One of the most daunting hurdles an entrepreneur faces is raising start-up capital. By familiarizing yourself with the basics of funding, you can come to understand the appropriate source of capital for the different stages of business growth. I read an article this morning that discussed early stage funding including seed capital from "friends, family, and fools," angel investments, and venture capital. Many start-ups do not progress to the venture capital stage; it is estimated that fewer than 2 percent of companies ever receive venture funding. One of our clients shared with us an excellent article about growing your business organically through revenues and profits.