How to scale your service business with Pipe

Real estate, accounting, consulting, you name it—learn how professional service companies access non-dilutive capital through Pipe.

Run your Business

Business Financing

By Pipe May 4, 2022

When your service business is growing, you want to build on the momentum. But even if you have money coming in, you’ll need enough of it up front to invest in scaling your business. It’s important to know your financing options so you can ramp up your marketing and sales efforts, expand your services, or grow your team at the right time.

Until recently, service business owners looking to raise capital for growth had two primary options—selling equity or reaching out to a bank for a loan. But if you have predictable revenue, you have another option—trading your revenue streams on Pipe’s platform for non-dilutive capital.

Putting your predictable revenue to work

In the past, financing has often either been collateralized by physical assets or has carried higher costs to match the perceived risks. But predictable revenue—whether through retainers, contracts, memberships, rent, or even one-off charges—is emerging as a new asset class in our modern economy.

Why? Advancements in technology. Secure live data connections allow Pipe’s algorithms to analyze your revenue streams and the health of your business in real time, making financing much more efficient without cutting corners.

Whether your future revenue is slated to come in next month, next quarter, or next year, it’s a bona fide asset. And you can trade that asset on the Pipe platform for up-front access to capital—your capital—within as little as 24 hours of signing up for Pipe and securely connecting your accounts.

Scaling your service business without giving it away

Starting and running a business is full of challenges. While you need capital to grow, and raising a funding round can be an effective way to get that capital, it can also be a distraction that lasts months. Sometimes, it might even feel like a full-time job—especially if you consider the time it takes to warm up relationships, build a network, and constantly pitch.

On top of diverting your attention from building your business, selling equity in your company dilutes your ownership. This can absolutely be worth it at certain stages, but it’s a strategic decision to make with thought and care, not just by default.

If you’re looking to grow or scale up your service business, Pipe offers a fast, flexible alternative so you grow on your terms—without giving up unnecessary equity.

How service businesses use Pipe

From property management to recruiting, accounting to consulting, landscaping to IT and fitness centers, we’ve seen all sorts of service businesses tap into non-dilutive financing through Pipe—and they’ve used that capital in all sorts of ways to grow their businesses.

Fund customer acquisition with non-dilutive growth capital

For many (if not most) businesses, sales and marketing are key components to acquiring new customers. Typically, investments in those categories are also predictable, making it easy to measure and prove ROI. That’s why many service businesses skip traditional financing, reserve their precious equity dollars [for the big stuff], and use Pipe to invest in things like hiring and training salespeople, scaling ad spend, and launching more marketing campaigns.

Pipe capital to develop your service

Your customers might never even know Pipe exists—but they will notice things like a superior service or upgraded facility.

Many service businesses use the revenue they pull forward on Pipe to level up the experiences the business provides. For example, you can scale faster by hiring employees who can improve or expand your services, such as a customer service rep or an operations consultant. Or you could use Pipe to upgrade your tech stack—for example, paying for a more robust CRM system with AI capabilities. Some companies even Pipe their future revenue to improve the quality of facilities or offices by renovating or adding more equipment and amenities.

Does Pipe replace banks and equity financing?

While some companies use Pipe as their only financing tool, it doesn’t have to be the be-all and end-all. Every company is different, and Pipe can be layered into your ideal capital stack in whatever way works best for you.

When you’re at a stage in your company’s journey where your annual revenue is under $100K, it might not yet be time to Pipe. (Equity or bank loans can be great tools at that stage!) But once you’ve got service-market fit and a rinse-and-repeatable growth strategy, Pipe could be just what the doctor ordered if you want to finance growth without taking on more dilution or getting tied up in an old-school lending process.

In other words? Think of Pipe as part of a toolkit that you can use strategically to grow your company on your terms.

NASDAQ is for equity. And now there’s Pipe for revenue.

So we know Pipe can help service businesses with hiring more employees, expanding market reach, and improving customer experience—but let’s take a step back. How exactly does it all work? As the modern capital platform for all revenue, Pipe allows you to trade your predictable revenue streams for up-front capital to scale your business.

And it’s easy to get started. Just sign up and securely connect your banking and accounting systems so Pipe’s algorithm can analyze the health of your business. Once you’re connected and approved, you’ll unlock a trading limit and bid price (typically .93-.98 on the dollar) so you know exactly how much capital you can access and what your cost of capital will be. When you’re ready, click the “Trade Now” button, and you’ll see money in your account within a day. It’s fast, flexible, and transparent.