With no revenue, most online lenders and banks are closed to you, because their published minimums require months of deposits. What works is credit that rests on you or on an asset: SBA microloans up to $50,000, Kiva's 0% loans up to $15,000, equipment financing, your personal credit and your own cash. The first $3,000 a month in sales opens more doors.
That is less than the "startup loan" ads suggest, and it is still enough to open many small businesses. This guide sorts the options into what is open before your first sale and what is not, shows a $45,000 plan built from real program terms, and covers the one retirement-account strategy that the IRS has looked at closely. If you already have some sales, see what your business qualifies for on Loanistry.
Why most lenders say no before the first sale
Most business lenders decide on deposits, and a business with no revenue has none to read. Their published floors make the point:
| Lender and product | Min. time in business | Min. revenue | Source, checked November 8, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Express Business Line of Credit | 1 year | $3,000 average a month | American Express |
| OnDeck line of credit | 1 year | $100,000 a year | OnDeck |
| Bluevine line of credit | 12 months | $10,000 a month | Bluevine |
| Accion Opportunity Fund term loan | 2 years | $300,000 a year | AOF |
| SBA 7(a) Working Capital Pilot | 12 full months of operations | Set by lender | SBA |
Even a nonprofit lender like Accion Opportunity Fund asks for two years and $300,000 in sales for its term loans. Any offer that promises a fast, unsecured business loan to a company with no revenue at all deserves a hard look at who is lending and on what terms.
The SBA's flagship 7(a) program is not built for an idea either. Eligible businesses must "be an operating business" and "be creditworthy and demonstrate a reasonable ability to repay the loan" (SBA). Without sales, that ability to repay has to come from projections, collateral, your own money in the deal and your experience, and the lender decides whether it is enough.
What is open before your first dollar of revenue
Every option that works for a pre-revenue business is backed by something other than sales: a program built for small borrowers, an asset, your own credit or your own savings.
SBA microloans
SBA microloans go up to $50,000, and the average is about $13,000 (SBA). They are made by nonprofit intermediary lenders, not by SBA directly, and the SBA says the program helps businesses "start up and expand." Rates are "generally, between 8%-13%," set by each intermediary. The maximum term is seven years.
The money can pay for working capital, inventory, supplies, furniture, fixtures, machinery and equipment. It cannot pay existing debts or buy real estate (same source). SBA keeps a list of participating microlenders by state. Expect the intermediary to want a business plan and to look closely at your personal credit and experience.
Kiva's 0% crowdfunded loans
Kiva offers loans of $1,000 to $15,000 with no interest, no fees and no collateral, and lists no revenue minimum for for-profit businesses (Kiva). There is also no minimum credit score. You need to be at least 18, live in and run the business in the United States, and have a PayPal account. Businesses registered in or mainly operating in Nevada or North Dakota are excluded.
The catch is the process. You first invite 5 to 40 people you know to lend during a private period of up to 15 days. Then the loan goes public for up to 35 days, and it is all or nothing: if it does not fully fund, you get nothing. Kiva says application review can take 20 to 25 business days and the public stage usually takes 20 to 30 days. Repayment starts one month after you receive the money and usually runs 12 to 36 months (same source). This is money for a founder who can plan two months ahead, not for one who needs it Friday.
Equipment financing
When the equipment is the collateral, the lender cares about what it is worth and resells for as much as about your sales history. Trucks, ovens, trailers and machines with an active resale market are easiest to finance. A new business will usually pay more and put more down than an established one, and the owner's personal credit carries the file. Our equipment financing guide lists lenders and their published terms.
Your own credit, carefully
A personal loan, a home equity line or a business card underwritten on your personal credit can fund a business with no revenue, and every one of them puts you personally on the hook. A 0% introductory card can carry small startup costs for a year at no interest if you pay it down before the rate resets; our list of 0% APR business credit cards has current offers. A home equity line puts your house behind a business that has not proven itself yet. Treat that as a last resort, not a first move.
Your own cash and money from people who know you
Savings, a co-founder's money and loans from family are still the most common way a business starts, and they make every other option easier. Lenders read your own money in the deal as proof you will see it through. For the SBA's 504 real estate and equipment program, the borrower must contribute "at least 10% equity of the total project cost" (SBA terms). Put family loans in writing, with a payment schedule, so everyone knows what was agreed.
