5 ways to fund a business with no money

•

Published: July 7th, 2022

We recently published an article sharing a list of businesses you can start with $1,000 or less. But what if you need a bit more money?

A recent survey showed that 27% of small businesses are unable to access funding.

To fight this, we’ve put together a list of entrepreneurs that were able to launch their businesses recurring to less common funding strategies:

1. Business & Pitch Contests (~$5,000)

This founder got $5,000 for pitching her idea, then used that money to build a $2.2M/year product.

How did she do it? Entering a business contest. is a great way to win cash rewards. Some prizes can go as high as tens of thousands of dollars.

The best part? You get much more than money: high-quality feedback, grow your network, and lots of free media exposure.

Where to find pitch contests in your area? Chambers of commerce, universities, business associations,... there are tons of organizations that regularly open calls for business ideas contests. Check this link with some contests you can enter.

2. Grants (~$20,000)

This founder got $10K to help launch his $960K/year real estate tech business.

Similar to contests, business grants are a simple way for startups to win money. The tradeoff is that you must spend time working on the application rather than on your business.

There are government grants (federal, local) and also from private businesses and institutions. Chase, FedEx and others regularly run business grant contests with awards ranging from $5,000 to $50,000.

Master the art of applying to grants and contests and you can easily raise a substantial amount of money.

3. Crowdfunding ($10K - $5M)

This company has successfully run 3 crowdfunding campaigns and raised almost $3M for their innovative travel gadget.

A great way to obtain funding without going into debt from traditional financing options. Perfect mainly for those building a physical product.

Start a campaign and work on raising interest. People would put their money up front and they’ll wait longer to get the product in exchange for a better price deal or some sort of reward (merchandise, access to an event, etc)

4. Pre-sales ($10K - $100K)

This company literally reinvented the wheel and received more than $100K in pre-orders.

Pretty similar to a crowdfunding campaign in many ways, just done on your own.

Put up a product and take pre-orders. Then use that money to actually manufacture and ship it. You’ll avoid spending all your savings on creating a product that nobody wants.

Just don’t abuse this strategy. Deliver on time and offer a high level of communication and transparency.

If done right, this is a winner.

5. Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists ($50K - $5M)

These non-technical founders raised $2M to build a SaaS and shared an absolutely glorious blueprint of what to do to raise money from investors successfully.

Get initial funding in exchange for a chunk of equity of your business. Even though under 1% of startups raise money from investors this can be a great option if you need a large amount of money to get going.

Getting your foot in the door to even get a pitch meeting can be a challenge. Use your network and ask anyone who’s connected to make an intro.

This method is probably the hardest, but it will get you the highest amount of money and also valuable and experienced business partners.

Bonus: Check these 10 email templates to send to investors.

Conclusion

If you want to start a business but lack the funds to do so, do not let that discourage you. There are many non-conventional ways to get the money you need to get started.

As these founders have proven, there isn't just one right way to fund a business. Do some research, explore your options, and be patient.