Jason Obrien

Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency that has taken the world by storm. It was created as a meme coin and proof of Bitcoin’s rise. It uses a Scrypt algorithm, making it faster and more efficient. Dogecoin has also been designed to be more user-friendly than other cryptocurrencies.

All these features have made Dogecoin a popular cryptocurrency, with many people looking to invest in it. However, while Dogecoin has had a bullish trend since its launch, it has dropped significantly between 2021 and 2022. This indicates that even the best projects in crypto need to be well studied before investing. So, how do you get the best from your Dogecoin investment? Here are some tips to follow:

Be Keen on Price Movements

Price is everything in the cryptocurrency market. It determines whether you are making a profit or loss. For this reason, you need to be keen on the price movements of Dogecoin. You can use technical analysis and charts like the Swyftx price tracker to help you know when Dogecoin is oversold or overbought. This will help you learn more about when to buy or sell to make a profit.

Typically, your entry and exit strategies should be determined by price movements, not opinions or market noise. This will ensure you are never caught off guard or make uninformed decisions. Additionally, it can help you draw price predictions based on trends and decide whether to hold your investment in the long term or cash out.

Do your Research

The cryptocurrency market is a dynamic and ever-changing one. This means that what works today might not work tomorrow. Hence, you need to constantly do your research to ensure you are up-to-date with the latest trends. Dogecoin is a good project, but it doesn’t mean you should always invest in it whenever there is a chance.

Always do your due diligence and research things such as price predictions, team members, the technology behind the project, partnerships, and more. This will help you know if a project is worth investing in or not. Moreover, follow the news about Dogecoin, including news from market leaders that may impact the price. However, don’t use this news as the only reason to buy or sell Dogecoin.

Use Dollar-Cost Averaging Strategy

Dollar-cost averaging is an investment strategy where you buy a fixed dollar amount of a particular asset at regular intervals. This strategy is often used when investing in cryptocurrencies. Using this strategy, you don’t try to time the market; instead, focus on buying the asset at a lower price over time. For example, you can invest USD$100 monthly in Dogecoin regardless of its performance.

This strategy is effective in reducing the effects of volatility in the market. In addition, it helps you average your purchase price over time. This means you are less likely to buy at a high price and sell at a low price. As a result, you will make more profits in the long run. It also ensures that you don’t fall into the crypto greed that is often common in the market.

Have a Long-Term Plan

You need to have a long-term plan when investing in Dogecoin. This is because the cryptocurrency market is volatile, and anything can happen at any time. For example, the price of Dogecoin might drop suddenly, and you might be tempted to sell all your investment to avoid making losses.

However, if you have a long-term plan, you can hold on to your investment and wait for the price to recover. Likewise, having a long-term plan helps you stay disciplined and not make rash decisions that can impact your investment negatively. Thus, you can decide to hold crypto for over one year, which will come with benefits like lower taxes.

Focus on Security

Security is crucial when investing in Dogecoin, as crypto fraud cases have hit the market. Between January 2021 and March 2022, investors have lost over USD$1 billion in crypto fraud. This is huge, yet it can be avoided by focusing on security. When storing your Dogecoin, you need to use a secure wallet with security features such as multifactor authentication, biometrics, and more.

Besides, you need to be careful when sending your Dogecoin, as there have been scams where people have lost their investment. Always double-check the address before sending Dogecoin to anyone. Use a secure connection, such as a virtual private network, when transacting in cryptocurrencies. This will help protect your data from being hacked.

Conclusion

Investing in Dogecoin can be a great way to grow your wealth. However, you need to be extra careful and do your research before investing. Furthermore, use strategies such as dollar-cost averaging and focus on security to minimize risks. Lastly, have a long-term plan to help you stay disciplined and patient when the market is volatile.

Gold has certainly grown in popularity in recent years, hasn’t it? Well, okay, if we take a moment to really think about it, we will realize that this asset has undeniably always been quite popular, thanks to the fact that it has always been valuable, but here is what I am trying to say. In recent years, people have increasingly started using it as a means of diversifying their retirement portfolios and thus turning their financial futures into stable ones. So, it has undeniably grown in popularity in that regard.

