Start-Up Finance

About start-up finance

Four key stages:
 

1. Seed funding
 
What is it?
The initial funding that a company uses to start a business, often sourced from personal savings or assets, or from friends & family. Sometimes, seed funding is provided by angel investors or seed funds, in which case it is granted in exchange for an equity stake in the firm.
 
What is it used for?

• Market research
• Product development
• Prototype production
• Other early-stage operations

2. Venture capital
 
What is it?
Investment into companies that demonstrate a potential for solid growth but are still in the early stages of their development. Venture capitalists provide large sums of money and support startups on a long-term basis – usually between 5 to 10 years.
 
3. Mezzanine funding
 
4. Initial public offerings

WHY RAISE VENTURE CAPITAL?

Everyone needs a little help from time to time, right? While some businesses achieve growth and sustainability without external funding, others source funds from debt financing and provide banks with personal guarantees. Depending on the nature of your startup, you might need investment to…

• Hire the right people to help you grow
• Add new features to your product as you learn about your customers’ needs
• Fund your research, networking, marketing and client acquisition processes as you break into a challenging new market