11 years
I have been working to open a hostel in the US for several years and have not found any venture capitalists that would consider a hostel -- they want technology stuff. Your best bet would be a real estate investor and an SBA loan.
Funding? Venture Capitalist?
Start a Hostel
Hi everyone,
Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer their advice on this. I have an idea brewing of starting a hostel in the United States and I have plenty of experience to go forward with this idea. Can anyone offer me advice on how to get funding for a hostel? I understand that I need to have a very thorough business plan, but do you know how I would go about finding a venture capitalist to support my dream?
Thanks much!
- Comments
11 years
Agreed. Even if you found a VC interested in investing they would want their money back in a big way and suck the fun right out of an inherently fun business. Bank loans are a better way to go. They don’t want to be involved in your business, and they won’t push you to increase profits at the expense of your guests. As long as the established payments are made on time, they are happy. Bank loans are not necessarily any easier to secure than VC funding though.
The SBA is a great resource! They can help you with funding and with every other step of opening your business, including your business plan. Definitely call them up if you haven’t already.
A so-called Angel Investor told me that the best source of startup money comes from the Three F’s: Family, Friends, and Fools (anyone else that you can convince to slide some cash your way in the beginning). They support your dream and they are are the ones most inclined to give you something without expecting a lot of interest on top of it. Usually this is how people collect their down payment for a business loan if they don’t already have enough money saved up.
11 years
We will soon (as in sometime this year) be starting in on the process of securing an SBA loan so let me know if you want to pow wow or need any advice on the process. My first bit of advice would be to find what small business organizations there are in your city that might be able to walk you through process, advocate for you and even act as your loan officer. We're going through a non-profit in Texas where we have a business coach that helps us with our plan but they also do lending. Apparently SBA loans come with a lot of paperwork! Price to pay for a good interest rate!
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