A $45,000 plan with no revenue: the math
A founder can often fund a small launch by stacking a few modest sources instead of finding one large loan. Take a made-up mobile coffee trailer:
- Trailer and equipment: $32,000
- Permits, opening inventory and supplies: $5,000
- Three months of operating cash: $8,000
- Total: $45,000
One way to fund it with no revenue:
| Source | Amount | Rate | Term | Monthly payment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founder's savings | $9,000 (20%) | None | None | $0 |
| Kiva loan | $15,000 | 0% | 36 months | $416.67 |
| SBA microloan, top of SBA's general range | $21,000 | 13% | 72 months | $421.56 |
| Total | $45,000 | $838.23 |
How the payments work out. Kiva: $15,000 ÷ 36 = $416.67 a month, with no interest. Microloan: standard amortization of $21,000 at 13% a year (1.0833% a month) over 72 months gives $421.56 a month and about $9,352 in total interest. At 8%, the bottom of SBA's general range, the same microloan costs $368.20 a month and about $5,510 in interest. Seventy-two months fits under the seven-year microloan maximum. The intermediary sets the actual rate and term, and Kiva repayment usually runs 12 to 36 months, so a shorter Kiva term would raise that payment.
What the founder learns from this:
- The business has to clear about $840 a month after costs from the first month, before the owner takes any pay, because Kiva repayment starts one month after funding.
- The $8,000 cash cushion covers about nine months of loan payments if sales start slowly. That cushion is part of what makes a lender comfortable.
- The sequence matters. Kiva can take two months or more from application to money, so it starts first. The microloan application can run alongside it.
When the first sales come in
A few months of real deposits change the conversation more than any business plan. American Express's line, for example, asks for $3,000 a month in average revenue, but also a full year in business (American Express). Most mainstream lenders want that year. Until then, the realistic options stay the ones above.
What you can do in the meantime:
- Run every sale through a business bank account, so the deposits a lender will read later are clean and easy to follow.
- Collect proof of future sales, such as signed contracts, purchase orders or deposits. They do not replace revenue, but they make a microloan or equipment application stronger.
- Keep personal debt low while you wait. Your personal score is still the main number lenders see.
Our guide to how much of a business loan you can get shows how lenders size a loan once revenue exists.
Using retirement money: what the IRS says about ROBS
A Rollover as Business Start-up, or ROBS, lets a founder use retirement savings to fund a new company without an early withdrawal penalty, and the IRS has found that most of the businesses it studied failed or were failing. In a ROBS, retirement funds roll into a new plan, and the plan buys stock in a new C corporation that runs the business (IRS).
The IRS does not consider ROBS an abusive tax avoidance transaction, but calls the arrangements questionable. In its compliance project, the agency found that most ROBS businesses had failed or were heading toward failure, with high rates of bankruptcy, liens and dissolved companies, and some owners lost both their retirement savings and their business. It also found owners who skipped the required annual Form 5500 filing after promoters told them they were exempt (same source). If you are considering one, get advice from a tax professional who does not sell ROBS setups.
Where to get free help
SBA's Small Business Development Centers offer one-on-one business advising and help with access to capital (SBA). A local center can review your business plan and projections before a microlender sees them, and many microlenders work closely with them.
Sources
- SBA: Microloans, checked November 8, 2026
- SBA: 7(a) loans, checked November 8, 2026
- SBA: Types of 7(a) loans, checked November 8, 2026
- SBA: Terms, conditions, and eligibility, checked November 8, 2026
- SBA: Small Business Development Centers, checked November 8, 2026
- Kiva: Apply for a Kiva US loan, checked November 8, 2026
- IRS: Rollovers as Business Start-Ups Compliance Project, checked November 8, 2026
- American Express: Business Line of Credit, checked November 8, 2026
- OnDeck: Business line of credit, checked November 8, 2026
- Bluevine: Business line of credit, checked November 8, 2026
- Accion Opportunity Fund: Small business loans, checked November 8, 2026