When you’re trying to find money for your startup, particularly when the business is still in a conceptual stage, serious investors can be hard to come by. Talk and ideas are cheap, and sophisticated investors want to see a track record, hard numbers and real results. The earlier in the startup process your business is, the harder it is to even get a meeting with a serious investor.

This doesn’t mean you have a lack of options when it comes to raising money. It just means that you need to consider some alternatives, and be aware of their pros and cons. In this post, I’m going to examine five common sources of funding for startups in the earliest stages of development. I’m also going to explore some of the risks associated with each one. Continue reading →