Why it’s more important for a business to become Bankable over time, rather than just staying Fundable

“Fundable” means you can convince someone to cut a check—friends, angels, crowdfunding, factoring, whatever.
“Bankable” means a regulated lender will give you low-cost, long-term, covenant-light money while you sleep.

Bankable beats fundable because:

1. Cost of capital drops 70-90 %
   Bank line at 6 % APR vs. angel money at 20-30 % equity slice or 18 % revenue-based financing. Every extra point of margin goes straight to your retained earnings, not the investor’s pocket.
2. You keep the upside
   Investors own a permanent slice of every future dollar; banks only get their interest back. A bankable business that 10×s in value still owes the bank the same original principal.
3. Infinite recycle
   Bank lines revolve: pay it down, draw again, no new pitch deck. Investor capital is one-and-done; the next round costs more equity.
4. Signal moat
   Commercial bankers talk to each other. Once you’re bankable you get referral leverage: competing term sheets, higher advance rates, lower personal guarantees. The funder market is fragmented; the bank market is a club.
5. Crisis shield
   In downturns, fundable companies watch cap tables implode. Bankable firms draw existing revolvers, lock in PPP/EIDL, or refi at 75 % LTV—survive first, then buy distressed competitors for pennies.

Stay fundable for seed; become bankable for scale.