This document discusses different funding avenues for startups, including bootstrapping with personal savings or grants, loans from banks or non-bank lenders, crowdfunding, accelerators/incubators, and venture capital. It notes that lifestyle ventures aim for freedom and low startup costs, while venture-backed businesses seek high growth but founders have less control. The document recommends building a multi-funding strategy and not relying solely on outside capital, as customer revenue is the best source of funding.

1. Different Funding
Avenues for Startups
Danielle D’Agostaro
Partner
August 4, 2022

2. 2
Danielle D’Agostaro | Partner
● Joined WVV, 100M fund, ~ 2 yrs ago
● Was Managing Partner & COO @ Alchemist
Accelerator
○ Invested in and worked with 400+ companies
over 7 yrs
● Digital Marketer @ Adobe
● Graduated from UC, Berkeley in 2.5 yrs

3. 3
What type of business are
you building?

4. 4
Lifestyle Venture
● Freedom-focused
● Low barriers to entry
● Keep full control of
business
● Either run business alone
or have freelancers
oversee operations

5. 5
Venture-backed
● Growth-focused
● High risk; needs outside
capital to grow
● Founders have less control
of business as they take on
investors
● Hires dedicated team
across different functions

6. 6
How are you going to fund
it?

7. 7
Bootstrap - Fund it Yourself!
● Personal Savings
● R&D Grants / tax credits
- vary by country
● Customers / Vendors who
will pay up front for
development

8. 8
Loans - Non-Dilutive
● Banks - need to personally
guarantee loan
○ US SBAs will guarantee
loans
● Non-bank Lenders - (eg.
Kabbage - uses social media
activity in decisions)
● Credit Cards - varying
amounts & interest rates

9. 9
Crowdfunding
● Launch Platforms - great for pre-sales of physical
products
○ Takes % of money raised & charges fees to
customers
● Syndicate Investment Platforms - collects funding
from group of investors
○ Usually better to close out, than start, rounds
● Peer-to-Peer Lending - matches individuals who want
to loan money, in exchange for principal +
interest, to projects that need funding

10. 10
Accelerators & Incubators
● Accelerators = resources,
capital for equity, 3-6 months
● Incubators = resources, non-
dilutive capital, 6-36 months
○ Good for deep tech
● Unique focus area (ie. B2B, HW,
industry-specific)

11. 11
Venture Capital = High Risk / High Reward!
● Friends & Family / Angels:
○ Checks = <$250K
○ Quick decisions
○ Syndicate model / Follow
● VCs:
○ Expect high returns
○ Lead /follow/co-lead; check sizes
vary by fund size
○ Leads will want board/observer seat
● Corporate VCs (CVC):
○ Invest for strategic purposes, care less about returns
○ Typically follow, but some lead; check sizes vary
○ Many will want a board observer seat

12. 12
Other VC Models
● Rev-share = loan in exchange for % of
revenue, to a cap
● Venture Debt = principal + interest for 2-3
yrs
○ Some may want warrants (right to purchase
shares at a certain price) as well
● Impact Funds - invest in startups that have
a social impact focus, while also providing
returns

13. 13
Takeaways
● Are you building a lifestyle
or VC-backed business?
● Build a multi-funding
strategy for your business
● Don’t depend on outside
capital, customer revenue is
always best!

14. Thank You!
Danielle D’Agostaro
Partner
August 4, 2022

15. 15
Sources
● Tan, Priscilla. “How To Launch A Successful Lifestyle Business
(Real Examples).” Appsumo Blog, 2019,
https://blog.appsumo.com/lifestyle-business/
● Waters, Bret. “Financing Your Startup.” Medium, Sept 4, 2019,
https://bretwaters.medium.com/financing-your-startup-
5280484f0fc7
● Burns, Allie. “Startup investors should consider revenue share
when equity is a bad fit.” Techcrunch, Jan 29, 2019,
https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/29/startup-investors-consider-
revenue-share-when-equity-is-a-bad-fit/

16. 16
Resources
● https://fortunly.com/loans/start-up-business-loans/#gref
● https://www.thebalancesmb.com/entrepreneurs-guide-to-fees-on-
crowdfunding-platforms-985187
● D’Agostaro, Danielle. “Accelerator or Incubate? Making the
Right Choice.” Youtube, 2018,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70Ly-9L0WtA
● https://eqvista.com/top-100-startup-accelerators-list/
● https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/fina
nce/venture-debt/