At DSV Consulting LLC, we consume a number of newspapers (Wall Street Journal is a favorite), magazines (most have migrated online), blogs (LinkedIn’s daily rundown is good place to start), and various newsletters too numerous to count. Here is one that is of particular interest – Forbe’s article “How Funding Rounds Work for Startups” does a great job of going through the different rounds of funding. Although more from a venture capitalist’s view, these rounds still hold true for the majority of business startups. (This article was from Ryan at Start Engine’s weekly newsletter.)
Why should you be continually raising money?
Although a great article, it misses a few key points. First among these is why you should always be raising money? The easiest answer is that you ARE ALWAYS raising money, in multiple funding rounds, whether you know it or not; every time you get a bank loan for a piece of equipment or send an invoice for payment in 30 days you are financing. Financing is a form of investment, whether it’s an investment in a fixed asset or a financial asset (an invoice in accounts receivable). So, treat it as such – would you invest in this client (because that is what you are doing if you extend them terms)?
Funding Rounds
Secondly, many new business owners aren’t looking to create an organization that they will keep for the rest of their lives – they’re looking to build an asset that they can sell at some point in the future. As such, if you continually are raising money in multiple funding rounds, you continually mark this asset you’re building to the market, a virtual “mark to market” transaction. By always raising money, you will always have an idea as to what the market valuation of your asset is.
And lastly, at some point, all of us will need to do a financing / funding round (here I’m using “financing” to refer to debt and “funding” to refer to equity) in an emergency. If you wait for the emergency situation to happen, it is already too late! By always being in the market for raising money, you will know the pulse of the market and have built in leads for where the best capital is available.
Giving away the farm…
Everyone has heard this saying, and it’s implications are well thought out – “if I give away ownership and control, I won’t have anything left for myself.” I hear this in every project that I start, and I have the same response for every one, “I’d rather have the financing resources available in order to execute well and own a lesser amount of equity than struggle and fail owning 100% percent of the organization.” So here are a few funding rules that I follow:
- Control is much more important that ownership.
- Earning ownership through success eliminates others’ risks.
- Eliminating others’ risks allows me to retain and enlarge my ownership.
- Always have an exit point.
Because of these rules, I tend to take more personal risks than others do and always try to mitigate my investors risks, balancing the risk delivered with the returns. This has served me well, as I help others gain their goals, and many times 90% of my payout, even for services, is based upon my success in helping my clients and investors reach their goals. Ask yourself, “Who wouldn’t be willing for me to make a million dollars if they make a return of 200% or more?“
A final word
Of course greed always tends to make people wonder why I’m making so much money, but always keep your focus on what’s in your pockets and not mine – thanks to a business partner from 2012 through 2015 for always helping me understand this (I’m much happier since I have taken this to heart).
For more information on funding rounds, see: