VetIgnite

Funding 101

Different problems need different money.

A practical guide to every major form of capital available to a veteran-owned business, what each one costs, who it fits, and the trade-off you are actually signing up for. Read this before you reach out to anyone.

How to read these primers

  • Stage fit tells you when the capital is appropriate for your business maturity.
  • Dilution means how much of your company you give up. Loans and grants are zero. Equity is real.
  • Cost of capital is the true all-in price, interest plus expected return for equity.
  • Real talk is the part most guides skip. Read it twice.

Self-funded

Bootstrapping

Funding the business with personal savings, sweat equity, and customer revenue.

Check size
Whatever you can spare
Cost of capital
Personal opportunity cost only
Dilution
No dilution
Repayment
No repayment
Stage fit
IdeaPre-revenueEarly revenue

Best for

Most veterans should start here. If the business cannot survive on customer money, more outside money usually makes the problem worse, not better.

Watch-outs

Personal financial risk. Burnout. Slower growth than competitors raising outside capital.

Real talk

Bootstrapping forces discipline. The hardest, most fundable habits, frugality, customer obsession, fast iteration, come from this stage. Investors trust founders who have already put their own money in.

For veterans: Use VA disability income, military retirement, or transition pay deliberately as a runway buffer. It is one of the fairest forms of starting capital you will get.

Equity

Friends and Family

Small early checks from people who know you, structured as either a loan or convertible note.

Check size
$5K to $250K total
Cost of capital
Relationship cost is real
Dilution
Low dilution
Repayment
Repaid at exit
Stage fit
IdeaPre-revenue

Best for

Bridging from your own money to your first customer or first institutional check.

Watch-outs

Document everything. Use a SAFE or convertible note, not a handshake. Losing a friend's money is worse than losing a fund's.

Real talk

If you would not be willing to call them in two years and say 'I lost it all,' do not take their money. The best F&F rounds are small, generous, and explicitly described as risky.

Non-dilutive

Grants and Foundation Awards

Free money for specific use cases. Highly competitive.

Check size
$5K to $250K typical, occasional six-figure awards
Cost of capital
Application time + reporting overhead
Dilution
No dilution
Repayment
No repayment
Stage fit
IdeaPre-revenueEarly revenueGrowing

Best for

Veteran-owned businesses, R&D, social impact, women/minority-owned, specific industries (defense innovation, clean energy, ag-tech).

Watch-outs

Reporting requirements can be heavier than the grant is worth. Always read the use restrictions before accepting.

Real talk

Treat grants as accelerants. Build the business as if you will get zero, and treat any grant as a bonus.

For veterans: StreetShares, Second Service Foundation, Hivers and Strivers, and Bunker Labs all run grants reserved for vets.

Non-dilutive

Pitch Competitions

Stage time, prize money, and exposure for early-stage founders willing to pitch.

Check size
$5K to $100K typical, signature events go higher
Cost of capital
Pitch prep time, occasional travel
Dilution
No dilution
Repayment
No repayment
Stage fit
IdeaPre-revenueEarly revenue

Best for

Veterans who can tell their story crisply and benefit from network exposure as much as the prize.

Watch-outs

Time sink. Many competitions are PR plays for the host. Optimize for the audience and judges, not the prize size.

Real talk

The win is rarely the check. It is the warm intros to investors and customers in the room.