by Robert McGarvey

Pick the odd man out that has no place in a discussion of where to get startup funding: angel investors, friends and family, venture capitalists, or a CUSO?

It’s a trick question because all four are good sources of capital for early-stage companies, but you probably pointed at CUSO because you hadn’t heard of it before.

Join the club: few startup entrepreneurs have a clue. But that is overlooking an important source of possible funding that may also deliver plenty of customers too.

Continued at Startup Savant

By Robert McGarvey | Monday, 27 March 2023 | Feature

If you thought that the present wave of bank failures — headlined by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse — means nothing to you and your startup, you are wrong.

In fact, you just may be in the category that is most impacted, even if you weren’t an SVB customer or had never heard of Credit Suisse before the tidal wave of headlines.

Continued at Startup Savant

By Robert McGarvey

You know the numbers: approximately 20% of startups fail in year one, and 45% — almost one in two — fail in the first five years. And what happens to the entrepreneurs who had launched those businesses and whose dreams were crushed by a hostile marketplace? Are they doomed to a lifetime of punching the clock at somebody else’s company?

Not at all. In fact, for many entrepreneurs, an early failure was exactly the learning experience they needed to launch another business that succeeded. There are lessons in adversity that just may help you triumph in your second startup — if you look for them.

Continued at Startup Savant

By Robert McGarvey

Inflation is at a 40-year high, and although it dipped a bit in recent months, it is still a lofty 7+ percent.

Unprepared businesses often sink in an inflationary era; however, there are savvy business owners who knew all along that the global economy is cyclical. It has ups and downs — periods of rampant inflation and periods of price stability, occasionally even deflation (notably in 2009 with the Great Recession), where prices go into freefall.

Continued at Startup Savant

By Robert McGarvey | https://tinyurl.com/2oovcd7n

You have heard the stern advice: beware of credit cards, too much debt will destroy your business’s dreams.

That’s true — but only so far. Carrying debt at as much as 18% APR is definitely crippling to many businesses. But, when used judiciously and with balances paid off monthly, entrepreneurs insist business credit cards can be rocket fuel for powering startup growth. #creditcard #entrepreneurs