Starting a business around a great idea can be an exciting option for a young person. But how do you go about getting the finance to accomplish such an undertaking? Millennials are coming out of college with more and more student loan debt, and little to no credibility to show financial lenders. Where can they turn? We took to Twitter, with the help of co-sponsor the U.S. Small Business Administration (@SBAgov), to discuss what you can do in our latest Twitter chat “Financing Your Venture”.
Here are some of our favorite responses:
Q1: What are the various forms of financing available to small businesses?
A1 @KauffmanFDN @KauffmanFS @SBAgov Numerous forms of financing 1st should be self then 3F,grant ,mentor or #AngelInvesting #MillennialTreps — Tina (@Tinas99Li) May 19, 2015
@SBAgov A1: Crowdfunding is popular. I'm a huge fan of @kivazip although there are many different platforms to use. #MillennialTreps — Nicholas L. Norfolk (@absolut_zer0) May 19, 2015
A1: There are many financing options. Read helpful tips from here: http://t.co/P0AnokbDDI #MillennialTreps — SBA (@SBAgov) May 19, 2015
Q2: What are the hurdles for millennials when acquiring funding? #MillennialTreps
A2: lack of financial history/credibility are challenges. Bigger question is how to tackle those. #millennialtreps — Kauffman FastTrac (@FastTrac) May 19, 2015
A2: Probably lack of experience in business and lack of credit history. @KauffmanFS #MillennialTreps — LibertySBF (@LibertySBF) May 19, 2015
Also depends on type of investor the ent. chooses to target; many are looking 4 different strengths #millennialtreps https://t.co/JnLd4SBqp3 — Amanda Jane Saunders (@TheAJSaunders) May 19, 2015
Q3: Should I seek out a traditional loan or raise venture capital? #MillennialTreps
Good point. It also depends on the size of the market you're going after. #MillennialTreps https://t.co/PrlxZA0bXY — Founders School (@KauffmanFS) May 19, 2015
.@SBAgov @KauffmanFS A3: You might be surprised where many startups get their funding http://t.co/NFWyvYlQK6 #MillennialTreps — Kauffman Foundation (@KauffmanFDN) May 19, 2015
Learn what makes a company valuable from lender POV. Learn what lenders look for in a company financially. #MillennialTreps — LibertySBF (@LibertySBF) May 19, 2015
Q4: What do I need to do or prepare in order to secure funding? #MillennialTreps
A4: Getting your financials right = key element. @BillReichert breaks down how to organize them here http://t.co/F1fpcUgtzv #MillennialTreps — Founders School (@KauffmanFS) May 19, 2015
A4 @KauffmanFS @KauffmanFDN B prepared 2 pitch anywhere anytime & hve Ur team also equipped U nver know which elevators #AngelInvestors ride — Tina (@Tinas99Li) May 19, 2015
A4: Don’t downplay risks. Lay out plan for mitigating risks. Be ready to brainstorm. #MillennialTreps http://t.co/sThilxFCyf — Kauffman Foundation (@KauffmanFDN) May 19, 2015
Q5: How should I spend my money that I receive or invest? #MillennialTreps
@SBAgov A5: Address your needs. You may need more staff, customer acquisition, legal help, etc. Plan accordingly. #MillennialTreps — Nicholas L. Norfolk (@absolut_zer0) May 19, 2015
A5: That’s something you should know before you seek funds. Step 1: Ask yourself, why am I raising this capital? @SBAgov #MillennialTreps — LibertySBF (@LibertySBF) May 19, 2015
Sparingly, and exclusively on your venture (or investments to benefit it). #MillennialTreps https://t.co/vnUb8uviMg — Amanda Jane Saunders (@TheAJSaunders) May 19, 2015
Thanks for everyone’s participation, and we look forward to hearing from you more in future Twitter chats. To see the full list of tweets, check out #MillennialTreps on Twitter and follow @KauffmanFS to see when we’ll be having our next chat.
Want to see what happened during our last Twitter chats? Check out Twitter Chat Ignites Discussion Obstacles Facing Millennial Entrepreneurs and Millennials Twitter Chat Discusses Relevance of Business Plans, Whether to Co-Found or Not.