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Different Funding
Avenues for Startups
Danielle D’Agostaro
Partner
August 4, 2022

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Danielle D’Agostaro | Partner
● Joined WVV, 100M fund, ~ 2 yrs ago
● Was Managing Partner & COO @ Alchemist
Accelerator
○ Invested in and worked with 400+ companies
over 7 yrs
● Digital Marketer @ Adobe
● Graduated from UC, Berkeley in 2.5 yrs

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What type of business are
you building?

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Lifestyle Venture
● Freedom-focused
● Low barriers to entry
● Keep full control of
business
● Either run business alone
or have freelancers
oversee operations

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Venture-backed
● Growth-focused
● High risk; needs outside
capital to grow
● Founders have less control
of business as they take on
investors
● Hires dedicated team
across different functions

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How are you going to fund
it?

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Bootstrap - Fund it Yourself!
● Personal Savings
● R&D Grants / tax credits
- vary by country
● Customers / Vendors who
will pay up front for
development

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Loans - Non-Dilutive
● Banks - need to personally
guarantee loan
○ US SBAs will guarantee
loans
● Non-bank Lenders - (eg.
Kabbage - uses social media
activity in decisions)
● Credit Cards - varying
amounts & interest rates

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Crowdfunding
● Launch Platforms - great for pre-sales of physical
products
○ Takes % of money raised & charges fees to
customers
● Syndicate Investment Platforms - collects funding
from group of investors
○ Usually better to close out, than start, rounds
● Peer-to-Peer Lending - matches individuals who want
to loan money, in exchange for principal +
interest, to projects that need funding

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Accelerators & Incubators
● Accelerators = resources,
capital for equity, 3-6 months
● Incubators = resources, non-
dilutive capital, 6-36 months
○ Good for deep tech
● Unique focus area (ie. B2B, HW,
industry-specific)

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Venture Capital = High Risk / High Reward!
● Friends & Family / Angels:
○ Checks = <$250K
○ Quick decisions
○ Syndicate model / Follow
● VCs:
○ Expect high returns
○ Lead /follow/co-lead; check sizes
vary by fund size
○ Leads will want board/observer seat
● Corporate VCs (CVC):
○ Invest for strategic purposes, care less about returns
○ Typically follow, but some lead; check sizes vary
○ Many will want a board observer seat

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Other VC Models
● Rev-share = loan in exchange for % of
revenue, to a cap
● Venture Debt = principal + interest for 2-3
yrs
○ Some may want warrants (right to purchase
shares at a certain price) as well
● Impact Funds - invest in startups that have
a social impact focus, while also providing
returns

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Takeaways
● Are you building a lifestyle
or VC-backed business?
● Build a multi-funding
strategy for your business
● Don’t depend on outside
capital, customer revenue is
always best!

14.
Thank You!
Danielle D’Agostaro
Partner
August 4, 2022

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Sources
● Tan, Priscilla. “How To Launch A Successful Lifestyle Business
(Real Examples).” Appsumo Blog, 2019,
https://blog.appsumo.com/lifestyle-business/
● Waters, Bret. “Financing Your Startup.” Medium, Sept 4, 2019,
https://bretwaters.medium.com/financing-your-startup-
5280484f0fc7
● Burns, Allie. “Startup investors should consider revenue share
when equity is a bad fit.” Techcrunch, Jan 29, 2019,
https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/29/startup-investors-consider-
revenue-share-when-equity-is-a-bad-fit/

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Resources
● https://fortunly.com/loans/start-up-business-loans/#gref
● https://www.thebalancesmb.com/entrepreneurs-guide-to-fees-on-
crowdfunding-platforms-985187
● D’Agostaro, Danielle. “Accelerator or Incubate? Making the
Right Choice.” Youtube, 2018,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70Ly-9L0WtA
● https://eqvista.com/top-100-startup-accelerators-list/
● https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/fina
nce/venture-debt/