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When it comes to types of startup funding, there are a lot of options to consider.

Startups in the early stages need to raise startup capital or funding to survive past the business idea (at minimum) but looking into all the types of funding can be overwhelming to a budding entrepreneur. If you've never heard about pre-seed funding, equity stake, or venture capital funds, we are going to dive into how to raise funds for startups, and the difference between all the funding sources out there.

So, what do all the types of startup funding mean? What are angel investors? How does series funding work? What does equity funding entail? What's the best way to land an investment from a venture capital firm? Is self-funding and crowdfunding actually leg...

Crowdfunding has become an increasingly popular way for individuals and businesses alike to raise much-needed capital. The relatively low cost of entry and accessibility of popular crowdfunding platforms have fueled this revolution in funding.

But while it might look easy — and seem like a no-brainer — to launch a crowdfunding campaign, there are strong pros and cons to consider.

Founders considering launching a crowdfunding campaign might wonder:

1. Is it worth it?
2. How hard will it really be?
3. What are the true pros and cons of crowdfunding?

To answer those questions (and a few more that people might not have even thought of), we reached out to our network of crowdfunding experts.

Our list includes founders of crowdfunding platforms, serial...

Crowdfunding may seem like a new idea, but it actually has a long and rich history with roots going back to the 1700’s.

However, modern day crowdfunding — where people and businesses raise small amounts of money from a large group of people, usually online — has its origins in 1997.

In this infographic, we look at some of the historical movements that led to the development of crowdfunding as we know it, as well as major events over the past two decades that have shaped modern day crowdfunding.

Infographic text transcript:

1700’s: The Irish Loan Fund

The Irish Loan Fund was established by author and Irish nationalist Jonathon Swift in the early 1700’s as a way to provide loans to poor but creditworthy people in Dublin.

The Fund was succes...

A lot of people confuse crowdfunding with crowdsourcing. While they are similar in that they both allow people to primarily leverage mass-community collaboration, they relate to two different things entirely.

So, what’s the key difference?

The short answer:

Crowdfunding is the process of sourcing money or funds from a group or groups of people.

Crowdsourcing is the process of sourcing information or skills or end products from a group or groups of people.

The long answer:

What is crowdfunding?

In a crowdfunding campaign, a person, business, or organization raises a relatively small amount of money from a large group of people. Crowdfunding is a method of raising capital through the collective effort of friends, family, customers, and indiv...

As my partner, Startups.com and Fundable founder, Wil Schroter likes to say, “There's not a lot of ‘fun' in funding.”

Raising equity funding for your startup is a long, difficult, and often demoralizing process. However, if you're successful, you walk away with money that will help your startup grow and become everything you hope it could become.

One of the major challenges that founders run across is that raising a round often takes more time than they expected. While a founder might know that your startup is excellent, convincing other people to invest thousands — and potentially millions — of dollars into their company is not a simple task.

“I've always heard that the rule of thumb is three to four months to do a fundraise — or that you sho...