Money is running out - I have so much anxiety. Advice on getting funding?

Some tough love...

Investors will run a mile if they sniff out that your primary reason for fundraising is because you are about to go broke.

Think about it from the investor point of view, they want to invest in something that might give them a return on their investment, so they are looking to invest in things that are growing. Or at the very least, they want to invest in teams / founders that have some stability, not founders who are on the verge of running out of cash.

Even if you manage to find a sympathetic investor, they will have all the leverage as you need cash fast. That means potentially agreeing to hostile terms, or partnering with someone who isn't a top choice. This is not good for you in the long term.

The story becomes remarkably different the moment you start making some revenue. Suddenly terms become better, and investors find you - you don't need to find them.

This isn't what you want to hear, but I sympathise because when I was first starting out I had planned for this scenario (3-4 months of runway left in the bank). My plan was to hit pause on the startup, and either get a job or switch to freelance work, to build up some runway again.

Have you launched yet? If not then you need to dial back the dev work and get some other income - freelance, job, whatever. Do not go completely broke! Now, right now is when you need to start looking for work. Today. You have no idea how long it will take to hook something up. If this adds a year to your build don't panic, you must be building something substantial if you have a solid year in. You can also consider getting a cofounder for a % of future equity while you are financially reloading, it would speed the launch - especially if they were on the marketing side and could handle the website, marketing, and growth post-launch. Starting to find outside money is a long process if you are going outside of friends and family. Stopping to reload isn't a failure, it's just the realization that everything is more complicated than it seems when you first have an idea.

I'm in a very similar situation to yours. I've worked for two years on my project, and had to put it on hold recently. It's tough mentally, but it was the only choice given how little money was left in the bank.

I've started freelancing again (1 day per week), and am also giving coaching sessions here and there, in addition to working half-time as an employee. I'll have to be patient until I have accumulated enough runway to give it another shot.

As others have said, I think it's best to avoid looking for funding while being in a weak spot.

Sorry to hear this.

You could try Earnest Captital (now Calm Company Fund): https://calmfund.com/ or https://microacquire.com/.

I haven't tried both but have heard good things about them, especially Calm Company Fund.

Agree with the other sentiments. Investors may well give you a bad deal, and it's difficult to raise in a hurry. It's well understood in the startup industry that you should raise from a position of strength.

Recommend getting a part-time gig, or freelance job. Splitting your time is not that bad, you'll find it may actually improve your startup through giving you some time away to refresh your perspective and gain new ideas, get more social contact, and obviously ease anxiety which often leads to bad / forced decisions. Definitely worked for me.

Is it profitable? Why absolutely broke? Can you balance it with a job to keep it bootstrapped?

Mostly no one except a guys who's been thru this before will give e u enough to also a few more quarters. Try consulting.

I was once in a similar situation. If you truly believe in your vision, and feel that you have good prospects for the future, then you have to get creative. If I've got this right, after looking at your website, it seems that this is a work of passion following the loss of a loved one who went through very difficult times. My heart is with you.

Here are some options (maybe none of them are any good but you'll catch the spirit and come up with one of your own that will be much better):

1. Make your 4 months of cash last 8 months by cutting your burn rate in half. You may need to ask for sacrifices from the people you work with (e.g. accepting half pay) but if they feel the same way you do then it's a possibility. People will rally around a vision that is meaningful. Doubling your 4 months to 8 months might give you enough time to find a source of funding.

2. Go to your customers now and ask for their help. Maybe they will prepay or something. You'll have to craft a good message but again, if they believe this is important, they might surprise you. After all you are in a tough spot. If they really want this, and are told that this important work will go away without help, then they might assist you. It all comes down to how much they want to see this survive.

3. Go to the health care providers that you work with. Again, if they see the vision and feel that it is important they might help. You are just trying to buy time so you don't need full funding from these people, just help to get by, enough to buy time.

4. Find an investor through the groups you associate with that have suffered the same thing you went through. Compassion creates passion. Empathy and understanding can be found in fellow sufferers. They will know how important this is. People who are passionate about something important will sometimes surprise you with how they step up to help.

5. Seek public help. There are generous people out there who support important causes. If this is one of them perhaps they might step in if they are made aware of your situation. Sound the call for help. Get on the news. Do something loud.

6. Make a plea for help to the development community. Again, it all depends upon how important this work is. The development community is pretty darn cool sometimes and might flash mob to help you. A plea to these good people might be a desperate move but you never know until you try.

7. Simplify your vision. What is the one key important thing that you do? Just finish that work and immediately ship it. Get it out there. Trim off all of the excess effort that is keeping you from getting to market.

8. Ask your team for creative ideas. They almost always already know the situation. If they do, and if they are still working anyway, then that's a good sign. Again, if they believe in this project, that it's important, and are committed to seeing it through then see what they have to say. The most important thing an entrepreneur can learn is to include other people. If this is as much a work of passion for your employees as it is for you then perhaps they might help find a solution. Work together.

9. Walk away and live to fight another day. You must be honest with yourself. We all make mistakes that can put us into tight situations even though our vision is rock solid. In those cases it is worth the fight to overcome difficult times. However, sometimes the reason things are hard is because it's not meant to be or because the idea is not exactly right. Only you can find the truth for yourself. But one thing is certain if you have gotten this far - you are pretty good at this and can do it again, only better.

10. Remember that holistic health means that you have tools to keep you from the anxiety you are feeling. Keep a healthy perspective. Find meaning in whatever path you choose. We all suffer defeats. Failure is an ever present teacher for entrepreneurs. It is impossible to prepare enough to never fall - so you must be prepared to get up when you do.

Here's a link to a story I just wrote on IH a few days ago. Perhaps it might offer some encouragement. I wish you great things!

https://www.indiehackers.com/post/entrepreneurial-journey-an-unthinkable-idea-on-a-most-desperate-day-8b8c268e78

• Take a freelance gig since you have been building for 1 yr you would be skilled enough for a full stack job
• You don't have to go for direct investments. Try accelerators, Pioneer is a good one, they have a good plan where they select top companies every 2 weeks based on your KPI metrics and how well you have progressed.
• I second @yongfook don't go for investment now, make some money and have an upper-hand.