Funding Sources

One common and difficult part of the startup journey is getting access to the money needed to take a concept to commercial.



Innovators often struggle figuring out what type of funding to seek, given where they are at in the startup process. In the startup community, innovators typically obtain funding in the following order:

  1. Self, friends and family
  2. State and Federal funds
  3. Angel investors
  4. Seed investors
  5. Other private investment firms such as venture capital firms


If you don’t have a mentor to help you through this process or don’t know what type of funds you should be seeking, please obtain expert guidance here.



If you’ve exhausted your own funds, friends and family funding options and are looking for other potential early funding options, HighTech Connect Iowa suggests you discuss the following potential options with your mentor: