Week 8

Growth Plan, Raising Capital & Goal Setting


CO.STARTERS Resources/Forms

30, 60, 90 Planning Charts
Celebration Night Invitations
One-Page Business Plan

General Advice on Raising Capital

Go Forth and Validate
The Company Lab’s own Sheldon Grizzle shares in the Wall Street Journal’s Accelerators blog what investors really want.

The 12 Best Sources Of Business Financing
Precious capital remains hard to find for small businesses. This Forbes article shares the most likely sources, from least attractive to most.

How much money should we raise?
Venture Hacks gives advice from leading experts.

How to raise money without lying to investors
By penalizing entrepreneurs who are humble and honest about how their companies will grow, many investors cause entrepreneurs to over-promise (and later under-deliver) when they’re raising money.

Bootstrapping

Bootstrapping Your Startup
No, you don’t need investors to start your dream business. Here’s how to make it happen with your own money.

The $100 Startup
In this book, Chris Guillebeau shows you how to lead a life of adventure, meaning and purpose — and earn a good living. You don’t need much to get started.

Friends & Family

Help From Family Has Its Costs
While friends and family may be an easy source of capital, relationships can suffer. From the Accelerators at the Wall Street Journal.

A Faster Way to Secure Capital
Friends and family provide a quick way to get much needed financing – and one motivation is a desire to see you succeed.

Entrepreneurs Hit Up Family, but Payback Is Slow
With an uncertain economy, borrowed funds from friends and family may not be repaid. From the Accelerators at the Wall Street Journal.

A Potential Bias Toward Early Exits
People seeking funding from family and friends should ask themselves a few important questions first. From the Accelerators at the Wall Street Journal.

Non-Bank Loans

Kabbage
Kabbage offers businesses funding to help them grow. In order to be funded by Kabbage, you need to use Ebay, Amazon, Etsy, Yahoo, or Shopify to sell your product. Just verify your account and be ready to borrow in minutes.

Accion
The Accion U.S. Network is the largest microfinance network in the United States and, since its inception, has served hundreds of thousands of clients with loans and support.

Crowdfunding

Kickstarter
Kickstarter is a platform and a resource for creative projects to raise funds from the public.

Indiegogo
No matter what you are raising money for, you can start right now with no fee or application process.

Bad Loan Sources

Why Car Title Loans Are a Bad Idea
This article from CNN tells why title loans often lead to ongoing debt.

How Payday Loans Work
This helpful picture from the Pew Charitable Trusts shows how payday loans work and why they usually put the borrow back right where he starts.

Payday Loans Generally a Bad Option
Cash-strapped Americans could do better by getting help from government aid programs or charities. Even using a credit card is far less expensive than taking out a payday loan, says this article from the Los Angeles Times.

Business Plans

Create Your Business Plan
A business plan is an essential roadmap for business success. This living document generally projects 3-5 years ahead and outlines the route a company intends to take to grow revenues. The Small Business Administration (SBA) provides a number of articles to help.

Your Business Plan Guide
Entrepreneur provides a guide with tips and articles on writing a business plan.

Build Your Business Plan Tool
Create an account and answer the step by step questions to create your business plan. Brought to you by the SBA.

Business Plan for a Startup Business (.doc)
This Word document template from SCORE not only tells you what information should be in your business plan, it lays it out page by page.

Pitch Night

See Week 9.