Business Case Studies & Business Publications

Doing Without the Middleman: A Primer on...

Sarasvathy, Saras ...

Technical Note

Doing Without the Middleman: A Primer on Funding for Entrepreneurs

Sarasvathy, Saras D.; Zuffoletti, Jim

ENT-0235 | Published January 7, 2025 | 8 pages Technical Note

Collection: Darden School of Business

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It’s widely believed that entrepreneurs need formal funding to start a venture, but that’s not always the case. In fact, the majority of companies that go public don’t raise any venture capital at all! This note outlines the wide variety of funding types available to entrepreneurs and explores the importance of relationships in raising money from both informal sources and external investors. It describes how expert entrepreneurs establish a stakeholder network based on relationships, rather than simply hiring service providers and acquiring resources, and includes a first-person narrative from one of the note authors about starting a company this way at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.