Getting Funds for a Startup

Im starting my Startup with $0, a Mac, and A Windows. I need Startup Money but I don't want to get it from Venture Capital. What kinds of Methods are there?

Thanks

There are a wide range of options available for you when starting out:

• Bootstrap. Have a day job that pays your bills, have the night job which is your start up. Get some clients, use the money from them to reinvest in more marketing and advertising, keep going until you don't need the day job.
• Going through job boards and online job sites like odesk and elance. These can get you some cash flow and allow you to build a reputation as well.
• Friends, family and fools. If you have a specific plan, product to build and want need something to get started then these people are often a good starting point BUT if you don't know just yet then don't risk ruining relationships with no solid goal.
• Banks. If you have a car, have a house, have other assests then you can get a loan against these items.
• Banks and credit cards. You can apply for a credit card which will give you a small amount of money upfront.
• Angel Investors. Angels are generally people with a large amount of money who are looking to invest in new people. They are generally better to work with than VCs as they know the risks and don't have a larger investment organization breathing down their neck.
• Contracting. Going to recruitment agencies will help you find a range of contracting roles.
• Consulting. Going to meetups and canvasing businesses with a consulting plan based on your knowledge or your specific startups advantage will net you larger paying jobs for the right profile startup.

Really the step before it is workout what you have that will benefit others, who those people are, where you will find those people and what is it they care about from what you can solve ... once you answer those bits, you can start to chose the right mix of revenue streams.

Additional. I forgot probably one of the best options. CrowdFunding, put your idea up and get a range of people to invest. CommunityLeader is one I just discovered after writing this. For a list of funding sites, have a look at my previous answers on crowdfunding

You don't need money to start a startup. I started out with the exact same resources, only I didn't have a Mac, nor Windows. Crappy old PC and Linux worked just as fine. :)

What you do need though, is a good team. Work on that, if you don't have one yet. It might be challenging. Took me almost two years and two restarts to find the right people.

If you got your team, things are a lot easier. You can bootstrap with a dayjob, but that's rarely efficient enough. Or you can do a crowdfunding round, like we did. It has several extra benefits, apart from the money. It's a great test for every aspect of your business idea. You'll get feedback, and refine your pitch on the way. Later it serves as validation for the team, and maybe for the market as well.

Then, with the experience and validation you gained from crowdfunding, you can start applying to accelerator/incubator programs. With so many programs available, chances are you'll get accepted after a while. But you have to work hard on your pitch, and be prepared to move to whatever place you get accepted to.

Only after, if you're successful in these steps, can you even think of a VC round. Of course you might choose to do it differently, skip some steps and keep bootstrapping instead, then go directly to angels. You can even try becoming profitable before raising any money.

You don't really need money to validate an idea, you just have to talk to potential customers, before you even start to develop a prototype. If you find people who are interested, you can implement a very basic demo, and keep getting feedback. There is still zero cost to this. Until you find market fit, all you need money for is food and bills.

Good luck!

Do consulting work on the side or work a full time job and do your startup part-time.

Neither are ideal, it's better if you can save some money and then devote your attention to it. If you can't wait, then do your best with the time/money you have available.