5 Funding Sources to Help Bootstrap Your Start-up Right Now

If you believe that venture funded start-ups do better than a bootstrap, think again. Here are some of the renowned billion-dollar companies that began their journey wearing the shoes of self-funding-Shutterstock, Shopify, SurveyMonkey, Spanx, Craigslist.

In fact, if there is one thing that comes with a bootstrap start-up and motivates any entrepreneur the most is no loss of stake in equity. YOU ARE THE BOSS!

You don't have to give anyone a slice p your start-up's share. You enjoy being the sole decision maker. Everything that forms part of your company needs your approval. And as long as funding is concerned, apart from investing personal funds, there is more than one tested formula.

Here are 5 funding sources for the new founders who don’t have a Godfather in the industry.

• Join No-Equity Programs

You can find fair to middling equity free funding programs around you if you are savvy enough to find them. It usually consists of accelerators, incubators, and business plan competitions.

There is a tremendous increase in the number of such contests which not only brings you the fund but media coverage as well. NASSCOM’S 10000 start-ups, Lets Ignite, Get in the ring, G-Startup worldwide, Conquest are there to name a few.

At an early stage, you can count on Incubators & Accelerator programs as well for funding. Although two terms are used as substitutes, on one hand, incubator helps in taking the baby steps by nurturing a business, accelerator helps in taking a giant leap. These programs usually help in building contacts with investors, mentors and fellow start-ups.

• Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding has been gaining a lot of stardom lately. There are platforms like Wishberry, Fundlined, GoFundMe, Kickstarter, where you have to describe your business, mention its goals, give numbers on how much funding you need, how you will utilize it, etc. And if your business model will be captivating enough for the audience, it will help you generate the required funding.

A crowdfunding platform just doesn’t bring finance. Since you are giving all the details about your product/service, it also markets the same. Moreover, if you aren’t sure that people will like your product/service, responses from the crowd will drop you a hint. Therefore, presenting your idea amongst masses is a great way to validate your offering.

If you are wondering about what you need to give in return, then you just know that it solely depends on the type of crowdfunding. If it is donation based, nothing has to be given. A reward based crowdfunding expects your product/service in return. An equity-based, of course, calls for the equity share.

• Apply to Government Programs

India is in third place after The US and Britain when it comes to the number of start-ups. To boost Indian start-up ecosystem, 50+ start-up schemes have been introduced by Indian Government. Bank Of Idea and Innovations, Startup India, Scale-up Support to Establishing Incubation Centres are a few of them.

• Go for Grants

Applying for grants is tough and getting them is tougher. However, it is a great source for a certain type of companies. If your start-up qualifies as a non-profit organization or is indulged in creating a product that requires academic research, solves community-related issues, is backed by a female entrepreneur, is minority-owned, a grant might prove to be a right option for you. Grants are generally approved if you are planning to help society at large.

However, if your business idea has the wow factor and you might get lucky in impressing the judges, then there are few small business grants are also available. Famous FedEx, Shark Tank-style Miller Lite are two corporate based business grants.

• Take Work on Project Basis

The money you can infuse in your start-up could be your salary as well but it is next to impossible to balance with a job in one hand and start-up in another. Therefore, freelancing or working on a contract basis is a worthy idea. It not only proves to be a great source of funds but also leaves you with an ample amount of time for your new business.

You can take projects as per your convenience in regards to time and money. Moreover, there are plenty of platforms that are bombarded with freelance work across the globe like Freelancer, Fiverr, Upwork, etc.

Jon Oringer was a professional developer and amateur photographer. He used his photography skills and 30K photos from his gallery to kick-start stock photo service, which is now a $2 billion company, named as Shutterstock.

So, if your start-up requires your skill set as well then it is even better. You can take freelance work as per your skill set, and along with the money, you will also enhance the skills. And you never know, we might have another Shutterstock on its way!

Wrapping Up

The above list is an inclusive one and contains some of the best sources. So, if you ever feel cash-strapped, don’t forget to go through it. And if you know of any other funding source, don’t hesitate to mention it in the comment section.

Apart from benefits, as mentioned in intro, one more thing that you will let go off is-expensive meeting point *wink*

Written By Aditi Lohia