Business loans for new businesses do exist, and most startup business loans come from a short list of programs built for an early stage, including SBA microloans of up to $50,000, SBA 7(a) loans for start-ups that bring at least 10% of the project cost and a credible plan, and equipment financing secured by the equipment itself. After a few months of steady deposits in a business bank account, revenue-based financing and some lines of credit come into reach as well. Because a new business has little history to read, lenders weigh the owner's personal credit, cash, experience and plan more heavily. The funders we work with mostly help established businesses, generally about a year in business and about $20,000 a month in deposits. If you're not there yet, apply anyway. Some funders work with newer or smaller businesses, and we'll tell you what's realistic.
What lenders look at when a business is new
An established business proves it can repay with tax returns and bank statements. A new one can't yet, so lenders making new business loans look at the people behind it and at whatever early evidence exists. For SBA loans, the rules spell this out. The SBA's lending procedure, SOP 50 10 8.1, has the lender describe the depth of the owners' management experience in the industry, review every owner's and guarantor's personal credit report, and, for a start-up, rely on projections with their assumptions written out. Private lenders and funders look at much the same things, in their own way.
- Your personal credit carries more weight because the business has no credit history of its own, and on an SBA loan every owner of 20% or more must sign a personal guarantee.
- A business plan shows what the money buys, who the customers are and how sales will reach the point where the payment is easy to carry.
- Experience in the same or a related industry matters, since a lender reads ten years running a kitchen differently from no time in one before opening a restaurant.
- Your own cash in the project (lenders call it an equity injection) shows you share the risk, and the SBA sets a minimum for start-ups, covered below.
- Projections should be built from real assumptions, such as signed contracts, prices, a lease and payroll, rather than a hopeful growth rate.
- Early deposits are the strongest evidence of all, because a few months of steady sales through a business account replace a forecast with a record.
The odds improve with age. In the Federal Reserve's 2026 Report on Employer Firms, 48% of applicants up to five years old were fully approved for the loan, line of credit or cash advance they sought, against 51% of firms 6 to 20 years old and 63% of firms older than 20. Revenue size showed the same pattern, with 37% of applicants under $100,000 in annual revenue fully approved and 48% of those between $100,000 and $1 million. The survey also shows how much credit shifts the odds, and our guide to small business loan requirements goes through each factor in more detail.
Where we fit for a new business
Today Capital Group is a funding broker, so one application goes to the funders and lenders in our network that fit your file, and the lender or funder makes the decision. We mostly help established businesses, because the profile in the first paragraph (about a year in business and about $20,000 a month in deposits) is what most of our funders look for. Every funder sets its own thresholds, and some work with younger or smaller businesses. If you're earlier than that, apply anyway or call us, and we'll tell you which of the options below is realistic now and what would change that in six months.
Loans for start-up businesses we can help with
These are the small business loans for startups that we place, each of which can work before a business has a long track record. Each leans on something other than years of history, whether that's the SBA guarantee, the equipment or recent deposits.
SBA microloans up to $50,000
The SBA's microloan program lends up to $50,000 to help small businesses start up and expand, and the SBA puts the average loan at about $13,000. The money can go to working capital, inventory, supplies, furniture, fixtures, machinery or equipment, though not to paying off existing debt or buying real estate. Microloans are made by nonprofit community lenders that receive SBA funds, and those lenders make the credit decisions and set the terms, with a maximum term of seven years and rates the SBA says are generally 8% to 13%. The SBA describes these intermediaries as community-based organizations with experience in lending and in management and technical assistance. We don't place SBA microloans ourselves, so for a microloan you would apply to one of those lenders directly, while through our partners we offer SBA-equivalent loans.
SBA 7(a) loans for start-ups
The 7(a) program goes up to $5 million and can fund equipment, working capital, furniture, fixtures and real estate for a business that's just starting. The SBA guarantee exists partly for this case, since SOP 50 10 8.1 lists a lender's policy against lending to businesses two years old or younger as an accepted reason why credit isn't available elsewhere. A start-up file has to clear a few specific rules.
- Under 7(a), a start-up is a business with one year or less of revenue from its intended operations, and every 7(a) loan to a start-up needs an equity injection of at least 10% of the total project cost. On an example $200,000 project, you'd put in at least $20,000.
- The injection can be unborrowed cash (a gift counts), a personal loan you repay from income outside the business, a grant with no repayment terms, debt on full standby for the life of the loan, or verified prepaid expenses.
- On a loan of $350,000 or less, the lender can use 12 months of projections that show cash flow covering all debt payments at least 1.10 times within a year of funding. Larger loans need detailed projections showing 1.15 times coverage within two years.
- Every direct and indirect owner, and any guarantor the SBA requires, must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. national whose principal residence is in the United States.
- The business must be for-profit, operating in the U.S., small under SBA size standards and not an excluded type, and the lender reviews the owners' credit and industry experience as described above.
We don't place SBA loans ourselves, but our partners offer SBA-equivalent loans built along the same lines. A start-up 7(a) takes weeks rather than days and more paperwork than anything else here, and our guide to SBA loan requirements covers the full program rules, fees and documents.
Equipment financing
When the money is for a truck, an oven, a lift or a machine, equipment financing is often the most practical option for a newer business. The equipment secures the deal, so the lender has something of value behind it besides the business's short history, and some lenders work with new businesses on that basis, especially with good personal credit or a down payment. You'll need a quote or invoice for the equipment, and offers typically come back in one to two business days. Our guide to how equipment financing works covers terms, down payments and what happens at the end of the term.
