Ask most people how a business gets funded and they'll say "a bank loan." For a startup, that's often the hardest money to get and rarely the best-suited. Banks want trading history and security a new business doesn't have. The good news: the bank is one option among many, and several of the others fit startups far better.

Grants: free money, if you can find it

Non-repayable, non-dilutive — the best money there is, if your project qualifies. Innovation grants, regional growth funds, sector schemes. The catch is that grants are competitive and scattered across hundreds of sources that open and close monthly. That's exactly what our Swoop-powered portal is for: it maps live grants to your business so you're not hunting blind.

Start Up Loans: government-backed and startup-shaped

Personal loans of £500–£25,000 per director at a fixed 6%, designed specifically for businesses under three years old — no trading history needed, plus free mentoring. For many early-stage startups this is the sensible first cheque, and it's covered in depth in our funding guide.

Crowdfunding: capital and customers at once

  • Rewards crowdfunding (Kickstarter-style) — pre-sell your product to fund making it. Brilliant for consumer products; it validates demand and funds production without debt or dilution.
  • Equity crowdfunding — sell small stakes to many investors online. Raises real money and builds an advocate base, but it's a real fundraise with the same investor-readiness demands as angels (clean numbers, SEIS/EIS advance assurance).

Revenue-based and alternative finance

If you have some recurring revenue, revenue-based finance advances cash repaid as a percentage of income — flexible, no dilution, but read the total cost carefully. Asset and invoice finance fund specific things (equipment, unpaid invoices) against the asset itself, which is often easier to secure than an unsecured loan.

Angels and VCs: the most expensive money

Equity is the right fuel for genuinely high-growth, unproven bets — and the most expensive, because a small stake in a business that works costs a fortune later. UK angels lean heavily on SEIS/EIS tax relief, so get advance assurance before you pitch (see our post on SEIS/EIS for founders).

The cheap-money order Work down the cost ladder: grants → government-backed loans → asset/revenue finance → equity. Founders who pitch equity to buy stock or a laptop are overpaying by an order of magnitude. Match the funding type to the job it's doing.

How we help you choose

Every client gets the funding portal — one profile matched against 1,000+ providers, grants surfaced first — plus the part software can't do: we sense-check the real cost of each option against your cashflow and runway before you commit. The cheapest headline rate isn't always the cheapest money. Get started from £49 + VAT a month.