Financing a Small Business


Recent Financing a Small Business Articles

Truth or Dare: When and How to Talk With Your Business Backers

By Jill Andresky Fraser |  Oct 22, 1999

Communicating with your banker or financial backer is never easy. But there is a smart way to do it.  Read more

Borrowing Money for Your Business

Oct 22, 1999

Whether you borrow money from a bank or someone you know, you should sign a promissory note--a legally binding contract in which you promise to repay the money.  Read more

Fresh Start: Lifeline from Employees

By Anne Marie Borrego |  Oct 15, 1999

When she was strapped for cash, company founder Martha Johnsson turned to her employees for help. Here's the creative financing deal that ultimately turned a...  Read more

Heavenly Strategies for High-Tech Start-Ups

Oct 13, 1999

Guy Kawasaki, Garage.com CEO and author of "Rules for Revolutionaries," on strategies for successfulfundraising for start-ups in today's high-tech world.  Read more

Taking Stock

By Gerard J. Holzmann |  Sep 15, 1999

Nowadays, fraudulent online stock-trading schemes are common. But even before the first electric telegraph, two bankers committed the equivalent of modern-da...  Read more

Get$$$Now.com

By Susan Greco |  Sep 1, 1999

New online intermediaries are closing the capital gap for companies that have outgrown friends-and-family financing but can't get a backward glance from vent...  Read more

Debt Management and Banking: Establish a Contingency Plan

By Michael Pellecchia |  Aug 15, 1999

Show your creditors that you can handle a cash crunch with a plan for managing crises.  Read more

Action Plan: Debt Management and Banking

By Michael Pellecchia |  Aug 15, 1999

Minimize your debt load and generate better profits for your business with this action plan.  Read more

Financing Your Business: A Case for Using Some of Your IRA, SEP, or 401(k)

By Brian S. Orol |  Aug 1, 1999

Tap into your retirement kitty to fund your business venture.  Read more

Grand Plans

By Donna Fenn |  Aug 1, 1999

Shoestring start-ups: seven fast-growing companies that were started for $1,000 or less, and tactics to borrow for your own start-up.  Read more

The Best Business Plan on the Planet

By Michael Warshaw |  Aug 1, 1999

Go behind the scenes with one of the judges at Moot Corp., a world-renowned business-plan contest hosted by the University of Texas at Austin.  Read more

The Annals of Bootstrapping

By George Gendron |  Aug 1, 1999

Inc.'s editor explains why bootstrapping is the purest form of entrepreneurism, why Garden.com is the quintessential Internet business, and how to deal with ...  Read more

Local Area Network

By Mike Hofman |  May 1, 1999

By opting to keep her high-tech start-up, Thermagon Inc., in Cleveland, founder Carol Latham was able to leverage her local ties to build a sophisticated net...  Read more

Hot Tip: Make it Quick

By Marc Ballon |  Apr 1, 1999

You have to make your pitch quick when making presentations to venture capitalists.  Read more

The Fast Track to Face Time

By Ilan Mochari |  Apr 1, 1999

To attract venture capitalists' attention, get referrals.  Read more

How to Get Rich in America

By Edward O. Welles |  Apr 1, 1999

A look at how companies like Palo Alto's Lunar Design are seeking the long-term payoff by taking equity instead of cash for their services.  Read more

We really know our business. How do we advertise that?

By Alssandra Bianchi |  Mar 1, 1999

Publicize your staff's expertise.  Read more

The Subsidiary Shield

Jan 1, 1999

If you follow the rules, you can shield the rest of your company from the riskier parts of its business.  Read more

MIT Springboard Sends Internet Company Aloft

By Marc Ballon |  Dec 1, 1998

Contests sponsored by MIT, and other business schools, help start-ups obtain the capital and connections.  Read more

Angel Financing: Dos and Don'ts for Entrepreneurs

By Andy Sack |  Dec 1, 1998

Any entrepreneur who hopes to raise capital from individual investors, so-called "angels," should be prepared with a presentation, business plan, list of pot...  Read more

Upstarts: University Tournaments

By Marc Ballon |  Dec 1, 1998

University business-plan tournaments are spawning a variety of sophisticated start-up companies. Here's what students learn from these contests and why inves...  Read more

The New Deal

By Julie Bort |  Dec 1, 1998

Jeremy Davey, CEO of Pabulum Internet Advertising Agency, acquired nearly all of his company's technology by forging partnerships with companies that owned t...  Read more

The Sting

By William W. Horne |  Nov 1, 1998

Desperate entrepreneurs are easy marks for con men posing as venture capitalists. Here's the story of one business owner who was duped by phony investors.  Read more

The Year of Dealing Dangerously

By Mike Hofman |  Oct 15, 1998

From mergers to IPOs, today's small businesses have a daunting number of possibilities before them. Here are five big deals that winners from the 1997 Inc. 5...  Read more

True Lies

By Jeffrey L. Seglin |  Oct 15, 1998

During their start-up days, many Inc. 500 CEOs tell half-truths to win over customers, while others tell outright lies. A look at the ethical differ...  Read more

The Real Decoy

By Inc. staff |  Oct 15, 1998

One bootstrapping CEO sold personal possessions to fund his stttttttart-up.  Read more

Office MacGyver

By Shane McLaughlin |  Sep 15, 1998

Here's how a small company saved two malfunctioning laser printers from the scrap heap -- using a vacuum cleaner and some straws.  Read more

Is Internet Financing Too Good to Be True?

By Jill Andresky Fraser |  Sep 1, 1998

Inc. 's finance editor tells what to consider before using a financing Web site to locate investors.  Read more

Obit: Bakery's Failed Recipe -- Employee Buyout

By Eric Hubler |  Sep 1, 1998

A lapse in product quality, outdated equipment, unprofitable contracts, a huge accounting error, and poor internal communications helped put Martino's Bakery...  Read more

What Angels Want

By Jeffrey L. Seglin |  May 15, 1998

A look at the types of ventures angel investors are likely to put money into, and the kinds they'll never touch. The verdict? Think technology, have a niche,...  Read more

The Icon That Almost Wasn't

By Jerry Useem |  May 15, 1998

Henry Ford's venture, Ford Motor Co., was dangerously close to bankruptcy shortly after it started. Were it not for a last-minute investment, the auto compan...  Read more

Smart Money

By Joshua Hyatt |  May 1, 1998

One company founder decided to seek investors with expertise as well as money.  Read more

Some Assembly Required

By Jill Andresky Fraser |  Apr 1, 1998

Small companies often have to draw financing from several different backers. Here are several questions to answer before entering a layered financing arrange...  Read more

Entree to Riches: Winning at MIT

By Marc Ballon |  Mar 1, 1998

MIT's $50K Entrepreneurship Competition is the hub of a vast network of venture capitalists, angel investors, consultants, and alumni seeking the savviest yo...  Read more

House of Cards

By Steff Gelston |  Feb 3, 1998

Ten tips for keeping your credit in check.  Read more