Building an online community is no easy task, but the reward in doing so is worth the effort put into it. If you have built one before, you already know that online businesses not just should be, but NEED to be monetized. Online communities are a lot of work, after all, and nobody wants to work for free (right?!).

Facebook Groups are a great way to create an online community and build trust with potential customers. In this article, we are going to dive into how to start a group (for those ready to jump in) and offer all the different avenues of revenue that can be utilized on the platform with helpful insight from members of the Startups.com community.

Starting Your Group

Starting a Facebook Group is the easy part — especially if you are alre...

When things are going well, everyone wants to take credit. When things are going poorly, everyone wants to point a finger elsewhere.

While startups don't have any monopoly on finger pointing and blame shifting in an organization, we deal with this way more as startup Founders because let's face it, stuff goes wrong all the time!

But if we know going in that problems are going to be rampant, it's as important as ever to build a culture of accountability in our startups so that everyone is 100% focused on driving outcomes.

Accountability Drives Motivation

It's impossible for our team to be truly invested in the outcomes of success (or failure) if we don't believe we're accountable. As an employee, if I work really hard, or very little, and I...

Welcome to Phase Two of our four-part Funding Series — all about Investor Selection!

Phase One - Structuring a Fundraise

Phase Two - Investor Selection

• Part 1 - Introduction to Startup Investors (←YOU ARE HERE 😀)

• Part 2 - How to find Startup Investors 

Phase Three - The Pitch

Phase Four - Investor Outreach

This article is an Introduction to Startup Investors. Let's dive in!

Whatever stage your business is in when you launch your fundraising efforts, you can find the investor support that you’re looking for. Now that you’ve determined the fundraise structure that matches your needs and goals, it’s all about finding the investors that make sense.

All investors are not created equal. 

They may all have capital, but the vast majority of i...

How to Sell an Idea to a Company Without Them Stealing It

For many, coming up with an innovative idea leads to a desire to do something with it — and in the absence of knowing how to commercialize a great idea, many people jump to the conclusion that it can simply be sold to a big company. Then they worry that the big company will simply take their idea, and leave them in the dust. It’s a great story — it just tends to be a tale of fiction, on many levels.

Before We Answer the Question of a Company Stealing My Great Idea, Can I Sell My Idea to a Company at All?

I talk to thousands of startup founders, inventors, creatives, engineers, and other ideating and innovating types every year.

At least 100 times a year I'm asked "Ryan, I've got this gre...

Startup Equity: What Should You Ask For? 

If you’re already in the startup world, there’s a strong likelihood that you Founder equity (we’d be surprised if you didn’t!), but if you’re new to the industry, understanding how much to ask for in any given opportunity might be somewhat of a mystery to you. We are here with the help of fellow entrepreneurs in our community to share insights, guidelines, and other resources for anyone in the position to ask for (and receive) equity compensation from a company.

What is Equity Compensation?

Equity is the value of a company's stock, which you earn as a percentage of the company’s profits (or losses). Equity compensation can be thought of as an investment: when you own equity in a company, you're pu...

Continuing in Phase One of a four-part Funding Series:

Phase One - Structuring a Fundraise

• Part 1 - Startup Bootstrapping

• Part 2 - Debt as Startup Capital

• Part 3 - Equity Funding for Startups ( ←YOU ARE HERE 😀)

• Part 4 - Convertible Debt 

Phase Two - Investor Selection

Phase Three - The Pitch

Phase Four - Investor Outreach

Let's dive in!

Pursuing equity financing means that, in exchange for the money they invest now, angel investors or venture capitalists will receive a stake in your company and its performance moving forward.

Equity financing is one of the most sought-after forms of startup funding for entrepreneurs, although certainly the least available (compared to something like a business loan or friends and family financing). Simply put – ...

Continuing in Phase One of a four-part Funding Series:

Phase One - Structuring a Fundraise

• Part 1 - Startup Bootstrapping

• Part 2 - Debt as Startup Capital ( ←YOU ARE HERE 😀)

• Part 3 - Equity Funding for Startups

• Part 4 - Convertible Debt 

Phase Two - Investor Selection

Phase Three - The Pitch

Phase Four - Investor Outreach

Let's dive in!

Debt is the most common form of outside capital for new small business owners. While angel investors and venture capitalists get all the big headlines for funding exciting companies, it’s the debt providers that are behind most of the investment dollars that go into the 99% of companies that aren’t splashed across magazine covers and business websites. SBA Loans, Personal Loans to the business owner, merchant ca...

Welcome to Phase One of a four-part Funding Series:

Phase One - Structuring a Fundraise

• Part 1 - Startup Bootstrapping ( ←YOU ARE HERE 😀)

• Part 2 - Debt as Startup Capital

• Part 3 - Equity Funding for Startups

• Part 4 - Convertible Debt 

Phase Two - Investor Selection

Phase Three - The Pitch

Phase Four - Investor Outreach

We are excited to guide you on your funding journey. Let's dive in!

Bootstrapping involves all sorts of capital — friends and family, your personal savings, crowdfunding, and of course the ever-popular "sweat equity" (getting people to work for stock in your company).

Bootstrap Meaning

Contrary to what many believe, most businesses don't get started by way of a big investment from some deep-pocketed investor. Most businesses get sta...

In a time where lots of people are announcing staff reductions left and right, it's a good time to talk about the most important aspects of dealing with the human element of reductions — Ego and Safety.

When I was a younger manager just learning how this all worked, I didn't understand the value of Ego and Safety. My "fires" turned into heated outbursts, crying, and grandstanding. I couldn't figure out what was going on and assumed these blowups were tied to the people I was letting go.

They weren't — it was entirely my fault. Even though I tried to be kind, I didn't appreciate that letting people go isn't about the transaction — it's about the person. How we manage that relationship is the transaction, and it always maps back to how we vie...

We all understand the "startup struggle" part of the process, but how does that other part, where we make a bunch of money work?

Doesn't it seem to be the case that there's endless lore about the early startup days and then the end where the company gets big, but not much clarity about what happens in between?

It's kind of like one of those "comeuppance" montage scenes (Wall Street's Bud Fox come-up is my personal favorite) that shows the time-lapse of the Founder struggling, and then all of a sudden on top with all the fancy things.

No One Sees it Coming

I've interviewed countless Founders of every possible industry who have "made it" and I always ask them the same question: "When did you realize you were about to be successful?"

They alwa...