The Customer-Funded Business (ePub)

Who needs investors?

More than two generations ago, the venture capital community
- VCs, business angels, incubators and others -
convinced the entrepreneurial world that writing business plans and
raising venture capital constituted the twin centerpieces of
entrepreneurial endeavor. They did so for good reasons: the
sometimes astonishing returns they've delivered to their investors
and the astonishingly large companies that their ecosystem has
created.

But the vast majority of fast-growing companies never take
any venture capital. So where does the money come from to start
and grow their companies? From a much more agreeable and hospitable
source, their customers. That's exactly what Michael Dell, Bill
Gates and Banana Republic's Mel and Patricia Ziegler did to get
their companies up and running and turn them into iconic
brands.

In The Customer Funded Business, best-selling author John
Mullins uncovers five novel approaches that scrappy and innovative
21st century entrepreneurs working in companies large and small
have ingeniously adapted from their predecessors like Dell, Gates,
and the Zieglers:

* Matchmaker models (Airbnb)

* Pay-in-advance models (Threadless)

* Subscription models (TutorVista)

* Scarcity models (Vente Privee)

* Service-to-product models (GoViral)

Through the captivating stories of these and other inspiring
companies from around the world, Mullins brings to life the five
models and identifies the questions that angel or other investors
will - and should! - ask of entrepreneurs or corporate
innovators seeking to apply them. Drawing on in-depth interviews
with entrepreneurs and investors who have actually put these models
to use, Mullins goes on to address the key implementation issues
that characterize each of the models: when to apply them, how best
to apply them, and the pitfalls to watch out for.

Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur lacking the start-up
capital you need, an early-stage entrepreneur trying to get your
cash-starved venture into take-off mode, an intrapreneur seeking
funding within an established company, or an angel investor or
mentor who supports high-potential ventures, this book offers the
most sure-footed path to starting, financing, or growing
your venture.

John Mullins is the author of The New Business Road Test
and, with Randy Komisar, the widely acclaimed Getting to Plan
B.