Startup business loans with no revenue

Can you get a business loan with no revenue?

Sometimes, and only in a few shapes. If your personal credit is 700 or better and you are putting your own cash in, you can usually get a business credit card, finance equipment, and apply for an SBA microloan through a community lender. If you are a licensed professional, a franchisee of a strong brand, or buying an existing business, SBA 7(a) lenders will fund a startup on projections because the industry or the business has a track record even if you do not.

If your credit is under about 650 and you have little cash, the honest answer is that no lender will fund the business until it has revenue. See startup business loans for the full product list and the first time borrower guide.

Which products will consider you, ranked by fit

Ranked by how often they actually fund a company with no sales:

1. Business credit cards: underwritten on your personal credit, often with a 0% introductory period, limits of $5,000 to $50,000.
2. Equipment financing: the equipment is the collateral, so lenders fund new businesses with 10% to 20% down and a decent personal score.
3. SBA microloans: up to $50,000, average well under that, from nonprofit intermediaries that also provide coaching. Slow but built for startups.
4. SBA 7(a): for franchises, medical and dental practices, and acquisitions, with 10% to 30% of the project in cash and a plan a lender can underwrite.
5. Canadian founders: CSBFP loans through banks, BDC, and Futurpreneur for owners under 40.

Everything else on this site needs revenue first.

Which products will decline you, so you stop wasting applications

Merchant cash advances, revenue based financing and invoice factoring all underwrite sales or invoices, so they decline a company with none. Online term loans and lines of credit want at least six months of deposits and usually a year. Banks want two years of tax returns. Venture debt needs an equity round. Asset based lenders need receivables and inventory.

Be careful with offers that claim to fund startups with no credit check: many are advances on your personal income, or outright scams that charge an upfront fee. A real lender for a pre revenue company will always ask about your personal credit and your own cash.

How to improve your odds in 30, 90 and 180 days

In 30 days: form the entity, get an EIN, open a business bank account, and get the personal credit cleaned up, because every startup product leans on it. Write a one page plan with a realistic first year budget. Apply for a business credit card and, if equipment is part of the plan, get quotes.

In 90 days: get your first customers, even small ones, and run every dollar through the business account. Three months of deposits is where the first revenue lenders start to look. Apply for an SBA microloan if you need $10,000 to $50,000 and can wait.

In 180 days: with six months of deposits of $10,000 a month or more, advances, revenue based financing and some short term loans open up. At twelve months, online lines and term loans follow. See financing under one year for that stage.

What will it cost compared with a standard borrower?

A standard borrower pays 8% to 15% APR. A startup with good credit pays about the same on a business credit card after the introductory period, 8% to 13% on an SBA microloan, and 10% to 20% on equipment financing with a down payment, so the cost premium is modest when you qualify. The real cost is in the amounts, which are small, and in the personal guarantee, which puts your own credit and assets behind every dollar. SBA 7(a) startup loans price at prime plus 3% to 6.5% and add a guarantee fee.

A startup should not pay a factor rate: a product priced at 1.3 or 1.4 times the amount to a company with no revenue is a bad idea. Personal guarantees explains what you are signing.

How to apply

Apply once here with your personal details, your plan and any equipment quotes, and your application reaches the equipment, microloan and SBA lenders that fund startups, without being sent to lenders that need revenue. Or connect your AI assistant to our MCP server through the agents hub and let it build the application from your plan and documents and submit it. It is free to the business.