How To Fund Your Own Startup Like a Venture Capital Investor
Be Prepared to Spend $10,000 On Your Startup In the First Year
How much money should you spend getting your startup to the next level?
Is it Mistral AI money and the unlimited potential of their $113 million initial raise? Or is it the scrappy stories like Spanx, RxBar, Tuft & Needle, and countless others who got started for at or under $10,000?
It turns out that it’s actually the wrong question to ask. And, as usually happens when the wrong question is asked, the wrong answer is given, one that loosely translates to “you need to spend as much money as it takes.”
This causes two very bad things to happen. For one, it excludes a lot of smart, talented people from entrepreneurship based on incorrect financial requirements. But worse, it’s advice that leads entrepreneurs, even experienced entrepreneurs, down a dark path of feeding a beast because they feel like it’s a requirement in order to succeed.
Because of those reasons, I try to give a different answer. With every startup I’ve self-founded and self-funded, I’ve spent about $10,000 out-of-pocket during the first 12 months to get from idea-on-paper to a better-than-even chance for success. They may seem like a lot of money to you, or it may feel…
