Financing a Bootstrapped Giant (tools and more!)

Author

Jesse Pujji
October 12, 2023

BG Crew!

In Tuesdays email, I promised a list of my favorite financing sources and a quick overview.

Well, here it is! There are TONS of options out there these days to help you get going with little or no capital, become an expert in them.

Let me know which ones you choose and why, I’ll keep this database updated.

jesse

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Disclaimer:

A biz with established history and solid numbers will be able to get much more traditional forms of funding (e.g. bank loan, line of credit, SBA loan, etc) but for early stage bootstrapped founders it’s a little more tricky/risky. Do your own research!

Credit Cards:

  • ​American Express Business Gold - This is great when linked to Meta ads, you can get 4X points on those ad dollars. (Some people are even moving points to an Amex Schwab Platinum so they can use it to withdraw even more cash back).

  • ​Bank of America Preferred Rewards - You’ll need to have at least 20k-50k in your bank account, but you can get some crazy cash back, around 2.5%.

  • ​Capital One Spark - This is a good starting place, but limits are low and you'll need good credit. You can start off at 1.5% or 2% cash back with the right monthly card spend.

  • ​Parker - This is an ecommerce specific solution that let's you pay 45-60 days after payment and there’s no personal guarantee, but of course there is interest. It’s a great option to try to improve your cash conversion cycle.

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Working Capital (Cash Advance, etc):

*Be careful…you can get cash quick with no personal guarantee but you might just end up paying an arm and a leg for it. Bill D’Alessandro has a great thread on this here about the truth behind these services.

  • ​Settle.com - We use Settle with Unbloat.me and they’ve been helpful in extending our cash conversion cycle. Don’t take my word for it, investigate to see if it fits you!

  • Wayflyer, Clearco, Shopify, Paypal, Amazon - They all have cash advance products similar to Settle…some with outrageous interest that is hidden. Most of these are revenue or ecommerce specific. Never take one “in a pinch” and DO YOUR RESEARCH!

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Pay Bills & Get Paid:

Paying/receiving big invoices can be messy. These tools help you manage that process and even use credit cards to pay invoices that need wires/ACH. Great for improving your cashflow, but at the cost of interest. DO YOUR RESEARCH to see what fits your biz.

  • ​Bill - This is a good platform for bill pay, invoices and managing expenses as well as the ability to pay bigger invoices via credit card.

  • ​Melio - Similar to Bill. They can help you pay big invoices via credit card and manage bill pay, invoices and expenses. Talk to both and see who can get you a better deal!

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P.S. - What do you want me to teach you? Reply with some ideas!