Our panel of experts shares actionable strategies to help entrepreneurs secure, manage, and maximize capital for sustainable growth.
Lori Greiner
Entrepreneur and Investor, ABC’s “Shark Tank”
What steps do you recommend for entrepreneurs to obtain and better manage capital?
Stay lean and mean, do everything you can yourself, and outsource things that you need, as opposed to hiring staff to do things. Hire smart; you don’t need a big staff, you just need good people. You don’t need a big office space; people work from home. Don’t buy inventory without orders for it or a place to sell it. Be conservative and order carefully. The key here is to stay tight to your budget and not overspend. Only spend on what you absolutely must. One of the greatest things for me was that I had to learn all facets of my business. I couldn’t hire on staff; I had to learn everything for myself. It made me stronger, smarter, better, and more able to really run my business in all arenas. Remember that no one will love your business like you do, so it’s best that you be the one able to be involved in and make the decisions in all areas of your business.
Aditya Narula
General Manager of Lending & Credit, Bluevine
From your experience, what are the biggest hurdles small business owners face when trying to grow, and how can they best position themselves to overcome these challenges?
Growth often breaks what once worked. Owners face working capital gaps, rising costs, and the strain of doing too much with too little. The solution? Focus. Know your most profitable customers. Streamline operations. Invest in automation when it saves time or reduces errors. Above all, don’t go it alone — advisers, tech tools, and flexible financing can help turn chaos into momentum.
Most small businesses hit a point where hustle alone isn’t enough. Systems, staffing, and structure start to matter. Growth exposes weak spots in cash flow, pricing, and delegation. The fix? Step back and build processes. Standardize what works, cut what doesn’t, and stop doing everything yourself. That’s how you scale sustainably.
Time is a bigger constraint than money. Owners are stretched thin, switching between sales, operations, and admin. Growth stalls because they’re stuck in the weeds. To break through, they need leverage: hire smart, use digital tools to automate the busywork, and carve out time to think strategically, not just react.
What steps do you recommend for entrepreneurs to obtain and better manage capital?
The key is preparation. Know your numbers, especially your cash conversion cycle, and keep your books clean. Lenders want to see predictability, not perfection. Build relationships with capital providers before you need the money. Once you secure funding, treat it as a tool, not a cushion. Use it to invest in repeatable, revenue-generating activities, not just to plug holes.
Start with visibility. You can’t improve what you don’t measure, so track cash flow weekly, not monthly. Then build a capital stack that fits your business: short-term working capital, long-term investment capital, and a buffer for the unexpected. Finally, treat lenders and investors like long-term partners — communicate proactively and don’t wait for a crisis to reach out.
Better capital starts with better habits. Automate invoicing and expense tracking. Build a 12-month cash forecast. Understand the tradeoffs between speed, flexibility, and cost when choosing funding. Revenue-based financing, lines of credit, and term loans all serve different needs. The right match can unlock growth instead of dragging you down.
Jason Mullins
President and CEO, Forward Financing
From your experience, what are the biggest hurdles small business owners face when trying to grow, and how can they best position themselves to overcome these challenges?
We know that the biggest challenge small business owners face when trying to scale is obtaining capital and managing cash flow, while also trying to run their company. It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day of operating the business. However, without planning ahead, a business could suddenly find itself in a cash crunch. Choosing a funding option that can adapt to the ups and downs of a business allows you to stay focused on growing the company without worrying about being locked into rigid financial terms. Also, building strong relationships with your financing providers helps ensure that you can count on them as trusted advisers to guide your growth and support when a speed bump emerges.
What steps do you recommend for entrepreneurs to obtain and better manage capital?
It’s a great idea to start by enrolling in a basic finance course to strengthen your knowledge in managing the finances of a business. Many entrepreneurs start businesses because they are skilled, or deeply passionate about, a particular field, but they are not necessarily experts in managing finances. Next, explore all your financing options. Traditional financing products from a local bank are a great starting point, but these products don’t always make the most sense for every business and can often be difficult to obtain. Alternative financial institutions offering products like loans, lines of credit, and revenue-based financing can offer more flexibility and speed, which are often essential for entrepreneurs. This is especially true for small businesses that experience more frequent fluctuations in cash flow, due to seasonality, unexpected equipment failures, or natural disasters. Keeping finances organized, building good credit, and knowing exactly how you plan to use funding are also important. Once you secure capital, stay on top of it; track how you spend it, make your payments on time, and open lines of communication with your financial institution.
Fax Herbert
Head of Investor Relations, Ramp
From your experience, what are the biggest hurdles small business owners face when trying to grow, and how can they best position themselves to overcome these challenges?
Small businesses often have limited ability to forecast future results because they lack the necessary data and technology. Without full visibility into cash flow, it’s hard to make strategic growth decisions. To overcome this, business owners should maintain clean data, implement reliable financial tools, and monitor key metrics, such as burn rate and profit margins. Building strong banking and vendor relationships and getting an early start on any funding rounds or loans can also provide flexibility. Disciplined financial management is critical to sustainable growth for small businesses.
What steps do you recommend for entrepreneurs to obtain and better manage capital?
Start by defining your funding needs and choosing the right type: equity (e.g., VCs, angel investors), debt, or non-dilutive (e.g., grants, accelerators). Build a pitch, target aligned investors, and be persistent. To make the most of that capital, create an allocation plan tied to milestones, use financial tools for tracking and control, and monitor KPIs like burn rate and runway. Using tools that can automate routine financial processes, manage vendors, and track spending helps you stay lean and agile. Smart capital management sets you up for sustained growth and improves funding prospects over time.
