They Got Acquired - Grants for entrepreneurs

April 28, 2023
​Read on web​

Ever considered a grant to fund your business in the early days?

I hadn't — until Northwestern University contacted me about applying for their media entrepreneurship fellowship.

The grant has been transformational as we grow this business to profitability... and opened my eyes to how grants can help entrepreneurs.

A few of the benefits of relying on grants for funding:

• It's essentially free. In most cases, they don’t need to be repaid.
• Unlike a loan, a grant doesn’t require you to pay interest or worry about late payment fees.
• They allow you to grow your business with less debt.
• Grants are non-dilutive, meaning you don’t give away equity in your business in exchange for the funds.
• Winning high-profile grants can increase your business’s visibility.

The tough part, of course, is identifying and applying for grants that might work for you.

So we put together a long list of grants for entrepreneurs to get you started 👇

​Grants for entrepreneurs: A huge list of funding options, plus how to win them​

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What's your enough?

One trap ambitious entrepreneurs fall into (and, let's be honest, people in general) is always looking to the next win, the next dollar, the next milestone.

When I find myself striving for more, more, more, I ask myself the question a brilliant coach (Sarah Peck of Startup Parent) once asked me:

What's your enough?

It can be really challenging to identify that number. But being specific about it can go a long way.

For example, look at your task list for this week. Have you clearly named your "enough"?

I often make the mistake of trying to accomplish as much as I can. But when I identify my "enough," — one that's truly doable — then if I hit that before the end of the week, I can and should feel good about taking time off.

Same goes for socking money away in savings. If you can articulate what's "enough," you can move onto other things once you hit that number.

This applies to growing a business, too. If my "enough" is three employees, why would I feel like I don't stack up to the entrepreneur with a team of 50? Why does that even matter?

Hope Lawrence, who grew and sold Hudson Henry Baking Co, talked about this concept when we interviewed her for our story.

“I always said the company could have been thissss big,” she said, “but with two young boys, I had to decide what was big enough. My goal from day one was $1 million in annual revenue. That was enough for me.”

So now I ask you: What's your enough?

I'd love to hear from you, if you want to hit reply and share it with me.

See you next time,

Lexi Grant
Founder & CEO
​They Got Acquired​
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P.S. ICYMI, our E-Commerce Deals Report is live! This is a must-read (and listen) if you're in the e-commerce space.

🙌 How we can help

Here's what we offer for founders looking to sell in the next year:

- Help choosing an advisor or broker you can trust

- M&A coaching if you have a potential buyer or want to approach buyers on your own

- A sounding board (free call) if you're not sure where to start

- Reports full of case studies and data about other founders who sold

- Posts covering the basics of how to sell your business​