What is the Optimal Funding Source for Your Needs?
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The funding source(s) that is/are right for you really depends on your business needs and can be complex so it is recommended that you seek advice from a professional, such as your accountant, before embarking on any particular option.
As a rough guide sources that are generally pursued based on the development stage of the business are outlined in the table below.
| Business Stage | Funds required | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <$10K | $10K | $100K | $2M | $5M | $50M+ | |
| Seed | PR | PR/G/A | A/G | VC | ||
| Early Stage | PR | PR/G/A | A/G/VC/F | VC/F | ||
| Growth | PR/A | A/G/VC/F | VC/F/SE | VC/MB/SE | ||
| Established | VC/F | VC/F/SE | VC/F/MB/SE | VC/F/MB/SE | ||
| Expansion | VC/F | VC/F/SE | VC/F/MB/SE | VC/F/MB/SE | ||
| Large Multinational | VC/F/MB/SE | |||||
Funding Source Key:
PR – Personal resources, family and friends
G – Government grants
A – Angels
VC - Venture capital
F - Financial institutions and credit unions
MB - Merchant banks
SE - Stock exchange
Links to subsections of this topic
How much funding do you need?
What are the sources of funds?
What is the Optimal Funding Source for Your Needs?
Programs and Services