with that money as is with your business.
Starting a new venture is really exciting but isn’t easy. Not everybody has ample resources to get their new company off the ground. Try these methods if you can’t fund your company on your own. You can always ask for assistance from your friends and family. Nonetheless you still need to start with a solid business plan followed with a systematic approach to take it off the ground. If you have a profitable business and need to scale it without VC funding, but don’t know how to, feel free to contact us.
