For entrepreneurs (especially those high tech dudes in Silicon Valley), this blog post by Mark Cuban is a must read:
There are only two reasonable sources of capital for startup entrepreneurs, your own pocket and your customers pockets. I personally would never even take money from a family member. Could you imagine the eternal grief and guilt from your mom, dad, uncle or aunt because you blew your nephews college money or the money for grandmas last vacation… I cant.
You shouldn’t have to take money from anyone. Businesses don’t have to start big. The best ones start small enough to suit the circumstances of their founders. I started MicroSolutions by getting an advance from my first customer of $500. The business didn’t grow quickly in the first couple years. We didn’t grow past 4 people in the first couple years, and we all worked dirt cheap.
So what’s wrong with that? It’s OK to start slow. It’s ok to grow slow. As much as you want to think that all things would change if you only had more cash available, they probably won’t.
The reality is that for most businesses, they don’t need more cash, they need more brains.
Thank you Mark.
I see so many idiot entrepreneurs who think that raising money is going to make or break a business. *sigh* If I got paid every time for meeting an idiot entrepreneur-wanna-be who says, “i need a good business plan so I can raise money”, i’d be drinking cristal and pimpin’ hos with 50 cent and Eminem in Hollywood.
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