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What You <i>Really</i> Need to Know About Startup Financing

Don't waste your time looking for money in all the wrong places. Here's the truth about startup financing.

By Crystal Detamore-Rodman

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

When physical therapist Jodi Medell opened a running store in Santa Fe, New Mexico, she had time on her side. Her home had sold, and as a result, Medell had a critical ingredient in any start-up financing plan: collateral to secure a loan, the lack of which can ground even the most inspired idea.

She also found a supporter in a local banker, a fellow runner who thought Medell's vision was well-suited to the Southwestern town; the nearest such store was an hour away. "Everything fell into place," recalls Medell, 33. "My house was on the market for a while. Right before I desperately needed money for collateral, it sold."

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