Tailor-made financing is one of the most important factors, possibly the decisive factor, in the success of a young company. At the present moment, equity-for-shares – i.e. investment in the company in return for the issuance of new shares to the investor – is considered the standard mode of financing start-ups. Recently, however, in addition to this, entrepreneurs have been able to draw on venture debt, a form of risk capital finance. In what follows, we explain its potential benefits and pitfalls.