Raising a round of investment is an incredible feat for any entrepreneur. With more capital behind you and seasoned investors backing you, there are undoubtedly huge opportunities ahead.
However, part of the challenge of raising equity investment is making sure you spend the money in the right areas of your business. In short: you don’t want to end up deploying equity funding to solve working capital problems. Here’s why.
Equity financing involves raising capital by selling off ownership stakes in your company. It’s a long-term play on your company’s future, and you want to invest those funds where they’re going to bring valuable, sustainable growth.
But when eCommerce companies use their equity to fund their working capital cycles, the cash isn’t available to invest in long-term growth and sustainability. Ownership is quickly diluted, and the fast but limited gains from selling products aren’t enough to recoup that long-term investment.
There’s a clear misalignment between equity financing and working capital (like inventory and marketing):
If you keep selling ownership shares and spending that cash on working capital, you’re limiting your future growth — and if you repeat this cycle too many times, you're eventually going to run out of shares to sell.
If you keep selling ownership shares and spending that cash on working capital, you’re limiting your future growth — and if you repeat this cycle too many times, you're eventually going to run out of shares to sell. You’ll lose controlling interest, and ultimately, you won’t be the key decision-maker. Your company’s future will be in someone else’s hands completely.
So, how can you ensure that your equity remains invested in sustainable revenue growth and still find a way to buy stock for the short term?
A working capital financing solution helps you efficiently fund things like marketing and inventory — the aspects of your business where gains are realized very quickly.
Unlike equity financing, working capital financing is non-dilutive. You don’t have to give up any ownership shares to secure it. You’ll get immediate access to capital to buy up stock or spend on marketing to acquire new customers. Once you’re generating some revenue, you can pay off that financing while retaining the controlling interest of your company.
When it’s time to place a PO on raw materials and products, explore flexible working capital solutions like revenue-based financing that are tailored to suit your company's particular working capital cycle. This helps efficiently manage long lead times, precariously high costs of shipping, strict supplier payment terms, and other inventory challenges.
Say you need to put in a $100,000 PO for inventory with a four-month lead time, and your supplier requires payment upfront. Use a working capital solution to finance the purchase order upfront and get your inventory shipped, then pay it back as you sell your product.
When you deploy equity and working capital financing in tandem, you have a longer runway for making secure, long-term decisions.
When you deploy equity and working capital financing in tandem, you have a longer runway for making secure, long-term decisions. The working capital covers your overheads, and you’ll have a longer period of time before you need to go out to market and raise a round of equity again.
To see the most value from your company’s equity round, invest that funding into sustainability for the future. “Future growth” doesn’t mean the container of T-shirts you need to sell over the next six months — that’s what you need to turn a profit now. Instead, put your equity toward the new product line you want to unveil in two years or the expansion you want to lead to a new market. That’s long-term revenue growth.
Some areas where equity spend can have a particularly high ROI include:
Working capital financing helps you break the cycle of inefficiency caused by burning equity and diluting your ownership. But a revenue-based financing option helps you avoid the cycle altogether in the future.
Revenue-based financing is flexible, fast, and efficient. You’ll receive funding upfront for working capital like inventory and marketing, freeing you up to make sound long-term decisions with your equity. And you pay back what you owe based on a percentage of your sales, which reduces strain during slower periods for your business. You can minimize risk and accelerate growth.
Wayflyer helps eCommerce businesses like yours grow through flexible funding options and a keen understanding of your unique challenges and goals. Along with revenue-based financing options, we give eCommerce founders direct insights into their business. We help founders make better decisions to improve growth and profitability.
It takes just minutes to apply and just days to get funding, and we tailor our offers to what your company needs. Apply now for the funding you need for your working capital cycle.
