What are the options for startup founders who want to make money?

There are a ton of different options available to startup founders who want to make money. From bootstrapping and setting up the company in their garage, to fighting venture capitalists at big-name accelerator programs and more. As it turns out, they all face two kinds of problems – the problems of generating income (or rather, how to make money), and the problems of selling a product/service they created that they believe in.

I probably should have noticed this earlier as a founder, but it's just dawned on me recently when I examined some of the ways my friends who started startups have made money.

Take money out of the company

How startup founders make money? The answer is different for every founder. Some may receive a salary, while others may need to rely on outside sources of income. But whatever the case may be, it's important to know how to build a personal cash flow that will allow you to survive as a founder.

The first and most obvious option is to take money out of the company. However, this isn't always an option because startups usually don't have much in the way of cash reserves at the beginning. Even if they do, taking money out of the company could come back to bite you later on when you're trying to raise funds from investors.

Another option is for founders to go out and find another job while still working on their startup in their free time and using their spare cash reserves as needed. This can be tricky because it requires balancing two full-time jobs at once (one in your field of expertise and one in your startup) as well as managing your existing responsibilities at home like taking care of kids or other family members who depend on you (if applicable).

Get paid a salary

What are the options for startup founders who want to make money? Get paid a salary. One common way for founders to make money is to get a regular paycheck from their company. In fact, this is probably the most common way for founders to make money. If you're the CEO or COO of your company, then it's likely that you'll receive a salary, even if it's just $100 per month.

Own equity in the company. Another way for founders to make money is by owning equity in their companies. This means they own pieces of the business and will receive part of any profits that are made by selling shares of stock or through dividends when profits are distributed. Receive a combination of both options 1 and 2 above (salary + equity).

It's possible that some founders may be paid both a salary and own shares in their companies at different times during their tenure as startup CEOs or COOs or even directors on boards of directors.

Set aside money for yourself

How to make money when you're starting a business There are many ways for startup founders to make money. Here are some of the most common options: Sell your product or service. The most common way for startup founders to make money is by selling products or services directly to customers.

Selling an existing product is called "product-based sales." Selling a new product is called "customer development." Invest in other people's startups. This is called being an angel investor or venture capitalist, and it's one of the most common ways for startup founders who aren't entrepreneurs themselves to make money. Sell equity in your company.

Another option is to sell stock in your company (or parts of it) to investors who want a piece of the action without having full ownership of your business. This can be done through an initial public offering (IPO), which allows companies to go public and sell shares on a stock exchange such as the NASDAQ or NYSE, or through more informal means like crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter or GoFundMe.

Find another founder to split the work with you

If you're a startup founder, you've probably thought about how to make money from your idea. But there are many different ways for founders to monetize their ideas and businesses. Here are five common ways startup founders make money: Sell the business outright. If you're building a business that's valuable enough, you may be able to sell it for millions of dollars.

Many venture capital firms invest in startups with the expectation that they'll eventually be sold for an enormous multiple of their initial investment. Get acquired by another company. Another way to make money as a founder is by selling your company's assets or services to another company. If you've built something valuable enough, another company may buy you out completely — taking over your assets and liabilities, including employees, intellectual property and any other assets you've created together with your team.

Create a product or service and charge customers for it. This is one of the most common ways startups generate revenue — charging people directly for what they create or sell them access to their product or service through an online store or marketplace such as Amazon or eBay.

To conclude

At first glance, you might think that all startup founders want to do is make money, but that's not always the case. If it were, then they would simply become investors rather than trying to start their own companies. The best way to think of things is that some startup founders want to build something that they are passionate about, while others want to start a business to make money.

Which group you fall into depends on your motives and goals, which I imagine vary greatly given the diversity of startups out there.