From Startup to 8 Figures: My Essential Financial Toolkit

The financial fuel that runs our business.

Mar 12, 2025

Running a business is hard enough. But running one that actually makes money? It's harder than it sounds. Over the years, our biggest challenges have almost always been financial. The bigger we get, the more cash flows out—sometimes faster than it comes in (especially if you have a large retail presence). That’s why having the right financial partners and tools isn’t just helpful, it’s essential to keep growing your business.

Here are some of the financial tools we use on Bala.

Credit cards

Though it's important not to be overextended on credit cards, they are an important tool in our arsenal. We’re constantly putting a ton on credit cards—things like ad spend, company travel, photoshoots, and more. So it’s crucial to make sure we’re using the best possible setup to manage it all… with the best terms of course. My recommendation based on trying many cards is:

Parker – They have flex terms where you don’t have to pay interest (NET30 and NET60) terms so you can think of it as a short term loan. We love Parker. Super easy to work with and every brand in DTC should be using Parker to scale their company. They have a user friendly back end and analytics tools where you can truly run your business with Parker financial services.
- If you use my link here you can get a $500 sign up bonus! Here’s a snapshot of what they offer:

Debt / Working Capital

I could write an entire Substack post on why securing debt is crucial for your business. If you're growing without financial backing, chances are you'll need funding. Running an inventory-based business? You'll probably need it. Spending money to acquire customers? Yep, you'll need it too. Here are our top picks:

Kickfurther – Love working with KF and I actually use it on the other side as well as a customer. Kickfurther helps you access the inventory you need with flexible, debt-free financing options that fuel growth and improve cash flow. It basically is crowdfunding your PO and we have used it for years. To put it simply, here’s an example of how it works: If I need to fund 1MM for a Target PO, I apply and enter that information about the inventory I need to fund on the KF platform and then the gig is marketed to existing “backers” that can make money via interest if they fund your PO. Payment is then due once you have the inventory delivered to you (you set the timeline).
- Use my link to get $500 off the subscription cost or email partnerships@kickfurther.com and mention my name.
Clearco – Provides ecom brands with working capital to fund invoices and receipts for inventory, marketing spend, and more. Helps manage your cash flow and increase your revenue!
- Add your info here and Clearco will reach out.
Wayflyer - Provides revenue-based financing by purchasing a percentage of future revenue. They also provide daily analytics to help businesses improve marketing performance so that has also been super helpful.
- Apply here.
Gynger – We finance our digital ecosystem using this platform. They have two main things they help with: 1. Flexible payment terms to spread out or defer technology expenses and 2. For tech providers extending flexible payment offerings to customers while getting paid up front.
- Email slater@gynger.io and mention my name to get $25K in free financing credits as an introductory offer.
Shopify Capital – Shopify offers funding tailored to your needs. It looks like the below when you login to the back end of Shopify. You apply and get the offer. Interest rates vary depending on the size of your brand.
Settle – Good for short term loans. But be careful. You want to ensure you can pay it back in the timeframe they offer since it is shorter than most loans.
Then you get to more secured, relationship-based lending including lines of credit, asset-based lending, revenue based financing, etc. If you need a reco here, please reach out. We have a great team we have worked with.

Sales tax

This one is boring so it is often overlooked but it is really important. A lot of companies don’t realize you have to file sales tax in many states so you must get this set up sooner than later so you don’t owe a ton of money already by the time you set it up. Even if you are a small business, go ahead and get it set up to avoid future problems. My recommendation here is: