Seven Alternative Sources of Capital for Setting up a Business

Borrowing from banks is every small entrepreneur’s nightmare. One gets turned down for bank loans for a variety of reasons, including lack of assets, collateral and business experience. Don’t despair, however. There are several common types of alternative sources of capital for setting up a business available to young companies.

Savings and Investments

The first source you should consider is your own savings and investments. One disadvantage though of self-financing is that if things did not turn out the way you want them to be it will be your money that goes down with the ship.

Angel Investors

Angel investors are affluent individuals who provide capital for a business start-up, usually in exchange for ownership equity. These individuals are looking for a higher rate of return than would be given by more traditional investments (typically 25% or more).
Angel investors are an excellent source of early stage financing and high-growth start-ups. They are often willing to tread where there is too much risk for banks and not enough profit potential for venture capitalists. And since angel investors are often retired business owners and executives, they can also provide valuable management advice and important contacts.

Peer to Peer Lending

Peer-to-peer lending is a means by which borrowers and lenders may transact business without the traditional intermediaries, such as banks. It can also be known as social Lending, ordinary people lending money. The process may include other intermediaries who package and resell the loans--examples are Prosper and Zopa-but the loans are ultimately sold to individuals or pools of individuals. Prosper.com, which is available in the US only, offers business loans for small companies.

An enabling technology for peer-to-peer lending has been the internet, which connects borrowers with lenders, for example through an auction-like process in which the lender willing to provide the lowest interest rate "wins" the borrower's loan. (wikipedia.com)

Money pool
Instead of a bank loan, borrow smaller sums from several family members, friends, or colleagues. The lenders have no legal ownership in the business, but can act as advisors and cheerleaders for your venture. Remember though that nothing causes tension in a family like lending money that is never paid back.

Credit Cards
Many business owners use their credit cards to fund their businesses. Credit cards offer the ability to make purchases or obtain cash advances and pay them at a later time. But as a long-term financing method, they can be expensive. Most credit cards will charge you 2% to 4% of the face value of a cash advance as a "fee" making this method of financing very risky.

Bootstrapping

Another source of capital for setting up a business is bootstrapping. It is a way to finance a business by saving rather than borrowing money. It's being as frugal as possible so your business can be started on as little cash as possible.

The use of private credit cards is the most known form of bootstrapping, but a wide variety of methods are available for entrepreneurs. Other forms of bootstrapping include owner financing, minimization of accounts receivable, joint utilization, delaying payment, minimizing inventory and subsidy finance.

While bootstrapping involves a risk for the founders, the absence of any other stakeholder gives the founders more freedom to develop the company. Many successful companies including Dell Computers were founded this way.

Venture Capital

Venture capital is not suitable for all entrepreneurs. It is an option for small companies that have a seasoned management team and very aggressive growth plans; however, venture capitalists will rarely invest in small businesses that have no intention of going public. If a company does have the qualities venture capitalists seek such as a solid business plan, a good management team, investment and passion from the founders, a good potential to exit the investment before the end of their funding cycle, and target minimum returns in excess of 40% per year, it will find it easier to raise venture capital.

The venture capitalist objective is to invest in a company for a short period of time – say 5 years – and then cash out of the business while making a significant return on their investment.

How to borrow at Prosper

Borrowing money through Prosper is fast and easy, and because you're borrowing from people, the rates may be lower than you'd expect!

1. Register with Prosper
Registration is quick and easy. And free!

2. Join a Group
Build lender trust by joining a trusted group.

3. Create a Loan Listing
Say how much you want to borrow, and what your maximum interest rate is.

4. Watch the Bidding
Lenders start bidding immediately - watch the funding go up and the interest rate come down!

5. You Win!
If your terms are met, your loan will be funded directly to your bank account.

6. Easy monthly payments
Your monthly loan payments are withdrawn automatically from your bank account.

Prosper's Marketplace Performance

The marketplace performance page includes performance data for Prosper marketplace loans. Using this data, lenders can gain a better understanding of the dynamics of the Prosper marketplace, and use that knowledge to influence your lending strategy.

For example, when you have adjusted all of the listing criteria to your liking, you can click "View matching listings" to view active listings that match those criteria or click "Create a standing order" to create a standing order which automatically bids on listings that match those criteria.

How quickly will a borrower receive money once a loan is matched?

Borrowers typically receive their loan within 2 to 4 business days of the end of a successful listing.

How is Prosper regulated?

Prosper is regulated at a few different levels of U.S. government.

At the federal level, Prosper is regulated by the Federal Trade Commission insofar as it must conform to the Truth in Lending Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

At the state level, for states in which Prosper has an explicit license to lend, it is regulated by such state agencies as the Department of Banking or Department of Financial Institutions (this varies by state). For states in which Prosper does not hold a license, it is subject to limits and regulations established by the state's Attorney General's office or other agencies that regulate trade and commerce. You can see which states Prosper holds licenses in along with any special limits or regulations by state on the "States and Licenses" page.