Revenue-based financing after a few months of deposits
Revenue-based financing, often called a merchant cash advance, is sized on what comes into your business bank account rather than on years of tax returns or collateral. It runs from $5,000 to $2,000,000, typically funds in one to two business days, and is repaid with a set daily or weekly payment sized on your sales. The application asks for four months of business bank statements, so it opens up once a business has those, and some funders will work with a business around six months old if its deposits are steady. Our merchant cash advance guide explains how pricing and payments work.
A business line of credit
A line of credit up to $250,000 lets you draw what you need, repay weekly or monthly on what you've drawn and draw again. Lines lean more on credit than an advance does, so they suit a newer business with strong personal credit and steady deposits better than one that's still building either.
Options elsewhere that we don't place
Plenty of new businesses start on money that doesn't come through a broker. We don't place any of the following, though several work well alongside what we do.
- Business credit cards are approved mostly on the owner's personal credit, and they're useful for small, recurring purchases while the business builds its own credit file.
- Personal loans are made to you rather than the business, on your income and credit, so they don't depend on time in business.
- Grants don't have to be repaid but are usually tied to a purpose, a place or a type of owner, and the SBA states on its grants page that it does not provide grants for starting and expanding a business.
- Crowdfunding raises money from many people, often as presales or rewards rather than a loan and can also prove demand before you spend on inventory.
- Friends and family can lend or invest on flexible terms, and putting the agreement in writing keeps the relationship and your later loan applications clean.
- Community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and nonprofit microlenders can be approached directly, and the SBA's microloan page links to a list of the lenders in its program by state.
Buying an existing business instead of starting one
If what you want is a business of your own rather than a particular new idea, buying one that's already running changes the picture for lenders. The business has tax returns, customers and deposits a lender can read, so an SBA loan for a change of ownership is underwritten on its track record plus your experience, rather than on projections alone. Our guide to business acquisition loans covers the down payment, seller notes and how lenders look at a purchase.
How to get a startup business loan, and build toward more
The steps for applying are the same as for any business, and our guide on how to get a business loan walks through them. What's different for a new business is the months before you apply, because the habits below are what turn a startup file into the profile most funders look for.
- Open a separate business checking account and run every sale through it, since funders read deposits from business statements and personal accounts don't show what the business earns.
- Keep deposits regular. As an example, ten weekly deposits of $5,000 read better to an underwriter than one $50,000 transfer, even though the total is the same.
- Keep the balance above zero. Negative days and overdraft fees are among the first things an underwriter notices, and a cushion of a few days' expenses avoids them.
- Protect your personal credit by paying every account on time and keeping card balances low, because your score carries the file until the business has its own.
- Keep monthly books and file your first business tax return on time, since an SBA lender will want a year-end statement and transcripts once you have them.
- Write down the plan and the numbers, including what the money buys, what it costs and how the payment fits your expected cash flow, and update it as real figures replace estimates.
How applying through us works
You fill out one short application and add four months of business bank statements, either by upload or by connecting your bank read-only. If you have fewer than four months, send what you have and tell us what you need, since that decides whether we look at equipment financing, an SBA-equivalent loan or another route first. Getting matched doesn't need a hard credit pull, because most funders prequalify from bank statements and a soft pull, and a funder that runs a hard pull in final underwriting tells you first. There's nothing to pay to apply or to see offers, and no obligation to accept one.
Offers come back side by side, and we go through them with you before anything is signed, including the payment, the term and the total cost. Revenue-based financing and equipment financing typically fund within one to two business days of choosing an offer, while SBA microloans and SBA 7(a) loans take weeks because of the paperwork. Our page on SBA-equivalent and bank loans lays out the programs and each step from file to closing.
If you're starting or just opened, write down what the money is for and how much you need, gather any equipment quotes and your business bank statements, then apply or call us at (818) 351-0225, and we'll tell you which option fits now and what to build toward.
Frequently asked questions
How hard is it to get a startup business loan?
It's harder than for an established business, because the lender has little history to read, and in the Federal Reserve's 2026 survey 48% of applicants up to five years old were fully approved against 63% of firms older than 20. Good personal credit, your own cash in the project, industry experience and a few months of steady deposits all improve the odds.
Can you get a business loan for a new business with no revenue?
Yes, though the choices narrow to products that lean on something other than sales, such as an SBA microloan, an SBA 7(a) start-up loan backed by your plan, experience and a down payment of at least 10%, or equipment financing secured by the equipment, while revenue-based financing generally waits until you have a few months of business bank statements.
Can I get an SBA loan to start a business?
Yes, since SBA microloans of up to $50,000 are meant to help businesses start up and expand, and a 7(a) loan can fund a start-up that is for-profit, small, located in the U.S. and fully owned by U.S. citizens or nationals living here, with an equity injection of at least 10% of the total project cost and projections showing it can cover its loan payments.
What credit score do you need for a startup business loan?
There's no single minimum, since the SBA sets none and every lender or funder sets its own, but personal credit counts for more on a new business because the business has no credit history yet, and a lower score narrows the options rather than ending them.
How much of a loan can I get for a new business?
It depends on the product and your file, with SBA microloans going up to $50,000, 7(a) loans up to $5 million for a project the plan and your equity support, equipment financing sized to the equipment, and revenue-based financing sized to your monthly deposits once you have a few months of them.