It is no wonder, though. As mentioned, this asset has always been valuable, and here is why, which is why it is perfectly logical for it to be so popular. It was only a matter of time before people actually figured out that they can use it to secure their retirement portfolios. And, they have finally figured that out and thus started using the asset to their advantage.

If you’ve done any research whatsoever on this topic, then you have undeniably realized already that there are some important steps you’ll have to take before you start investing. For starters, you’ll need to have the right account opened up, but I am guessing that this won’t be complicated at all, since you’ll just state your intentions and leave the rest up to the professionals. And then, of course, you’ll also have to choose a great gold IRA company to be your partner in the investing process.

I suppose you knew that already, but here’s the catch. You know that you need to hire one of these companies and you also know that you want it to be a top rated one, i.e. a great firm that will provide you with the best services, but you don’t know one thing. What is it that makes an IRA company so great and how can you find one of those amazing ones?

Well, I guess that those are two things you don’t know right there. Nevertheless, I have some good news for you. In the simplest words possible, I will now try and answer those questions for you, because it is time for you to figure out everything you need to know about this process of choosing the best firm, since that’s undeniably something you’ll need. So, let us start answering those questions one at a time.

What Makes a Top Rated Gold IRA Company

As I’ve mentioned above, you understand that you need to work with a top rated gold IRA company, because that’s the only way for you to get great services and be happy throughout the whole process of investing in this asset. The thing is, though, you might not know what it is that makes a top rated company in this regard, which is why we have to talk about it right now. So, below I will list some factors that definitely make a top rated company, and it is your task to read through those and remember them, with the aim of being able to recognize one of those great firms when you come across it. Here we go.

Extensive Experience

This is probably perfectly logical to everyone already, but it is still quite worth mentioning. In simple words, a company won’t be great if it doesn’t have extensive experience in this specific line of work. Sure, that does not immediately mean that you should just ignore all of those firms that might have been established quite recently, because the goal is to work with experienced people. So, to put it differently, the people are the ones who need to have extensive experience in gold IRA investments, and experienced companies are the ones that employ those experienced people.

There is most probably nothing unusual about this. You understand that working with amateurs might not be good for you, because they might not exactly be able to offer you the best services. And, if you are new to this whole world, you definitely need someone experienced to guide you through everything, because you don’t want to end up making some crucial mistakes that could lead you towards regretting your decision to invest in gold in the first place. So, always check experience when trying to make the perfect choice.

Great Track Record

Another factor that plays a role in the “greatness” of a particular company, so to speak, is their track record. You certainly want the firm to hire to have a great proven track record, because that will mean that they have provided amazing services to a number of clients in the past. You can either search for these types of information online, or you can get in touch with these firms directly and inquire about their track record. Of course, when you find a great source of information online, you should undeniably exhaust it, since, as you can see at http://www.ossianstatebank.com/best-gold-ira-investment-companies/, you’ll manage to learn a lot of important things about different IRA companies with the help of those sources.

Stellar Reputation

Reputation is, without a doubt, the next significant factor that will help you understand if a gold IRA company is great or not. If you find that a particular firm is not very reputable and that people often complain about it, then it certainly won’t be considered a top rated one, which is completely logical. Since you do want to hire a top rated firm, the best thing to do is avoid those ill-reputed firms, because you are bound to get poor services from them, which is undeniably not what you want. Once again, those useful sources of information that I’ve talked about above will certainly help you determine the reputation of certain companies.

Amazing Customer Service

In order for any firm out there to be top rated, it will have to excel in providing amazing services to their customers. Let’s say you’ve encountered an issue after setting up your account, funding it and investing in gold. You want the issue to be resolved as soon as possible, and a top rated company will undeniably do its best to provide you with the perfect solution. Amazing customer service is certainly extremely important, because you need to know that you always have someone to rely on in case you wind up having some issues with your account and with your investments.

