Can a startup apply for a small business loan? Are you sure? Usually when startup founders think about funding, we think about venture capital or accelerator programs. That’s because those funding sources offer potentially big payouts, oftentimes with no obligation to pay back the money if the startup fails.

But, there’s another source of funding that’s more traditional — and potentially riskier: the small business loan.

Small business loans are a more traditional way of getting financing, which means they may be easier for some startups to get than venture capital, which can be a long and arduous process.

They’re a great option for startups that already have some momentum and — even better — some income coming in. That’s because while ven...

As a startup, it’s not exactly a secret that you need exceptional content in order to stand out from the crowd.

As Gary Vaynerchuk so bluntly puts it, “It literally doesn’t matter what business you’re in, what industry you operate in, if you’re not producing content, you basically don’t exist.”

Of course, chances are you already know this, and are currently putting in the hours to brainstorm and produce top-notch content. Heck, you may have even enlisted some outside help, and already have your own team standing by, ready to turn out articles when you need them.

You’ve probably got a social media presence as well –and try to remember to keep things up to date. But for many startups –and even marketers for that matter, there’s a good chance ...

The question of whether entrepreneurship can be "taught" has been volleyed back and forth between academics and Founders forever.

The academics believe that entrepreneurship is a process that can be learned and executed, while the hardcore Founders feel like you either have "the right stuff" and figure shit out or you don't.

This is one of those cases where both are right, but both are asking the wrong question.

What aspects of Entrepreneurship can be taught?

A ton, from how to validate an idea to managing your finances or setting up marketing campaign can absolutely be taught — and if we're being honest, are sorely lacking amongst most startup Founders today.

If you don't think those fundamental skills are helpful to building a startup, t...

"Oh look! Someone just sold a company similar to ours for a million billion trillion dollars. And look at that, they raised a bunch of money along the way. I bet if I had raised money I would be a huge success too."

Whether or not we think about it daily, many of us have this nagging thought in the back of our minds of the "what if?" of raising capital. We picture this alternate universe where we took on investor funding and grew to become the next great darling of our industry.

The problem with that thought process, though, is that it puts "raising capital" in the same bucket as "executing properly" which is very different.

There's a time and a place where raising capital absolutely makes sense, but often we're either not there or we misu...

The startup ecosystem – especially the one found online like places here at Startups.co – is full of helpful material. Unfortunately, other internet sources can be full of myths. Let’s untangle some of the common startup myths you’ll hear, so that you can get started on rolling out a successful venture.

Ready to get started? Good.

Myth 1: All You Need Is an Idea

One of the most dangerous myths about start-ups is the idea that a “great idea” is enough to pull in a significant amount of money that will help your startup get started. In our competitive global landscape, investors aren’t interested in just ideas so much as they’re interested in a significant return on investment. How do you get past the idea?

Put in the Work: Investments are t...

Getting equity back from an existing stakeholder isn't easy — but it is possible.

It's a situation that very few Founders have ever been through before, so no one really knows how to go about it. Let's talk a bit about how the situation develops and what we can do to get some of that precious equity back into our coffers.

Remember, Equity is a Promise of Payment

More than anything, equity isn't just a stock issuance. It's a promise that at some future point that stock will be worth cash money — maybe.

When we think about pulling the equity back, we have to think in terms of how to redeem that promise of payment in some capacity. It's not just a matter of "taking it away" per se, it's a matter of trading the terms of the initial agreement ...

The mobile internet has been both a blessing and a curse for startups and small businesses looking to build their brands from the ground up.

Never before in history has achieving awareness and influence been so democratized. Truly any brand can have their 15 seconds of fame – or more. However, that’s also the curse. There is more noise than ever before to stand out from and drive awareness.

Therefore it’s not a surprise that when we recently asked over 500 startup & small business owners what their primary digital marketing objective was — their number one priority was to increase company and product awareness. It even beat out driving inbound leads and customers — go figure.

In order to achieve brand awareness in this new mobile-driven, ...

Every company starts small and it is understandable that not everything is going properly as the company is growing. Besides that organized chaos, there are some attitudes that founders and CEOs must broadcast throughout the company.

My background as an entrepreneur and as startup employee have helped me identify pain points about employee motivation (the subject was also the thesis I chose for mastering in Entrepreneurship in 2013 — find the recommendations part here in French).

To increase the rate of your success—apply the exact opposite of the 11 situations outlined below when it comes to motivating your startup employees:

1. Don’t have a vision for your company.

Failing to provide a vision reveals the pilot himself doesn’t know where t...

WHAT IS SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP?

A sole proprietorship is an unincorporated business owned and run by one individual with no distinction between the business and the owner.

Sole proprietorships are the simplest and most common form of small business ownership, representing 73% of all small businesses in the United States today (a total of 23 million were reported by the IRS in 2010 and again in 2018 by the small business administration (SBA)).

The business owner is entitled to all profits and is personally responsible for all of the business's debts, losses, and liabilities, and pays personal income tax on profits earned from the company. The owner is not required to formally register their business with their state as corporations or LLCs do.

With...

…when I started StartupList, I didn’t know where it would lead or even that I was actually creating a startup. It was just a project I was working on to learn more about startups and how to build a website. It evolved into something I never could’ve imagined at the time.

There is no better way to hear the story of how Nick Frost came to champion startups than to hear it straight from his mouth. Startups Live was incredibly fortunate to have such an opportunity.

Often this collection of Founders turns over nitty gritty details of building startups, examining a particular question or aspect of the work. This talk does some of the same, but it also brings the role of fortune into the field of play – not luck, or the unexpected influence of out...