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Funding a startup - heard or read anything good?

OrikaeshigitaeOrikaeshigitae Registered User, ClubPA regular
edited June 2012 in Help / Advice Forum
Hey peoples,

I'm in the middle stages of launching a startup, and I've come to the end of my considerable google-fu. Have you read any good postmortems, blog posts, statistics, etc. on startups? Right now I'm looking for 'best practices to get funded (and not necessarily by VC)' but I'd appreciate seeing anything that caught your eye.

Love,

Orikae

http://www.mediumdifficulty.com
Orikaeshigitae on

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    bowenbowen How you doin'? Registered User regular
    Kickstarter is a good way, you may not get enough though.

    Generally the tried and true way was going to the bank and getting a loan after you figure out how much it'd cost to run for a few years.

    Got any sort of plans on how you'd launch the product or service or anything like that?

    not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
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    PlushyCthulhuPlushyCthulhu Registered User regular
    Guy Kawasaki has some good stuff and The Art of the Start is an easy read: http://www.guykawasaki.com/the-art-of-the-start/

    What is your financial need for the next 12-18 months and how soon will you have an actual product (not necessarily polished but at least a working prototype)?

    Steam/LoL: plushycthulhu
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    OrikaeshigitaeOrikaeshigitae Registered User, ClubPA regular
    Well, we already have a website going that pulls decent traffic, so all we're doing is supporting it with various monetized social elements. A working prototype will probably be done in.. eight months? I figure it'll cost 100k to get there, though I also might be massively lowballing.

    http://www.mediumdifficulty.com
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    PlushyCthulhuPlushyCthulhu Registered User regular
    Yeah, that is pre-VC (not that VC is the solution you should be aiming for). At that level you can probably get by on credit cards and personal loans if you have to. Look into the Angel community in your area (http://www.allianceofangels.com/ in the northwest for example). If you're getting some revenue, see if there is a path to bootstrap - with no capital you're focusing on cash flow over profit in the short term, and are really just trying to get enough traction to stay ahead of your burn rate.

    Steam/LoL: plushycthulhu
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    OrikaeshigitaeOrikaeshigitae Registered User, ClubPA regular
    Yeah. My instinct is to avoid VC, but I still need increased cash flow so I can expedite the process. We're basically curating a community & innovative upcoming indie games for developers and fans, and while I can plan something like that I would really prefer to hire people to actually do it.

    http://www.mediumdifficulty.com
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    OrikaeshigitaeOrikaeshigitae Registered User, ClubPA regular
    PlushyCthulhu wrote: »
    Guy Kawasaki has some good stuff and The Art of the Start is an easy read: http://www.guykawasaki.com/the-art-of-the-start/

    What is your financial need for the next 12-18 months and how soon will you have an actual product (not necessarily polished but at least a working prototype)?

    This is perfect. Thanks, @plushycthulhu .

    http://www.mediumdifficulty.com
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