Reasonable Prices

The prices are definitely not the most important factor to consider here, but they still do have a say in the process of rating a company. What does this precisely mean, though? Well, in simple terms, it means that the top rated company will have reasonable prices. Notice that I haven’t said that it will have the lowest prices, because that certainly isn’t always the case. The point is for those fees to be reasonable and in accordance with the quality that you’ll get.

How to Find One

If it is now clear to you, and it should be, what a top rated gold IRA company is and which factors you should keep in mind when searching for one, then there is probably only one thing left bothering you right here. In the simplest words possible, you are not sure how to actually find these companies. You know what to consider in the process of searching, but you don’t know where to search and how to find the information you need. Well, that’s about to change right now, if you just continue reading.

Search the Internet for Info & Compare it

The Internet is undeniably your best friend in this actual process. What you have to do is search the Web for information on different IRA companies that you are considering and then take your time to compare all the info that you have found. There is absolutely no doubt that you’ll manage to find some rather significant info when you start using the Internet to your advantage, so make sure to do that.

Read Comprehensive Reviews

If the above tip is a bit vague and if you need a more concrete and more specific one, here’s what I have to tell you. In short, there are a lot of comprehensive reviews online written by experts on the topic, and you should use those to get the info that you’re searching for. The reviews will undoubtedly be of great help, but you need to be sure that they are provided to you by reliable sources.

Founders of startup ventures do not need to be told that funding is required to get their business off the ground and to keep it growing in a positive fashion.

While that is a given, the challenge for many founders is understanding exactly what funding is, what the different types of funding are, and how each will impact their company ownership structure.

With these factors and more in mind let’s take a look at company funding and how founders can take advantage of the method(s) that best meet their needs. Doing so will be a big step towards helping your company grow healthily and successfully.

An Introduction to Company Funding

When founders establish a new company they have a variety of different expenses to meet. It is no secret that purchasing the necessary equipment to get you up and running is essential. It is also very likely that you need money for renting business premises, to meet monthly utility costs, and pay for general expenses.

More importantly, money is needed to recruit the right talent for your business. Without these key employees, it is unlikely you will get your business off the ground in a progressive and structured way.

But those costs do not stop there. To continue to grow and compete in your chosen market sector you also need funds.

So, where does the money for all of the above come from? – The straight answer is from investors. However, there are different types of investors who see funding in different ways. This means it is important for founders to understand exactly what these types of investors are and what they expect in return for their investment.

Let’s break this down starting with.

What is Company Funding?

The funding a company receives comes from the amounts offered by investors. This usually comes in two forms of financing; equity (also known as stock) and debt (in the form of loans or bonds). This investment is given to provide the company with operating capital.

We will shortly get into the various types of funding and explain briefly what the 2 types of initial funding are and how they differ from other types of investment received. But before that here’s further detail as to what standard company funding is.

When a company receives funding either through the mentioned equity or as debt, these investors can be termed shareholders or bondholders. They give such investment with the expectancy of receiving returns on their investment. These returns can come through different methods. Examples are stock appreciation, dividends, or interest on the amount given.

There are a variety of factors for founders to consider before deciding on which type of company funding best meets their needs. Such things as growth forecasts and projected increases in revenue need to be taken into account.

Here’s how initial funding is generally found followed by an explanation of 2 major routes to funding and then a look at some alternative funding methods.

Initial Company Funding and Where it can Come From

Initial company funding is the money required to get your business up and running. This can come in various forms from personal, informal, and more formal fundraising.

The first is known as “Bootstrapping” and all necessary funds come from the founder’s savings or received credit.

From there, friends, family, and any associates who believe in your idea are often the next port of call. At this stage of funding, these ‘investors’ are usually in it through their personal belief in the founder’s ideas or cause rather than for purely financial reasons.

The next stage is the more formal process of fundraising and is often termed “seed capital” or “seed funding”. The term “seed” comes from the fact that this initial investment is where your company starts. From there this investment is given with the expectation that it will help your business to grow into a healthy, blossoming company.

While seed funding can come from family and friends it can also be secured through crowdfunding or angel investors. When it comes to seed funding, investors will expect a return on their investment.

