Thanks for being generous with the response. And yeah, I heard someone say most people are not normally ready for what they pray for, and your response sums it up well!

... getting into the right networks, building skills and opportunities...getting READY, in a nutshell.

So when the money is about to come, you know you are in pole position to take full advantage of it.

Thanks for the response once again @anitakoske

TwoCents is proof of that!

Tobi and I have been building TwoCents for years with our own money, and money from people in our "family and friends" network.

We currently have no investors, yet TwoCents is growing larger by the day.

So we are testament to the fact that you can get started without money, and even begin to scale.

Money is supperrr important, but often, it's not what we need the most.

I've found that what most people need is preparation, access to opportunities...

...Money was never what they needed, not in the sense of not needing money at all...but that huge injection of capital, wasn't what they really needed.

So, very oten, we need "just enough miney" to test & validate our ideas, and all the assumptions we have made about it.

You may say, "But that requires money in itself"...

Well, yes, but the great part is that the money you need "to start" is usually something you can get from your network, or by yourself.

How do I know? well....

I've met folks who got funding, grants, investments ranging from $300,000 to $1M, and at the end of the day, they found out that their idea was a bad one, that it could never work.

And all the fanfare and excitement around raising that kind of money ... quickly turned to shame.

In other words, they raised a lot of money too quickly, without first validating their idea at a small scale with just enough capital to tick the next item of their to-do-list.

In other words...

I'd like to say one last thing about the "needing capital issue".

Be sure capital is what you need. Not you now, I'm speaking generally.

What I mean is, be sure you are READY for the money you want, or believe you need.

It's not the easiest thing to do, because many times we believe we are set and capital is all that's missing...and granted, this may be the case for some, like all they really need is capital...

But for many, they are not ready for the money they desire.

Academic program - Well, scholarships (very competitive), loans, grants, other external funding sources ... and of course, many pay their way through school.

Online courses - Financial aid! If the platform supports it (I'm looking at you Coursera and smiling). I've benefited a lot from this, and Coursera is perhaps the greatest option in this regard...even though I still had to pay for some, many of the 50+ courses I did on Coursera came with 90% discounts from aid.

...with pressure, conditions, hidden clauses etc.

But again, it really depends on what you need the capital for

Business - I'd say friends and family if you are just starting out - some don't have this luxury, and then it becomes really difficult and they abandon it altogether. Another option is to work a regular job and channel some of your salary (if you can) into the venture.

All in all, it'll be different for each person.

Thanks for the response.

Well, first thing is, it really depends on what you need the capital for ... a new business? An academic program? An online course? Relocation plans? etc...

... the "best" way to get the capital would depend on what exactly it's for.

Having said that, I'd say...for "things one is just starting", most of the time, your best source is probably friends and family ... because at that point you probably need "pressure free" money....

...and most "other" sources come...