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Let's recap what we've learned so far about financing our company.
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Before we finish, I want to point out a
somewhat newer method of
0:00
financing that may work for you as it has
for many people, and this is crowdfunding.
0:03
Crowdfunding brings together individuals
to pool their resources,
0:09
usually via the internet, to fund
different things.
0:13
It can be political campaigns, disaster
relief efforts and so on.
0:15
Under a crowdfunding model, you can access
a larger group of smaller investors to
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reach a funding goal, rather than look for
high net worth individuals.
0:24
The more common crowdfunding model,
popularized by Kickstarter,
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is where you exchange a product or service
in exchange for funding.
0:33
The other model, and the more difficult
one,
0:37
is to sell equity portions in the company
in exchange for funding.
0:39
However, this is becoming more popular,
and you can crowdfund your
0:43
business in countries like the U.S., U.K.,
and Australia.
0:46
Check out some of the links provided to
learn more if you're interested.
0:50
Now, each country has its own rules and
0:54
regulations, so do your research before
jumping in.
0:56
Regardless of the type of financing you
pursue,
1:00
you're using money that you haven't
generated yourself, so treat it wisely.
1:02
Here's a good set of tips to always keep
in mind.
1:07
Focus on cash flow.
1:10
Run your business in a way that brings in
cash as soon as possible.
1:12
This means setting up short sales cycles
and
1:17
payment terms, so you can close deals
faster and bring in that money.
1:19
Set up a recurring revenue model so
1:24
that you'll get continual value out of a
single customer.
1:26
This way, you don't spend the majority of
your time worrying about
1:30
finding new customers.
1:33
Ship then test.
1:35
This goes back to the minimal, viable
product that we discussed earlier.
1:37
Get that product out the door.
1:41
Don't sit on it and perfect it for months.
1:43
Conduct experiments, validate, and
1:45
get your product into your customers'
hands as soon as possible.
1:48
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