Two Major Routes to Funding

Let’s take a look at two major routes to find the funding that will be used to ensure continued and consistent company growth. This funding can come from either raising sufficient capital through debt and/or raising that capital through the issuing of stock.

A company can do this through the issuance of common stock by issuing extra shares in their company to investors. Those companies that are more established may need this extra capital to ready themselves for an IPO (Initial Public Offering).

Either way, the cash received from investors can be utilized to fund the required capital initiatives. Of course, these investors will expect a return on the amount(s) they have invested. This is termed ROI (Return On Investment) and is also known as the cost of equity to the business.

When this capital is used effectively it can increase the company’s share value to meet investors’ expected or agreed ROI or the company can opt to pay dividends.

While these are ways to secure funding there are also drawbacks for founders. This is because issuing extra shares in their company reduces all current shareholders’ stock holding and means dilution of company ownership as well as reduced voting rights.

An alternative way to raise funds is by issuing investors corporate bonds. Once these bonds are issued, the borrowed amount from investors comes in the form of semi-annual coupon payments until the bond is fully paid off.

It is the coupon rate applied upon issuing the bond by the issuing business that outlines the cost of this debt. In addition to this, bond investors have the option to buy a bond at a discount and the actual value of the bond would then be compensated once it matures.

An example here would be when an investor buys a bond for $3,000, they would receive a payment of $4,000 when the bond matures. The difference in these amounts is how debt investors make their money. As for the company, they pay the bond amount plus interest off once they begin to grow.

Other Company Options to Raise Funding

While the above methods are popular options for raising funds they are not the only ways. A company can take a traditional route by arranging a loan from a bank or commercial lending operation. Once this type of loan is established it is seen as a long-term liability that is reduced as the loan is repaid over the agreed period.

As will be clearly understood, this type of loan needs to be paid back with high-interest rates. However, that is deemed as a company expense and it means the tax paid on company profits would be reduced accordingly.

Using this type of institutional or a bondholder loan does mean that your company is not liable to give any payment to the shareholders. This is because you are paying all interest and coupon repayments to the bondholders or lenders. For this reason, companies that raise funds through debt will find this a much more expensive option than if they opt for the equity funding route.

Having said this, if the company happens to go bankrupt and its assets are liquidated, it is the creditors who would be paid first and before any shareholders are paid.

Because of the many different ways for a company to raise the necessary funding, it means long thought is required before deciding which method is best for your particular business. One route that many startups focus on is getting funding from VCs (Venture Capitalists). While VCs tend to focus on specific business sectors, if your company fits into their investment profile this can be a highly effective way to raise the additional capital required.

What is the Importance of Fundraising to your Company?

A startup venture is exactly that, a business that is spawned through a founder’s ideas and beliefs that the products or services they want to bring to the market will be successful.

The challenge here is that getting a new company up and running and then starting a sustained growth curve costs money. While the initial funding from founders, friends, and family helps to evolve the business plan it is not enough to sustain it.

Without the much-needed initial and ongoing additional investment, most startups would fail before they even have a chance to begin establishing themselves.

It should be said that there are cases where companies do not require funding. Examples are founders that can self-fund (bootstrap themselves) or a company that is assured of rapid high growth right from the start but these cases are exceptions rather than the rule.

Company funding is not only required to get things up and running and to pay for initial monthly outgoings, it is also needed to hire key employees, bolster sales and marketing initiatives, and get your name out there.

This makes fundraising a key component of a company’s progression and should be viewed as an essential part of your business journey.

Raising funds can be looked at as a double-edged sword. On the one hand, there are lots of investors out there waiting to invest in the right startup. On the other hand, there is huge competition for investment.

While it is likely you will suffer rejections from some quarters you must persevere. It also goes without saying that the stronger your business plan, the ability to give projections and show how you expect your company to grow will leave you in a far stronger position when it comes to securing the investment you are after.

That leads to the question….

When is the Right Time to Raise Funding for your Company?

This is something that all founders need to think very carefully about. We have touched on the need to have a realistic business plan in place. This needs backing up with a belief in your product(s) or services. Such a ‘pitch’ must be persuasively presented to potential investors with any available data/statistics to back it up.

