Money that does not cost equity exists, and founders often do not know what is available where they live. This thread collects first-hand examples.
Reply with:
- Your country or region
- The programme
- What you got: cash, credits, tax relief
- What you had to do: the application, reporting, matching funds, conditions
- How long it took
- Whether it was worth the effort
Kinds of support worth checking for where you are:
- National and regional innovation grants
- Research and development tax relief
- Start-up programmes run by cloud and software providers, which give credits
- University and public incubators
- Schemes for particular groups, regions or industries
- Grants tied to hiring or training
- Competitions with cash prizes
Cautions
- Applications and reporting take time. Count the hours.
- Some grants restrict what you can do afterwards, or require you to spend your own money first.
- Credits expire, and can leave you with a bill you did not plan for.
- Programmes open, close and change. Date your reply and link to the official page.