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The capital formation processes for most businesses is problematic in that it changes the harmonics of the organization. By this I mean that the doing of it requires a lot of time and kind attention, which is time and attention taken away from finding a customer. Note also that selling equity in one's company puts one in the shareholder relations business, which is not the business most founders want to be in.
So in brief, it's my strong opinion that funding should be sought for expansion and not development. If you're seeking funding for development, you're not sure what your business is about yet. If you figure this out quickly using other people's money, great! If not, plan on losing control of your company.
However, if you've gotten things to the point that you've a solid equation in place for expansion, by all means seek funding for it if you want to grow faster and have the bandwidth to deal w/ shareholders and an active board of directors.
Best,
Kevin Johansen
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