Putting over the right ‘story’ is a must if you are to tempt investors to give you funding. If you already have even a little customer traction this must be highlighted. Equally, if you feel technology will help your cause then demonstrate this to the full.

The right time to raise funding must be seen as a balance. Too early in your new venture’s life will mean you have not settled on an exact direction or have any product to show. You also need to understand the target market you will go for and compare the ‘uniqueness’ of your product or services to others in that sector.

Leaving it too long to raise funding could sink your ambitions. Do not try to over-complicate things or wait until everything is ‘perfect’. Investors understand that there will be modifications and improvements along the way. What they are looking for is a simple explanation of your product or services – Prototype examples certainly help.

This balance and time to seek funds can be met when founders feel they have a product or service that fits the market sector they are in and they can highlight growth potential.

How much Funding Should be Raised?

In the perfect world, a founder would be able to raise the necessary amount of funds to cover all of their startup costs, keep them afloat until break-even level, and still have sufficient funds to begin a profitable growth cycle.

Achieving this would mean that should you need further funding to grow your business or expand your line of products or services that next round of funding would be much easier. This is because you have already proven your worth through the original business concept and have a base company structure in place to support that.

However, we don’t all live in that perfect world and this means that some startups will need to follow up on initial seed funding. Make no mistake, this is certainly achievable.

With the right focus as well as proof that you are moving in the right direction then reaching out to investors after 12 to 18 months of operation is the way to go. Keep a close record of your successes and do not be afraid to highlight mistakes you have learned from.

This will put you in a stronger position to present your case for funding with projected forecasts on where you expect to be at a given date if the required funding is received.

Beware of Giving too Much Away!

Before jumping in with both feet and requesting too much funding for too large a chunk of your company take a step back. Founders must consider the variables involved and what the trade-offs are. It may be very tempting to seize an offer that looks lucrative in terms of a larger amount of funding than expected, but what would you be giving up for that?

Diluting too much of your company ownership must be avoided. Look at things this way, during the initial seed round of funding if you can give up just 10% of your company for the funds required you are onto a winner. But being realistic you should expect a 20% dilution. It is not advised to accept such funding if dilution reaches 25% or more.

One very sensible route to achieving the funding you need is to create various plans showing different amounts you want to raise. This should be a minimum amount to keep your company on the right track, a nice-to-have preferred amount, and an amount that is higher than initially needed but would be used for faster product or service expansion.

Doing so, will help you gauge at what pace you can move forward. While this may be slower, as preferred, or faster, it will still stand you in good stead to progress healthily.

A clear outline for each step of your business journey presented to investors will show them how their money would grow. That is what they are looking for!

To help you forecast how much funding you will need to consider two things:

• What period you will need this funding for (generally between 12 and 18 months)?
• Work out your projected overheads for that period. This should include all costs such as business premises rental, and costs of key personnel (not just those you currently have but any you feel will be needed during the above period – add their salaries pro-rata). Then include such things as development costs.

These costs will vary dependent upon the products or services you are offering but you should have a good handle on what they will be.

Founders can then take the total amount of funding required and divide it by different periods (i.e. 12, 15, and 18 months). This will give you flexibility in the amount(s) of funding needed.

Many startups would look for between $500,000 and $1.5 million but of course, this varies tremendously and will depend upon the business sector you are in and your specific needs.

This means you could go for less than the $500,000, or way over the $1.5 million mentioned. Carrying out due diligence as near as possible will leave you in a much stronger position to achieve the realistic amount of funds required.

Real World Funding Scenarios and an Example

Everyone has heard of the huge success of companies such as Amazon, Google, Apple, and Facebook. They all started with the founder’s belief, energy, and determination (plus of course a great idea that offered products and services to the masses!)

But, here is a much more recent success story that shows exactly why persistence is something that all founders need.

Instagram The #1 Photo-Sharing Application

As all will be aware, Instagram is a free photo- and video-sharing application that enables users to take photos/videos, apply relevant filters, and share them via social networks.

