Who needs investors? More than two generations ago, the venture capital community VCs, business angels, incubators and others convinced the entrepreneurial world that writing business plans and raising venture capital constituted the twin centerpieces of entrepreneurial endeavor. They did so for good reasons: the sometimes astonishing returns theyve delivered to their investors and the astonishingly large companies that their ecosystem has created. But the vast majority of fastgrowing companies never take any venture capital. So where does the money come from to start and grow their companies? From a much more agreeable and hospitable source, their customers. Thats exactly what Michael Dell, Bill Gates and Banana Republics Mel and Patricia Ziegler did to get their companies up and running and turn them into iconic brands. In The Customer Funded Business, bestselling author John Mullins uncovers five novel approaches that scrappy and innovative 21st century entrepreneurs working in companies large and small have ingeniously adapted from their predecessors like Dell, Gates, and the Zieglers: Matchmaker models (Airbnb) Payinadvance models (Threadless) Subscription models (TutorVista) Scarcity models (Vente Privee) Servicetoproduct models (GoViral) Through the captivating stories of these and other inspiring companies from around the world, Mullins brings to life the five models and identifies the questions that angel or other investors will and should! ask of entrepreneurs or corporate innovators seeking to apply them. Drawing on indepth interviews with entrepreneurs and investors who have actually put these models to use, Mullins goes on to address the key implementation issues that characterize each of the models: when to apply them, how best to apply them, and the pitfalls to watch out for. Whether youre an aspiring entrepreneur lacking the startup capital you need, an earlystage entrepreneur trying to get your cashstarved venture into takeoff mode, an intrapreneur seeking funding within an established company, or an angel investor or mentor who supports highpotential ventures, this book offers the most surefooted path to starting, financing, or growing your venture. John Mullins is the author of The New Business Road Test and, with Randy Komisar, the widely acclaimed Getting to Plan B.