While the local startup scene is still on a high from the successful second edition of Amsterdam Capital Week, some worrisome news has now come out of the event. During the event, Dutch fintech startup InvoiceFinance did research among a hundred different startups and scale-ups to find out more about their finances. The alarming outcome was that 68% of startups can’t seem to get their growth financed.
No money in the bank
These 68% of respondents have all indicated to need more funding over the next twelve months in order to grow. It also turns out that more than half of all startups still finance their company with their own money. And although Dutch ING Bank was one of the main sponsors of the Amsterdam Capital Week, 72% of startups do not even bother to contact a bank. Instead they try and find funding within their own network instead, or through crowdfunding or fintech. They may have a point, as of those startups who do try and get money from the banks a staggering 82% gets turned down. Another finding from the survey is that it can take a little while to find funding, as 91% of startups spends three months or longer searching for capital.