Financing

Friends, family & fools 

Suitable for: Startups, expansions, high-risk financings.
Note: When things go wrong, your personal relationships are also under pressure.

If you have a really good idea, it doesn't mean that others will just see the potential of your startup. But friends and family might (and fools...). This group of investors, or lenders, you often see in the very first phase of a new company, and then it's usually small amounts. You don't have to think about loans right away, but you can also use the (family) savings account in the start-up phase. Doing business with relatives does, however, involve extra aspects that you need to discuss well in advance: Talk about participation in decisions; and what if the results are disappointing? And what if there is no success at all: bankruptcy or stopping the project. Make sure that in all these cases your personal relationship is not also at stake.

Bank

Suitable for: Real estate, stock financing.
Note: Banks require collateral, such as business premises or stock.

Bank loans are generally only possible with solid collateral, and usually that is a business property or stock. In the past, banks were willing to invest if there was a good business plan, but since the banking crisis of 2015 this is over. One advantage of collateral is that the interest rate is generally lower than for loans with a high-risk profile.

Advisor 

Suitable for: Various financing.
Note: Often you already pay for the advice, even if no financing is ultimately concluded.

If you do not really know your way around the world of financing, or you are not yet sure what type of financing suits you, you can also get advice from an advisor. He or she will map out your needs and possibilities and provide you with advice. Often these advisors are themselves resellers of various lenders, but they should advise independently. When financing a business, we also increasingly see stacked financing, in which an advisor plays a role. This form of combined financing is more complex because the conditions of all the financings must be met permanently. An example is a Bank + Stock financing with multiple parties.

Crowdfunding

Suitable for: Startups, Appealing projects, product development.
Note: Takes a lot of time, and you must want to achieve a very appealing & visual result.

Crowdfunding is very hot at the moment. But don't mistake the pluses because of course there are also less attractive sides of Crowdfunding. It usually takes a lot of time to set up a crowdfunding campaign, the platforms of course also do not accept just any application, so your (business) plan needs to be well put together. Many platforms focus mainly on product development where money is raised for the development & production of an innovative design. For ongoing funding it is less used.