How start-ups can navigate the bumpy journey to growth when bank loans aren’t an option

A good idea can get a company up and running, but it will rarely be enough to attract investment

Early-stage investors are prepared for risk: They are not looking for perfectly formed companies but they are looking for informed teams. Picture: iStock

It is often said funding for most early-stage businesses comes from the “three Fs” - friends, family and foolish investors. All jokes aside, it remains the case that high-risk, early-stage, pre-revenue – yet also innovative – businesses require investment. Where can they go to raise funds?

“For a very early-stage company, particularly one that is pre-revenue, conventional bank finance is rarely an option,” says Martin Murray, chief executive of Furthr. The funding, he notes, tends to come from founders themselves, friends and family, angel investors, specialist seed funds and, increasingly, accelerators and State-backed sources of finance.