Crowdfunding has become an increasingly popular way for individuals and businesses alike to raise much-needed capital. The relatively low cost of entry and accessibility of popular crowdfunding platforms have fueled this revolution in funding.
But while it might look easy — and seem like a no-brainer — to launch a crowdfunding campaign, there are strong pros and cons to consider.
Founders considering launching a crowdfunding campaign might wonder:
To answer those questions (and a few more that people might not have even thought of), we reached out to our network of crowdfunding experts.
Our list includes founders of crowdfunding platforms, serial...
Startups create financial projections in the form of a "Pro Forma Income Statement" — which simply means a financial forecast. Early-stage startups are still building their financial models with assumptions, forecasting everything from sales revenue to marketing costs to a basic cash flow projection.
We're going to explain exactly how to build financial projections for your startup even if you have no idea where to start!
Most businesses that have been around a while have historical financial statements that detail how operating expenses, direct costs, fixed costs, and their sales forecast have worked all along — startups have none of this.
Therefore instead of working from real-world data to build our...
People often automatically put small and large businesses into completely separate categories, even when they share the same space in the same market. Their logic is often that a small business can surely never compete with the resources and the horsepower of its corporate peers.
But (as you’ll know if you own a small business yourself) while small businesses seem to be at a disadvantage when it comes to resources, their ideas are just as good as the big guys. It’s just that these ideas often don’t have the same space and support to grow. Without big budgets, it’s harder to make investments in marketing, research, and hiring, so they can’t create the same kind of testing ground that large companies take for granted.
This lack of a lab in wh...
Crowdfunding is a method of raising capital through the collective effort of friends, family, customers, and individual investors.
This approach taps into the collective efforts of a large pool of individuals — primarily online via social media and crowdfunding platforms — and leverages their networks for greater reach and exposure.
Sounds great, right?
But because this method is relatively new, many people don’t understand exactly how crowdfunding works.
Simply stated, crowdfunding works by presenting your idea to people inside and outside of your network and allowing them to contribute toward your fundraising goals online.
The crowd is essentially your personal network, potential customers, and — in the case ...
If you’re already in the startup world, there’s a strong likelihood that you Founder equity (we’d be surprised if you didn’t!), but if you’re new to the industry, understanding how much to ask for in any given opportunity might be somewhat of a mystery to you. We are here with the help of fellow entrepreneurs in our community to share insights, guidelines, and other resources for anyone in the position to ask for (and receive) equity compensation from a company.
Equity is the value of a company's stock, which you earn as a percentage of the company’s profits (or losses). Equity compensation can be thought of as an investment: when you own equity in a company, you're putting...
Confession: I dream of becoming a startup consultant. Get paid mad money to tell people the things I know and to help them move their company along?
Yes please.
But, the very things that appeal to me about startup consulting — high pay, low risk (for me) — are the reasons why startup consultant might not always be a great idea for startups.
Which isn’t to say they’re never a great idea.
But, before we get into that, let’s talk about what a startup consultant actually does.
This is one of those terms that’s more slippery than it looks, mainly because there seems to be some confusion between a consultant, a freelance contractor, a startup coach, and a mentor. If you’re talking generally, all of those categories ...
As is the case with most big projects, crafting a business plan is one of those things that takes an incredible amount of diligence and no shortage of courage. After all, your business idea is probably more than just some passionless money-making ploy — it’s your dream that you’re getting ready to lay bare for the world to scrutinize!
Never fear!
We have 4 sample business plans here to make it all less scary.
If you approach this with a firm understanding of what key information to include in each section of your business plan and know how each section works together to form a cohesive, compelling, and — above all — persuasive whole, it will make the writing process a whole lot less daunting.
We’re about to help you do exactly that by deconstru...
The investor pitch. It's feared. It's desired. It's terrifying.
But don't worry: We've got you covered. Here's everything you need to know about that all-important investor pitch.
Invisu.me Co-Founder and CEO Donna Griffit is a master pitcher who has helped countless founders distill their pitch down to exactly what they need — and nothing they don’t. She had the opportunity to sit in on a private pitching event where a delegation of startups had the opportunity give a five minute pitch and receive direct feedback from a group of top-tier Silicon Valley VC’s. (So top tier that she can’t even say who was there but, trust us, you will want to memorize this section before your next pitch.)
Here’s what ...
This is Part II of our interview with Rhone co-Founder and CEO Nate Checketts. To check out Part I, click here.
I think that happens in every industry and every business, that there are these assumptions that nobody bothers asking about. And for us, especially at the beginning, it was important that we ask a lot of those questions.
The thing about inspiration is that it can come from anywhere. For Rhone co-Founder and CEO Nate Checketts, it came in the form of a smelly t-shirt.
“I was working at the NFL, and I got a lot of free product just by working there,” Nate remembers. “But the product would always start to smell after only a handful of washings.”
Nate credits a frank comment from his sister at a family gathering for getting the whe...
"Do I bet the farm or hold it all back?"
We often wonder whether every dollar of our personal savings should be going toward our startup, or toward our safety.
On the one hand, if we don't bet our cash on our startup, we're starving the very thing we need to grow with. On the other hand, if we spend that money, we'll never be able to sleep at night knowing our safe landing has been pulled away.
Don't spend it all. Seriously — don't.
There's a point at which depleting all of our savings and personal cushion works against us. We start shifting our focus from "growing the business" to "surviving personally" (more than it already is!) and at that point, we're in a downward spiral.
I...