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Startup funding

Nine months in business isn't a rejection letter.

Most funders won't look at you before two years. We work a network that will — and we'll tell you honestly which door is actually open at your stage.

Pre-qualify in 4 minutes 612-927-2055
3 monthsMinimum in business
$10K–$250KTypical range
2–7 daysTo funding
Founders unpacking their first equipment in a newly leased storefront
Overview

What's genuinely available in year one

Early-stage funding is a different game because the usual underwriting input — two years of deposits — doesn't exist yet. Lenders substitute something else: your personal credit, an asset, or your customers' creditworthiness.

Unsecured business lines built on personal credit. $25,000 to $150,000 for founders with 700+ FICO, low utilization and clean recent history. Often the largest number available before revenue exists.

Equipment financing. The asset secures the note, so business history matters less. One of the few real doors open in month three.

Invoice factoring. If you're already billing commercial customers, their credit carries the file — not yours.

Revenue-based advance. Once you have three months of deposits, this becomes available. Expensive, so treat it as a bridge to something better, not a habit.

  • From 3 months in business on several programs
  • $10,000 to $250,000 typical early-stage range
  • Personal credit-based lines up to $150,000 without revenue
  • Equipment financing available in month one with a quote
  • A straight answer if nothing fits yet — plus the 90-day plan to fix it

Month 3

Where real options begin.

No revenue path

Credit-based lines up to $150K.

90-day plan

If it's a no today, here's the fix.

Every figure here is a typical range across our network, not a quote. Real terms come from your file.
Rates & terms

What this program actually looks like.

Unsecured credit lines$25,000 – $150,000 · 700+ FICO · 0% intro periods on some cards
EquipmentUp to $250,000 · asset-secured · from month one
Factoring80–93% of invoices · from first commercial invoice
Revenue advance$5,000 – $100,000 · from 3 months of deposits
SBA (startup)Possible with experience and 15–30% injection
Time to funding2 – 7 business days on most programs

Ranges reflect typical structures across our lending network. Final terms are set by the funder after underwriting.

Qualifying

What underwriting looks for

  • A registered US entity with an EIN
  • A business bank account in the entity name
  • 3+ months of deposits for revenue-based programs
  • 680+ personal FICO for credit-based lines (700+ preferred)
  • Credit utilization under 30% for the largest lines
  • For equipment: a vendor quote
Check where I land

Documents to have ready

  • Entity formation documents and EIN letter
  • Business bank statements — every month you have
  • Personal credit summary
  • Driver's license
  • Business plan and projections for larger requests
Send statements as PDFs straight from online banking. Screenshots and scans slow underwriting by days.
The process

From first call to funded

  • 01

    Assess

    We look at what exists — credit, deposits, assets, receivables — and name the realistic ceiling.

  • 02

    Match

    Only the programs your stage can actually clear. No shotgun submissions.

  • 03

    Fund

    Approvals typically land in two to seven business days.

  • 04

    Build

    Set up tradelines and reporting now so month twelve is a different conversation.

Right fit

When this is the answer

  • Revenue started and you need to keep up with it
  • Equipment stands between you and the next job
  • You're invoicing businesses on terms
  • Strong personal credit and a real plan
  • You want the year-one groundwork done properly
Look elsewhere

When it isn't

  • No entity, no bank account, no revenue
  • An idea with no customers yet — that's equity, not debt
  • Expecting SBA at month two without experience or injection
  • Personal credit below 600 with no assets and no receivables
Questions

Startup Funding, answered.

Only through personal credit or an asset. Unsecured credit lines built on a 700+ personal score can reach $150,000 without business revenue, and equipment financing works from a vendor quote. Beyond those two, cash-flow underwriting has nothing to read.
Three months of clean business deposits is the first real threshold. Twelve months changes the conversation entirely. That's the highest-leverage thing you can do: run everything through the business account, keep it positive, and avoid overdrafts.
At this stage, essentially always. Early-stage funding is underwritten on you because there isn't enough business history to underwrite instead. That flips as the business builds its own credit file.
Four things, in order: run all revenue through a business account, eliminate NSFs and negative days, get personal utilization under 30%, and open two or three vendor tradelines that report. Most founders can move meaningfully in 90 days.
Not through debt, and we'll say so rather than run your credit. Pre-revenue is equity, grant or founder-capital territory. What we can do is map the specific milestones that make you debt-fundable and tell you when to come back.
Ask Night Fox a different question
Also worth a look

Programs that pair well with this

Equipment Financing

Up to $2M with $0 down options. The asset is the collateral.

View program

Business Credit

A 90-day build that moves you from PG-only to real business credit.

View program

Invoice Factoring

80–93% advanced on open invoices. Not debt.

View program
Ready when you are

Ready to move on startup funding?

A four-minute application, a soft review, and no impact on your credit. Travis reads every file personally and calls back with real options — usually the same business day.

Talk to Travis directly612-927-2055
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