Capital
Bootstrap, equity or debt
Growth is limited by cash and the funding route has not been chosen deliberately.
Signals to look for
- bootstrap
- equity
- debt
- loan
- dilution
- ownership
- grant
Questions to answer
- What is the money for, and over what period does it return?
- How predictable is the return?
- What does the founder want to own, and when?
- What does each route cost in money, control and reversibility?
Evidence required before committing
- cash position and burn
- gross margin
- payback on the intended spend
- current ownership
Likely constraint
- Predictability of return
- Founder's own goals, which are a legitimate input
How the decision branches
- IfThe return is predictable and shortThenDebt or reinvested revenue is usually cheaper than equity.
- IfThe return is uncertain and longThenEquity shares that uncertainty; debt concentrates it on the founder.
- IfOwnership matters more than speed to this founderThenBootstrapping is a valid strategy, not a lesser one — but say out loud what it costs in time.
What to test
Model all three routes against the same plan, showing cash, cost, control and what happens if the plan underdelivers by half.
Read after 30 days.
What success looks like
- All three modelled on the same assumptions
- The downside case is explicit
What means stop
- The plan the capital funds is not evidenced — no route is appropriate yet
Typical next move
- A route is chosen → Set the milestones that would make the next capital decision easier.
Who does the work
Aury can carry out: read company, prepare document, flag risk, file memory. Specialists involved: finance, strategy.
Your approval: Aurygine never enters into any financing. It models options for the founder.
This needs financial review — get a qualified professional to look at your specifics before anything is signed or sent.
Where this stops being true
Applies where more than one route is genuinely available.
Not financial, tax or legal advice. Debt terms, guarantees and equity documents have long-lived consequences and require qualified review. Dilution is a lifetime decision, not a percentage.
Provenance
- Sourced operator experience: Founder/operator case study analysed inside Aurygine — bootstrapped B2B software company, 2026
- Aurygine synthesis: Aurygine synthesis across founder journeys
Confidence: low. Last reviewed 2026-08-25. Your company's own recorded results override this playbook whenever the two disagree.