Re:Why We Said “No” to a $40M Round
by adventured on Wednesday August 09, 2017 @06:52PM
(#14974507)
> Unfortunately these days banks don't extend large enough lines of credit for most growth businesses.
That has been a universal problem for growth businesses in the US going back to the WW2 era (particularly cash thin product companies that have to plow their sales right back into growth).
Phil Knight's Shoe Dog book has an almost unbelievable account of lines-of-credit hell (despite Nike's perpetual, extreme growth - basically doubling sales every year for the first ~15 years - they couldn't find any US banks willing to fund the growth; a Japanese import/export bank ended up saving them numerous times as several large US banks dumped their business).
That has been a universal problem for growth businesses in the US going back to the WW2 era (particularly cash thin product companies that have to plow their sales right back into growth).
Phil Knight's Shoe Dog book has an almost unbelievable account of lines-of-credit hell (despite Nike's perpetual, extreme growth - basically doubling sales every year for the first ~15 years - they couldn't find any US banks willing to fund the growth; a Japanese import/export bank ended up saving them numerous times as several large US banks dumped their business).