The Startup Starter Kit #3: How much it’ll cost and how to find funding

How much it costs to launch a startup is as fuzzy a question as “where do I start?”. Startups can make you millions, bleed you dry, or leave you dangling somewhere in between.

But often founders are so blinded by their beautiful, million-dollar idea they’ve got irrational confidence out the wazoo. The thing is, confidence doesn’t build a product. For that, you need funding, which comes in many, many shapes. Here are a few of the common ones…

Investment — Deep-pocket investors will fund your startup in exchange for ownership equity.

Customer-funded — Your product’s value proposition resonates with future buyers enough that they commit to funding the development of your product.

Self-funded — This is the pure go-it-alone, DIY model where you find yourself through loans and savings.

All of the above — through various rounds of funding, you may secure any mix of investment types.

Though investment isn’t for everyone, if you do choose to go after it, it’s best to build a plan, implement it, and test your idea before asking for money. This acts as evidence for investors that you’ve produced something customers will pay for, which significantly increases your chances of landing the cash.

Finding and pitching for the right investment

The ins and outs of funding are well-documented. You can go through an angel investor or family and friends for a certain amount of money, and then you move to a seed round, and then you can move to various series rounds.

I could go on and on and on about it. But I think that stuff’s been written about 1000 times. So instead, here are some great articles from some smart people about different types of startup funding and how to build a winning pitch.

How to find investors

Tips for building and acing your pitch

That’s it for funding, I hope it’s helpful. Next time I’m diving into the mindset a founder needs to build a successful startup.

Darren Clark

Dazlab Founder

“I started Dazlab because there’s a huge knowledge deficit between people who want software built and those that build the software. I watched again and again as non-tech product owners with great ideas overpaid for complicated solutions to simple problems, or underpaid only to end up with crummy products with little chance of lasting. Tech doesn’t have to be that way. If I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it well or what’s the point?. Even now, 20 years later I’m still heavily involved in the onboarding process with every one of my clients.”