startup-costs, financing, product, venture-capitalLets say I have an idea for a product. I’ve invested my own money and time in prototyping the product. I believe that the prototype is ready for mass production, but I don’t have the personal wealth to scale up to that level.
What are the typical avenues for finding startup capital for such a company? The capital would be invested in physical product (assembly line, 3D printers, etc.), spent on purchasing parts from other manufacturers, and paid to employees.
Have you studied how the product can be sold? Determine the persona of your typical client, get the channel’s contacts, study the market, compare with other products and calculate ROI and other metrics?
It’s also important to protect the intellectual property in your new product (patent, copyright, trademarks and brand)…
You can fundraise your startup with:
A big question is who you will sell the product to. If there are any potential customers that will have large orders, such as businesses, then they are great to target for fundraising and pre-selling.
If you will be selling mostly to individuals, then I want to second the idea of using kickstarter or some similar crowdfunding site.
If neither of those work, try visiting a local incubator as some cities sponsor small businesses, especially small manufacturers like this one in Arizona. I’m not sure where you are, but there are bound to be some in your state you if you are in the US.
RadioShack launched a program with PCH International on an incubator for small startups to sell products in their stores. If your product has the potential to sell at RadioShack then look into them, but they might not be around for much longer.
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