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chapter
3
FUNDING SOURCES
FOR
BUSINESSES
ON THE
“GROW”
There are many ways to fund a young and growing business. You know
many of them, but there are some rather ingenious alternatives that cre-
ative entrepreneurs have used. In this chapter, we provide a brief over-
view of informal sources of capital (self, family, friends, suppliers, and
customers). We also consider private and commercial debt and equity
investments, whether by angel investors or venture capitalists. Private
equity is a very important source of capital for those entrepreneurs who
have great expectations—not because of the number of enterprises it
supports (less than 1% of all start-ups ...