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A good business plan does more than just inform readers about what your company does, how you earn money, or what you want to do. It persuades the reader that your company is awesome, gets them excited about the opportunity to get involved, and makes them want to help you succeed.

But how do you write a good business plan for investors? You probably didn’t go to business school and if you’re a first-time founder, it can be really hard to figure out how to do something so technical. But don’t worry! This guide will walk you through how to write a business plan for investors, will help you answer the most important questions about your business, and will show you the best ways to illustrate them. We’ve also thrown in some additional resources...

Looking for a business grant for veterans? Here’s the thing: Grants are usually open for a set period of time, after which that money is no longer accessible.

As a result, it wouldn’t actually be possible to list out business grants for veterans, because by the time you read this, they may or may not still be available. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some great financing options out there for vets, like a VA small business loan!

First, we’re going to take a look at the federal government’s database for all small business grants. Then, we’re going to look at some government and private loans for veterans and other small business owners, as well as some veteran-specific training programs and resources.

Remember: Just because you don’t se...

When it comes to types of startup funding, there are a lot of options to consider.

Startups in the early stages need to raise startup capital or funding to survive past the business idea (at minimum) but looking into all the types of funding can be overwhelming to a budding entrepreneur. If you've never heard about pre-seed funding, equity stake, or venture capital funds, we are going to dive into how to raise funds for startups, and the difference between all the funding sources out there.

So, what do all the types of startup funding mean? What are angel investors? How does series funding work? What does equity funding entail? What's the best way to land an investment from a venture capital firm? Is self-funding and crowdfunding actually leg...

Aaron Leupp is the proud CEO of PromoAffiliates, one of the most popular CPR agencies in the world. They have simple, effective business model: the company generates promotional codes for their clients, and then advertises those codes across the web with sponsored content. Their clients include quite a few big names, such as Uber, Lyft, Drizly, and DoorDash.

I sat down with Aaron to talk specifically about what he’s doing on Youtube. He’s certainly the person to talk to, since the sponsored videos he has set up have led to millions of views and thousands of conversions. Aaron was happy to provide us with some key takeaways from his experience using Youtube micro-influencers: independent channel owners (vloggers, pranksters, etc.) who are w...

What is company culture?

Despite how obsessed the startup world is with company culture, there’s no singular definition we can all turn to. But while it’s difficult to put a dictionary definition on company culture, there are really two parts to it: Philosophical and practical.

On a philosophical level, company culture is the intangible atmosphere of your company. Some people call it the “personality” or the “glue that holds everyone together” or even the “soul.” It’s as much a feeling — of belonging, of shared purpose, even of similar ways of dress — as it is an aspiration for the entire company to contribute to.

“The truth is that culture – on its own – is not the thing that will bring you success in whatever way you may define it for you...

Startups set tons of goals, and most are focused on what we want the business to achieve. But sometimes the most important goals to set are the things we DON'T want the business to do!

When we founded Startups.com, we had lots of experience in previous startups doing things we loathed.

This time around, we set out to not only build a startup we loved, but an environment dedicated to avoiding things we couldn’t stand.

What did you never want to do again?

We began by listing all of the things we never wanted to do again like:

• "Never working with jerks"
• "Never creating any situation where we can be told what to do"
• "Never letting our startup come before our family"

Among others.

Itemizing everything you absolutely don't want to do again ...

What is a Corp?

“Corp” stands for “corporation.” If you see it after the name of a company, it means that company is legally incorporated in at least one state. The founders have filled out all the paperwork, paid all the fees, and is viewed as a Corporation by the government and the IRS.

Is a Corp different from an Inc?

Corps and Incs. are virtually interchangeable when it comes to legal structure, compliance obligations, limited liability or tax structure. But that doesn’t mean you can use the terms interchangeably! Once you register as either a Corp or an Inc, you have to use the term you registered with on all of your legal paperwork.

How does a Corp work?

[H3] Structure of a Corporation Let’s look a the structure of a Corporation. Cor...

Crowdfunding has become an increasingly popular way for individuals and businesses alike to raise much-needed capital. The relatively low cost of entry and accessibility of popular crowdfunding platforms have fueled this revolution in funding.

But while it might look easy — and seem like a no-brainer — to launch a crowdfunding campaign, there are strong pros and cons to consider.

Founders considering launching a crowdfunding campaign might wonder:

1. Is it worth it?
2. How hard will it really be?
3. What are the true pros and cons of crowdfunding?

To answer those questions (and a few more that people might not have even thought of), we reached out to our network of crowdfunding experts.

Our list includes founders of crowdfunding platforms, serial...

Startup equity is one of those things that it's fair to say every startup founder without an MBA struggles with, and even those with a high degree of financial modeling education won't have been through this before. Most people don't have to think about this stuff until it's really important. But if you're starting to freak out about who gets what slice of your startup pie, take a deep breath, calm down, and get ready for Startup Equity 101 (your official startup equity guide).

Equity. Stocks. Shares. Vesting. Fair market value. The minute you dive into figuring out startup equity compensation, you're slammed from every side with a bunch of words that you might have heard in the past and you might be able to fake knowledge of at a dinner par...

From single founders with no team to some of the biggest tech companies in the world, our definition of “startup” is extremely broad — and very unclear.

While most people wouldn’t put Uber and Facebook in the same category as the apps and games and services being hatched in co-working spaces across the country, they’re all still referred to as startups (and sometimes seen as "start-ups").

So what is a startup company, anyway?

Perhaps the most popular definition of a startup meaning is from Eric Ries, the creator of the Lean Startup methodology:

Startups.com Co-Founder and CEO Wil Schroter has his own definition of what ...