Scale, fund & exit

Funding a D2C brand

VC, revenue-based finance, venture debt, or none.

All Beginner Intermediate Advanced

All India Global

Everyone Aspiring Brand Builder Maker / Artisan Trader Going Own-Brand Just-Launched Founder Marketplace Seller Scaling Brand Bootstrapped Side-Hustler Product Person

Should I bootstrap my D2C brand or raise VC money? Bootstrap as long as you can fund inventory and ads from your own margin - every round you skip is equity you keep and discipline you're forced to ... Beginner 4 resources → What is revenue-based financing and how does it work for D2C brands in India? RBF platforms like Klub, GetVantage and Velocity give you upfront capital against future revenue, and you repay a fixed percentage of monthly sales... Intermediate 4 resources → What's venture debt, and when should I take it instead of - or alongside - equity? Venture debt is a loan from specialist lenders (Stride Ventures, Alteria, InnoVen) that extends your runway between equity rounds, usually taken ri... Advanced 3 resources → How do I finance inventory without giving up equity? Inventory financing, purchase-order financing and RBF are the three non-dilutive routes - lenders advance cash against stock or confirmed orders an... Intermediate 3 resources → Klub, GetVantage or Velocity - which RBF platform is actually right for my brand? All three do the same core thing - non-dilutive capital repaid as a share of revenue - but they differ on minimum revenue history, ticket size and ... Intermediate 4 resources → What funding options exist if I don't want to raise VC money at all? You have more room than founders think: reinvested revenue and tight working-capital discipline first, then non-dilutive debt - bank/NBFC working c... Beginner 4 resources →

Related in Starting Up

Not D2C-specific, so it lives in our founder hub. Same engine, different corner.

Co-founder dynamics, equity splits and conflict

Finding a co-founder → Co-founder agreements & equity →

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