Funding types

Grants are financial resources from the public sector that are awarded to founders or companies but are not repayable. The prerequisite for funding is that the level of innovation in the start-up project is sufficient.

Grants are financial resources from the public sector that are awarded to founders or companies but are not repayable. The prerequisite for support from the Hamburg Investment and Promotion Bank (IFB Hamburg) and its subsidiary IFB Innovationsstarter GmbH is that the level of innovation of the start-up project is sufficient and the (planned) company headquarters are in Hamburg.

Venture capital (VC) is a form of financing in which institutional investors provide startups with large sums of money, often in the millions, in return for a stake in the company. In return, the investor expects to have a say in business decisions as well as high profits from the sale of his shares (exit).

Venture capital (VC) is a form of financing in which institutional investors provide startups with large sums of money, often in the millions, in return for a stake in the company. In return, the investor expects to have a say in business decisions as well as high profits from the sale of his shares (exit). The innovation starter fund for Hamburg is currently included on beyourpilot.

Loans are sums of money provided by the bank, which must be repaid through regular interest and principal repayments. Since the bank concentrates here on the pure financing, no accompanying advisory and Coaching achievements can be expected for the foundresses and founders. Conversely, the bank does not have a say in the management of the company. A robust business plan is expected for the approval of a loan, and collateral such as real estate or guarantees is also expected for larger loan sums. There are different promotion credits particularly for existence foundresses and existence founders (e.g. Hamburg credit establishment and follow-up as well as KfW ERP founder credit - start money), these cannot be requested directly with the lender, but over a financing partner like e.g. the house bank. With promotional loans, lower interest rates are possible than with a normal loan. The IFB Business Advisory Centre provides comprehensive advice on the support programmes for founders of KfW and IFB, even before contacting the house bank.

Crowdfunding is a form of swarm financing in which a large number of Internet users (the "crowd") pre-finance a planned project together with small amounts. The original focus of this form of financing was in the artistic or creative field. In the meantime, crowdfunding is increasingly used for the development of new products and for marketing purposes. In crowdfunding, supporters generally only receive a non-financial reward as a thank-you, e.g. free products or premium memberships.

Crowd investing is a swarm financing with equity capital for early-stage start-ups. A swarm of private investors invests small amounts together in a project via a digital platform. In return, the "crowd" participates financially in the success of the project. Many crowd investing platforms require an already established corporation to start a campaign.

Business angels are private investors who invest their own capital in start-ups and receive company shares in return. Since they are often successful entrepreneurs themselves, they also support the startup in the critical initial phase with a great deal of know-how and network. Often, business angels are the first investors and step in ahead of institutional VC companies.

The word mezzanine is derived from the Italian mezzo (half) and refers to a mixture of equity and debt capital. In accounting terms, money is equity and thus improves the company's creditworthiness, but without giving the investor a say. Mezzanine capital is correspondingly expensive: investors such as banks, private equity firms or crowd investors demand a high profit share and the money must be repaid.