Instagram’s incredible rise to fame and fortune in just a few months will stagger many, but do not believe for one minute that it was all plain sailing!

The social media application took just 8 weeks for software engineers to develop before being launched in October 2010 on Apple’s mobile operating system. In under 2 years, Facebook (META) acquired the company for $1 billion in cash and stock!

Let’s backtrack with some basic founding and funding detail

Kevin Systrom, a 27-year-old graduate of Stanford University was working at a travel recommendations startup; Nextstop. His previous work experience included time with Google and as an intern at Odeo (the company that would later evolve into Twitter).

Systrom had no formal computer science training but was determined to learn code at night and during weekends while working for Nextstop. The result was a prototype of a web app; Burbn – (inspired by his taste for fine whiskeys and bourbons).

This app allowed users to check in, post their planned activities and share photos. While location-based check-in apps were common at the time, it was the photo-sharing feature of Burbn that made it stand out.

A Crucial Turning Point

It was at a startup party (for Silicon Valley-based Hunch) in March 2010 that things turned dramatically. Systrom met and gave a demonstration of Burbn to 2 venture capitalists from Baseline Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz.

The result? After another meeting, Systrom quit his job, focussed on developing Burbn, and within 2 weeks had raised a total of $500,000 in seed funding (from both the mentioned venture capitalist companies).

We have already mentioned the importance of seed funding in terms of recruiting key employees. That is exactly what happened with the recruitment of 25-year-old Mike Krieger (also a Stanford graduate) who knew Systrom from their time as students. Krieger’s previous experience was as an engineer and user-experience designer for the social media platform Meebo.

Between the two of them, the Burbn app was reassessed and the decision was made to primarily focus on one aspect; photographs that were specifically taken using mobile devices.

Leading apps in the photography category were studied and it was the Hipstamatic app that stood tall. While very good, Hipstamatic lacked the social media sharing capability. This led Systrom and Krieger to build an app that bridged Hipstamatic and a social media platform (aka Facebook).

Burbn was stripped down to its photo, commenting, and ability to “like” posts. This improved app was renamed Instagram (a combination of Instant and Telegram). A key factor was that the app should be minimalist and require users to take as few actions as possible.

The new Instagram app took the mentioned 8 weeks of fine-tuning and beta-testing between friends. It was on Oct 6, 2010, that the initial Instagram iOS app was officially launched.

Successful? It racked up 25,000 users in one day! By the end of its first week, users had downloaded Instagram 100,000 times. Roll on to mid-December of that year and the user base had reached 1 million.

Series a Funding and then Acquired by Facebook

With such a sudden rise in the user base, more investors became interested. In February 2011, Instagram entered a Series A funding round and raised $7 million.

One of these investors was Benchmark Capital which put Instagram’s value at around $25 million. It is little surprise that other leading social media technology companies (including Twitter and Facebook) were attracted.

While this new round of financing gave the opportunity to hire lots more people, Systrom and Krieger resisted that and kept the company small, employing around 12 employees only.

It is reported that Twitter made a formal offer of around $500 million in stock but this offer was declined. Roll-on to 2012 and just prior to Instagram’s IPO (Initial Public Offering), Facebook acquired the company for $1 billion in cash and stock on 9th April of that year.

Just four of many key facts worthy of note before and after the Facebook acquisition:

• By March 2012 the Instagram user base had grown to around 27 million users.
• When Instagram released the app for Android phone users in April 2012 it was downloaded over 1 million times in less than 1 day.
• By 2018 Instagram became the second-most downloaded free app available from the Apple app store (it was second only to YouTube’s free mobile-device app).
• By 2020 more than 1 billion people were using Instagram each month.

As is very clear in the case of Instagram and other high-profile startup successes, securing the necessary funding at various stages of your company’s life is an absolute must.

In the conclusion below there is a solution that will give you assistance, advice, and the potential to leverage the necessary funding in a way that will benefit your venture.

Conclusion

Whether you are a founder of an early-stage venture or one that is beginning to establish itself one thing is clear, understanding funding and the different options available for fundraising is essential.