Myths about Financing Start-ups that Hurt Entrepreneurs

The piece is written completely in reverse, spreading popular myths as opposed to debunking them. Actually it <i>does</i> take a lot of money to start a new business. True, an "average startup" probably "gets going" on 25K or less, but you don't want to head where average startups usually go (oblivion).<p>And just for the record, 25K is about 3 months of modest living for a team of 3 in SF/NYC/Boston. Then you should start generating ~20K/month of revenue to support yourself. Zero to 20K in 3 months? Good luck with that.<p>An "average" <i>successful</i> startup goes through several rounds of funding, just look at some recent exits and see how many of them took 25K or less.<p>About bank financing: the "myth" is true. You won't use it. Banks always tie their loans to either solid revenue history or personal obligations of the founders. It won't be any different from taking a home equity, don't do it.<p>Tech startups aren't restaurants: they have zero revenue for the first 1..3 years. That's why looking at federal reserve stats for small businesses is pointless. Getting a loan to run a roofing business isn't the same as getting a loan to sit and code for a year.

Not impressed by this article, unless by "startup" you mean "pizza parlor". The stats are bogus and misleading.<p>Ok, so if I was in bad a mood, I'd make fun of this professor of entrepreneurship, who never enterprised anything? Pontificating about startups from a cushy desk job is one thing. Actually doing it and speaking from experience is another entirely. Sorry about the rant.

Do more than 1 in 4000 people <i>really</i> die from falling in the shower?

He mentions debt but not security. Most banks won't finance a pre-revenue company without personal guarantees. And if you end-up borrowing against your own assets, you're basically financing yourself.