Money, like everything The other has value, it has a price, and knowing how and when to raise capital in a way that guarantees the future security of a business can be a difficult problem for entrepreneurs. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, and looking for money can be like walking a tightrope: one wrong step can be fatal.
Entrepreneurs navigating the late stages of a startup face a minefield of funding options, not all of which are right for their business. I’ve seen too many brilliant and hard-working entrepreneurs end up with very little, so it’s important to understand the various funding options available to you.
As its founder and CEO Corridor Development Fund, I’ve had the pleasure of working with hundreds of startups (big and small) and witnessing the wide range of funding options available to founders. This list includes nearly 50 technology and healthcare companies with 18 IPOs and 14 trade sales. Through all these experiences, I have seen how impactful different forms of financing can be for companies at different stages of their life cycle.
Funding a late-stage startup
The difference in what different forms of funding can mean has profound implications for founders, yet very little is known about them.
Typically, late-stage or growth-stage startups are companies that have already advanced through the early stages of growth and are now looking to scale. If you have reached this stage, you will have a proven business model and a solid foundation, and you will have moved beyond the point of product development and market validation. Congratulations! This is a huge achievement and makes your business an attractive opportunity for investors.
However, now that you are further along in your journey, funding models that may have been suitable for raising capital in the early or early stages of your business may no longer be the best choice for funding additional growth. The difference in what different forms of funding can mean has profound implications for founders, yet very little is known about them.
