Raising Entrepreneurial Capital

STAGES, OR ‘‘ROUNDS,’’ OF FUNDING

G

ETTING ‘‘OFF THE GROUND’’

Seed or Concept

Seed financing can be used to demonstrate the product or service and to

get the venture to a scale where it becomes of interest to outsid e investors. If

the business can achieve some self-sufficiency with this financing, or at least

accumulate enough assets to acquire debt financing, equity financing beyond

this level may never be required.

This stage is characterized by an idea or a concept. The objective at this

stage is to assemble some key management, refine the business plan, assess

market potential in detail, and structure the company. The stage ends with the

completion ...