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What Funding Actually Gets You

The other day, I had a tweet that created some interesting replies. I’ll expand on the thought that created the tweet.

I often look at funded companies & think “Wow you have millions of dollars of funding & that’s the most creative thing you can create?”

— allan branch (@allanbranch) May 14, 2013

I don’t like to think our path with LessEverything and choosing not to take funding is the “right path,” only a different path than some other people. Both paths, being bootstrapped or funded have pros and cons. Realize that having millions of dollars in the bank doesn’t solve every problem you’re facing. Full disclosure: LessEverything has never taken a dime of funding from anyone, we’ve only seen 100’s of people/friends get funded.

Funding DOES NOT necessarily give you the following:

• Creativity
• Personality
• Good taste/opinion (you’re the same tasteless, talentless, self-doubting loser when you’re funded, or so I’ve been told) The money doesn’t change your bad taste.
• Ability to be brave in the face of adversity.
• Attract “great” employees
• Employee happiness
• “Good” design
• Customers or customer loyalty
• Success as profit
• Success as happiness

Funding DOES give you:

• Perceived temporary success from your peers. I say “temporary” because you only have X months to hang onto that cash.
• The perception that, as a business owner, you’re “taking it seriously.” This perception is only from other people who have taken funding.
• An expectation from investors to “succeed.”
• The ability to buy things:
  • Buy traffic with ads.
  • Buy employable talent, if this talent is “for sale” and willing to change jobs for a higher dollar paycheck. I could argue this isn’t the way to attract employees.
  • Get a big office space.
  • Advice from investors (yes you bought this time).

At this point, I could say taking money gives you pressure from investors, and funding doesn’t equal success, but we all know that.

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