The Funding List — Sources of money for small | thefundinglist.com
Eight funding routes account for most small business and startup money; this page lines them up on four axes — ceiling, cost, equity, and speed — so the deciding condition for each is visible at a glance.
Four loan programs cover the debt side. SBA 7(a) guarantees up to $5 million with 10-year maturities for working capital and equipment and 25 years for real estate, and every owner with 20% or more equity signs a personal guarantee. Microloans top out at $50,000 with average approvals near $13,000-14,000 over terms up to 6 years. The 504 program finances fixed assets through a debenture capped at $5 million, split 50% bank, 40% CDC, 10% borrower. USDA Business & Industry loans reach $25 million with a guarantee covering up to 80% — but only in rural areas under 50,000 people.
Federal grants are the only money on the list that is neither repaid nor sold. SBIR/STTR awards run in two phases: Phase I funds 6-12 months of feasibility work at $250,000-300,000, and Phase II funds about two years of development at $1-2 million. The gate is administrative — a free SAM.gov registration that takes 1-3 weeks, then submission through Grants.gov before the posted closing time, often 5:00 p.m. Eastern on deadline day. The full schedule is laid out at /federal-grant-application-timeline.
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Crowdfunding splits into two models with little in common but the crowd. Regulation CF lets a company raise up to $5 million in 12 months through a registered platform, selling securities; non-accredited investors are limited to 5% of the greater of their income or net worth, rising to 10% above $124,000. Rewards crowdfunding sells the product instead, at an all-in cost of about 8-10% — roughly 5% platform plus 3-5% processing — across campaigns of 1-60 days, with Kickstarter projects that miss the goal keeping nothing.
Equity is the most expensive money per dollar because it is permanent. Angel investors write checks of $25,000-100,000 and assemble rounds of $150,000-1 million; seed venture rounds raise $1-3 million and typically take 10-20% of the company. Against that cost sits the advantage: no repayment schedule, and investors who profit only if the company succeeds.
Read the comparison by elimination. A business that cannot offer a 20% owner's guarantee leaves the 7(a) column; one outside a qualifying rural area leaves USDA; one unwilling to use a registered platform leaves Regulation CF. What remains after the gates is the real shortlist — and the procedure at /how-to-apply-for-sba-7a-loan covers the most common survivor.
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