Prior to launching her business, Hugimals World, Marina Khidekel served as chief content officer at Thrive Global and as a deputy editor at Women's Health and Cosmopolitan. Today, she leads Hugimals World as CEO and writes about founder life for Inc.
Shows like Shark Tank have made raising appear shiny and accessible, inspiring countless entrepreneurs to pursue equity funding. Off-screen, a cottage industry of pitch competitions and programs teaches founders how to pitch their companies to investors.
So many founders focus on fundraising because securing capital can fuel a business's rapid growth and ambitious plans. But it's not the only way to fund your business, and it's not always the savviest choice.
When I launched Hugimals World in 2022, I chose to bootstrap my business. This let me retain full creative control over my weighted, anxiety-relief plush gifts even as I continued to figure out my vision. There are tradeoffs, of course. Growth is slower, and every step needs to be financially precise. Still, bootstrapping has allowed me to focus on creating products that resonate with customers and to grow the business on my own terms.
These are just two of the available options for funding your business. There's also crowdfunding, loans, grants, lines of credit—the list goes on. And there is no universal rule that works for everyone and every business.
But by learning from those who have walked the path, you can decide how—or whether—to raise capital, with clarity about the tradeoffs, benefits, and partners that will best serve your business and vision. Here are some hard-won lessons from the founders in my community.
Scale Big—With the Right Partners
For Michelle Larivee, co-founder of the New York City-based wellness brand WTHN, raising capital was essential to realizing her vision: a product line carried in more than 200 retailers nationwide, as well as three acupuncture studios in New York City.
WTHN's relevance to broader trends, such as increased interest in holistic health and the destigmatization of mental health in the cultural conversation, attracted investors. But fundraising was at times brutal, Larivee admits. "You face hundreds of rejections, and it can be demoralizing," she says. "Many investors didn't want to invest in a four-wall business." Some even went through diligence only to back out.
Ultimately, Larivee found financial backers who believed in the vision, thanks in part to her decision to add a special purpose vehicle—a separate legal entity that can help entrepreneurs meet a specific business objective—to her fundraising strategy. "You're meeting people who bring resources with a collaborative spirit," she says of the SPV.
Over two rounds, Larivee raised a total of $7.5 million, including a $5 million Series A led by PE firm L Catterton in 2024. "I sought out investors who could fill the gaps in my expertise," she says. "I hadn't built a brand before or dealt with real estate in New York. I wanted those bases covered." Her investors helped with everything from hiring staff and selecting architects to choosing cleaning services.
Larivee's advice for fellow founders? "Don't just take money. Be sure your investors align with your vision," she says. "Look for those who've operated businesses and been founders themselves." (WTHN's investors include Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow and SoulCycle co-founders Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler.)
The Art of Staying Lean
On the other end of the spectrum are founders like Marilynn Joyner, who bootstrapped New York City-based Her Workplace with $30,000 from her savings. Founded in 2023, Her Workplace is a tech-enabled career network for women and nonbinary leaders, offering personal and professional development resources and in-person events in major cities like Boston, Chicago, and Los Angeles. The company became profitable within three months thanks to strategic partnerships and lean operations.
“As a founder, it’s easy to feel like you need to move fast and have everything figured out, but bootstrapping has taught me that slow, steady growth and making thoughtful decisions can be just as powerful,” Joyner says. Her original plan was to launch Her Workplace as a co-working space, leveraging her background as a commercial real estate broker to take over a New York space formerly owned by the women-focused co-working startup the Wing and test the market.
But when Joyner mapped out the operational needs and capital required, she realized the co-working model wasn’t sustainable or scalable. “I pivoted to focus on building our tech platform and leveraging AI, which removed the geographic barriers of a co-working space, allowing us to scale,” she says. To maintain access to physical spaces for members, Joyner partnered with real estate giant Tishm...
Shows like Shark Tank have made raising appear shiny and accessible, inspiring countless entrepreneurs to pursue equity funding. Off-screen, a cottage industry of pitch competitions and programs teaches founders how to pitch their companies to investors.
So many founders focus on fundraising because securing capital can fuel a business's rapid growth and ambitious plans. But it's not the only way to fund your business, and it's not always the savviest choice.
When I launched Hugimals World in 2022, I chose to bootstrap my business. This let me retain full creative control over my weighted, anxiety-relief plush gifts even as I continued to figure out my vision. There are tradeoffs, of course. Growth is slower, and every step needs to be financially precise. Still, bootstrapping has allowed me to focus on creating products that resonate with customers and to grow the business on my own terms.
These are just two of the available options for funding your business. There's also crowdfunding, loans, grants, lines of credit—the list goes on. And there is no universal rule that works for everyone and every business.
But by learning from those who have walked the path, you can decide how—or whether—to raise capital, with clarity about the tradeoffs, benefits, and partners that will best serve your business and vision. Here are some hard-won lessons from the founders in my community.
Scale Big—With the Right Partners
For Michelle Larivee, co-founder of the New York City-based wellness brand WTHN, raising capital was essential to realizing her vision: a product line carried in more than 200 retailers nationwide, as well as three acupuncture studios in New York City.
WTHN's relevance to broader trends, such as increased interest in holistic health and the destigmatization of mental health in the cultural conversation, attracted investors. But fundraising was at times brutal, Larivee admits. "You face hundreds of rejections, and it can be demoralizing," she says. "Many investors didn't want to invest in a four-wall business." Some even went through diligence only to back out.
Ultimately, Larivee found financial backers who believed in the vision, thanks in part to her decision to add a special purpose vehicle—a separate legal entity that can help entrepreneurs meet a specific business objective—to her fundraising strategy. "You're meeting people who bring resources with a collaborative spirit," she says of the SPV.
Over two rounds, Larivee raised a total of $7.5 million, including a $5 million Series A led by PE firm L Catterton in 2024. "I sought out investors who could fill the gaps in my expertise," she says. "I hadn't built a brand before or dealt with real estate in New York. I wanted those bases covered." Her investors helped with everything from hiring staff and selecting architects to choosing cleaning services.
Larivee's advice for fellow founders? "Don't just take money. Be sure your investors align with your vision," she says. "Look for those who've operated businesses and been founders themselves." (WTHN's investors include Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow and SoulCycle co-founders Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler.)
The Art of Staying Lean
On the other end of the spectrum are founders like Marilynn Joyner, who bootstrapped New York City-based Her Workplace with $30,000 from her savings. Founded in 2023, Her Workplace is a tech-enabled career network for women and nonbinary leaders, offering personal and professional development resources and in-person events in major cities like Boston, Chicago, and Los Angeles. The company became profitable within three months thanks to strategic partnerships and lean operations.
“As a founder, it’s easy to feel like you need to move fast and have everything figured out, but bootstrapping has taught me that slow, steady growth and making thoughtful decisions can be just as powerful,” Joyner says. Her original plan was to launch Her Workplace as a co-working space, leveraging her background as a commercial real estate broker to take over a New York space formerly owned by the women-focused co-working startup the Wing and test the market.
But when Joyner mapped out the operational needs and capital required, she realized the co-working model wasn’t sustainable or scalable. “I pivoted to focus on building our tech platform and leveraging AI, which removed the geographic barriers of a co-working space, allowing us to scale,” she says. To maintain access to physical spaces for members, Joyner partnered with real estate giant Tishm...
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Inc. (Digital) - 1 Issue, Spring 2025