As an advisor education entrepreneurs for more than two decades, I would need more information to adequately answer your question. If you haven’t already, I would suggest the following to guide you to a solution appropriate for you:
1) Develop a detailed business plan – The business plan will provide you (and potential investors) with the roadmap for your pivot, particularly relative to development costs and timing, marketing and resource needs, and revenue expectations.
2) Build a financial model – The financial model quantifies your business plan. Ideally, the model forecasts a multi-year period on a quarterly basis. This should provide you with an excellent view of the capital risk and potential upside, and may inform of changes that could reduce your enterprise risk.
3) Target the funding – The outcome of this activity should provide you with a true sense of the capital needed for the pivot. From this, your choice of capital options will become clearer.
There are three primary sources of capital that you might be able to access: internal funding, debt or equity.
• Internally generated funds can come from your current revenue stream or personal assets. Many times, this is the preferred choice; you don’t have to go through a financing process, sign contracts or give up ownership. Many times, this source of capital is insufficient.
• Debt is a contractual relationship that provides funding in exchange for a promise to repay within a certain amount of time with a certain return for the lender. Debt often is cheaper capital, but much less flexible in the event that the plan doesn’t materialize as envisioned. Many lenders, particularly banks, will require a personal guaranty.
• Equity is an ownership stake in the business. Capital will be more aligned to your business, however, you will essentially have a business partner that you might not want forever. The capital will be more expensive than debt as it represents a riskier investment. Potential investors could be friends & family, angels or professional venture capitalists.
As you sort out your business model and refine your capital need, the type of capital that will serve you best will begin to become evident. Engaging a professional financial advisor may also prove beneficial in sorting through and sourcing the investor options. I am available to chat if that would be helpful.
