### Businesses go through predictable life cycles, including the startup phase, which requires planning, resource gathering, team building, and securing funding. To determine how much money a business needs, it's essential to have a solid business plan that outlines objectives, market factors, products, services, and competitive analysis. Typical startup costs include creating a business plan, conducting initial research, office space, furniture, inventory investments, and setting up a tech stack. Funding options for startups include immediate sources like bootstrapping or borrowing from family and friends, startup incubators, small business loans, venture capitalists, peer-to-peer lending, crowdsourcing, small business grants, and trading equity for services. The choice of funding option depends on factors such as the size and scope of goals, industry, competition, projected revenue, credit scores, and history of repaying loans.