Lessons in Funding
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Show Me the Funding
How exactly did these company founders get the financial support to start their million or in some cases billion dollar companies? Some racked up credit card debt, others borrowed from family members and some sold their most precious possessions. Find out what steps were taken to start these successful companies.
Next: Ben & Jerry'sMore Small Business:
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Ben & Jerry's
Funding: Personal Savings and Loans
How It Started: Friends Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield wanted a job they considered fun. They moved to Burlington, Vt. and completed a five dollar correspondence course in ice cream making from Pennsylvania State University. They borrowed $4000 and came up with a total of $12,000 start up money.
Next: GoogleMore Small Business:
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Getty Images
Google
Funding: Credit Cards and Investors
How It Started: Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin maxed out their credit cards for computers and office equipment, building Google's first data center in Larry's dorm. But since they needed more cash to move out of the dorm, the duo turned to an investor. Andy Bechtolsheim, one of the founders of Sun Microsystems and friend of a Stanford faculty member, wrote a check for $100,000 to Google after only seeing a short demo.
Next: AppleMore Small Business:
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Getty Images
Apple
Funding: Sold Personal Possessions
How It Started: Co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, both college dropouts, began their partnership by selling boxes they built that allowed for free long-distance phone calls. In 1976, they started working on another box, the Apple I computer. Jobs and Wozniak sold their most valuable possessions, a van and two calculators, raising $1,300 to fund the company.
Next: Mrs. FieldsMore Small Business:
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Cameron Weise, ColoradoPhoto.com
Mrs. Fields
Funding: Business Loan
How It Started: Despite numerous warnings of certain failure, Debbi Fields wanted to start a cookie business. Debbi and her husband, Randy, turned their home mortgage lender for financial backing. Debbi wrote in her book that the bank "trusted us, not cookies." Although he expected the cookie business to fail, their banker Ed Sullivan trusted the young couple to pay back a business loan.
Next: Domino'sMore Small Business:
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AP
Domino's
Funding: Loan from the Post Office Credit Union
How It Started: Tom Monaghan lived with his brother Jim, who worked for the Post Office and occasionally at a pizza shop called DomiNick's. Jim overheard the pizza shop owner discussing a possible sale and floated the idea of buying it to Tom. The brothers procured a $900 loan from the Post Office Credit Union. In December 1960, Jim and Tom Monaghan were in business.
Next: Under ArmourMore Small Business:
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Under Armour
Under Armour
Funding: Credit Card and Personal Savings
How It Started: Kevin Plank had about $20,000 in the bank when Under Armour started. For more funding, he accumulated over $40,000 in credit card debt spread across five cards. In the summer of 1997, he was so broke that he went to his mom's house for dinners.
Next: Pink's Famous HotdogsMore Small Business:
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AOL CityGuide
Pink's Famous Hotdogs
Funding: Loan
How It Started: Paul and Betty Pink borrowed $50 to buy a hotdog cart. They sold 10-cent chilli dogs at the corner of Brea and Melrose. Sixty years later, daughter-in-law Gloria Pink, decided to market Pink's Los Angeles roots and raise the eatery’s profile. This family business, affectionately called "the little hot dog stand that could," now sells 1,500 hotdogs a day, in addition to burgers, Grape Crush and fries, bringing in $2.5 million per year in revenue.
Next: Calvin KleinMore Small Business:
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Getty Images
Calvin Klein
Funding: Loans and Awards
How It Started: When Calvin Klein's childhood friend loaned him $10,000 in start-up money, Klein rented a dingy showroom to exhibit a small line of samples. The vice-president of Bonwit Teller stopped at the wrong floor of the building, liked what he saw and invited Klein to bring his samples to the president's office. Klein wheeled the rack of clothes uptown personally, winning $50,000 on the spot.
Next: MeeboMore Small Business:
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Meebo
Meebo
Funding: Credit Cards and Venture Capitalists
How It Started: Instead of looking for venture capitalists, Seth Sternberg, Sandy Jen and Elaine Wherry funded Meebo in 2005 with credit cards. They each accumulated $2,000 in credit card debt, which was enough to cover their biggest expenses -- a few computer servers at $120 a month each. Later, they received funding by Sequoia Capital and Draper Fisher Jurvetson.
Next: Crate & BarrelMore Small Business:
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Crate & Barrel
Funding: Personal Savings and Family Loan
How It Started: Rumor has it that while admiring inexpensive dishes purchased on a European vacation, Gordon Segal was inspired to open Crate and Barrel. Gordon and Carole Segal went into business with their life savings of $12,000, plus $5,000 borrowed from Gordon's father. From humble beginnings, the chain is now a household name.
Next: Nantucket NectarsMore Small Business:
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Nantucket Nectars
Funding: Working Odd Jobs
How It Started: Tom First and Tom Scott funded their first large production with personal savings and a family loan. They mass produced 1,400 cases of their beverages at a cost of $9,000. Shortly after starting their company, the Toms found themselves short on cash. To keep the business running, the two juggled odd jobs such as delivering bread, shucking and shipping scallops and pumping waste.
Next: 1-800-flowers.comMore Small Business:
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1-800-Flowers
1-800-Flowers
Funding: Loans From Family and Friends
How It Started: James McCann was involved in social work as the administrator of a youth home in Rockaway, NY. In order to supplement his income, he procured $10,000 in loans from family and friends to purchase Flora Plenty, a small flower shop. He transformed this small struggling business into an international operation.
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Recent Comments
mphalc24 11:23:48 PM Sep 14 2008
Obama wants to raise taxes on the wealthy, assuming all of the wealthy are fat, lazy people who lay around and have nothing to do except count their money. Those earning over 250,000 are entrepeneurs who have risked everything to start a business, and perhaps have failed once or twice. Or they are doctors who have studied for 8-10 years and have half a million in debt they have to work off. Obama wants to punish these people, the very people who exemplify the essence of the American spirit by taxing them even more. Obama's world view is European, where the state does everything for you and taxes you to death in doing it. I'm not wealthy and his proposed tax increase won't hit me like it will others, but I for one I don't want to go there. Give me the old American spirit where people are free to work hard and to achieve their dream...not Obama's dream!!!
auctionsbyadle 02:40:04 PM Aug 15 2008
Angel Investors must understand that entrepreneurs take risk in everything they can. The question lies on until when are they going to test an entrepreneur when they are no longer even eating and or losing hope. The sad thing is that when an entrepreneur becomes successful we always want to be on their side but on the start-ups when they need the help, we are not there.
drewded 12:02:29 PM Jul 27 2008
I found several options at http://goodcreditbusinessloans.com/
rjolly21 01:33:23 PM Jun 30 2008
Hey, if anyone is in the market for a new car I used this new site called AutosAtInvoice.com they got me the car I wanted at invoice no hassle just thought I would pass it along.
tampabayhawk 08:51:13 PM Jun 23 2008
jayaustinmoore................were you part of Capt Tony's Conch Republic army?
ryantd26 12:10:12 PM Jun 19 2008
#1 lesson in funding... understand its a loan and not a bank deposit error. http://www.readtheanswer.com/index.php?rta=blog
fcamille 09:43:56 PM May 20 2008
LOL jayaustinmoore! My brother and I have had that idea for a while. First, though, we think we need to buy or take over a small island somewhere.
jayaustinmoore 04:16:42 PM May 20 2008
#1 Declare war on USA
#2 Sue for peace
#3 Recieve foreign aid
#4 Ride gravy- train forever
