Funding and finance for a business or freelancing

Advice on different ways to collect money and keep the business running
The Cube finance

The Cube Launch Your Idea Fund

Funded by Santander Universities UK
The Cube Launch Your Idea Fund is to support you to accelerate your idea to an early-stage business.
From £50 - £500 per business for testing the viability of a new business idea.
Applicants must be either a current student or a recent graduate of the University of Plymouth (up to three years from graduation).
All applicants will be required to complete an application form to explain how this funding will support their business idea and detail their plans in a three minute video pitch.
The judging panel will meet to evaluate the application and supporting video pitch to make the decision to fund or not fund. You will be notified of the outcome and feedback will be provided. If unsuccessful, applicants are still eligible to come back and apply again in the future.
This fund is offered through to 30 June 2025 – however once the funds are depleted the offer will no longer be available.
To apply for the Launch Your Idea Fund please complete the online Santander X form and submit your three minute video pitch by email to thecube@plymouth.ac.uk. The registration form is a standard Santander X form, some questions may not apply to your early stage idea, so please answer 'not applicable' if you are unable to answer a question.
Please note: Applications will not be accepted without the video pitch.
Eligibility
  1. You must be a current student or graduate (within three years) from the University of Plymouth.
  2. You must not apply if you have previously received an award funded by Santander Universities UK.
  3. Due to VISA restrictions, overseas students they are not able to access any of The Cube funding.
For further information regarding funding please email thecube@plymouth.ac.uk.

The Cube Grow Your Business Fund

Funded by Santander Universities UK
The Cube Grow Your Business Fund is to support and accelerate the development and growth of a business.
From £500 - £1,500 per business, to support the further development and growth of a business.
Applicants must be either a current student or a recent graduate of the University of Plymouth (up to three years from graduation).
All applicants will be required to complete an application form to explain how this funding will develop their business and then summarise their business development plans in a five minute video pitch.
The judging panel will meet to evaluate the application and supporting video pitch to make the decision to fund or not fund. You will be notified of the outcome and feedback will be provided. If unsuccessful, applicants are still eligible to come back and apply again in the future.
This fund is offered through to 30 June 2025 – however once the funds are depleted the offer will no longer be available.
To apply for the Grow Your Business Fund please complete the online Santander X form and submit your five minute video pitch by email to thecube@plymouth.ac.uk. The registration form is a standard Santander X form, some questions may not apply to your business, so please answer 'not applicable' if you are unable to answer a question.
Please note: Applications will not be accepted without the video pitch.
Eligibility
  1. You must be a current student or graduate (within three years) from the University of Plymouth.
  2. You must not apply if you have previously received an award funded by Santander Universities UK.
  3. Due to VISA restrictions, overseas students they are not able to access any of The Cube funding.
For further information regarding funding please email thecube@plymouth.ac.uk
 
Every company requires money to run its business, and sometimes it is impossible to continue business without an injection of cash from time to time.
There are different ways to collect money and keep the business running. Sometimes, a loan from banks and other financial institutions, or they can also take funds from investors in the form of share capital. Retained profits are also utilised for this purpose. No matter what way they use for to collect money, it can be done either by funding or financing.
Generally, funding and financing are interchangeably used in the financial world, but there is a difference between these two terms.

Funding

Funding is actually the money provided by companies or by a government sector for a specific purpose, whereas, financing is a process of receiving capital or money for business purpose, and it is usually provided by financial institutions, such as, banks or other lending agencies.
Funding is an amount of money provided by the organization or government on the basis of an agreement. It is usually free of charge.
There may be certain contractual requirements in that agreement, but there are no requirements to pay back the capital. The most common facilitators that normally fulfil the funding needs of an organisation are the donations made by governments, or philanthropists.

Financing

Financing, on the other hand, is an amount of capital or the sum of money provided to an organisation with the expectation to repay, and organizations are liable to pay back the capital amount along with a certain percentage of interest. Therefore, the repayment also includes an interest component. It is usually provided by financial institutions like banks, or investors like venture capitalists, business angels, shareholders, etc.
We have finance expert 1:1 appointments available to discuss finance and funding – please contact thecube@plymouth.ac.uk to book an appointment.
 

SWIG Finance

SWIG Finance is an official delivery partner for Start Up Loans UK, which offers an affordable source of finance to help new and early-stage business owners bring their plans to life.
Start Up Loans are available to individuals over the age of 18 who have a viable business idea but no access to finance. This includes businesses that are yet to launch, as well as those that have been trading for up to 36 months.
The programme operates with a fixed interest rate of 6% per annum and the ability to borrow between £500 and £25,000 per co-founder over a 1–5 year period.
Once you’ve submitted your application a member of the SWIG Finance team will be in touch to take you through the next steps.
Representative example (Start Up Loans Company): £10,000 loan repayable over 5 years. 60 monthly payments of £193.33. Rate of interest 6% per annum fixed. Representative APR 6.18%. Total amount of credit £10,000. Total interest payable £1,599.80. Total cost of credit £1,599.80. Total amount payable is £11,599.80.
SWIG Finance is here to guide you through the application process, including advice on creating a business plan and cashflow forecast.
Select the apply now button below to start your application.

Find out more about SWIG Finance

 

FounderCatalyst

The FounderCatalyst platform quickly and professionally creates all of the legal paperwork and helps manage investor engagement.
Your business journey mapped out.
Starting and running your own business can be both challenging and exciting. You focus and work hard to grow your business, then before you know it you're looking for that all-important funding to catapult you to the next level.
FounderCatalyst was borne out of a desire to help founders with the legal stage of the funding journey, to be a partner you can trust. Our aim is to make your journey as simple and easy as possible; to save you time and money without any compromise on quality. Ultimately, it's about making you stand out from the crowd and boosting your chances of success.
For free you can get:
  • your own professional tailored company term sheet
  • a secure data room to upload supporting material, such as your pitch-deck, business plan and financial models
  • the ability to invite investors to access your documents and term sheet in your data room in a safe and secure way
  • non-disclosure agreements signed by investors before they view your company information
  • watermarked versions of your legal documents which you can check before you commit to pay.

Find out more about FounderCatalyst