Suppose a team of inventors launch a business to design and build innovative machinery for a specific industrial purpose. They anticipate a 4 years design timeframe in advance of commercialisation of their first product.

a) Describe the type of funding the team is likely to pursue to capitalise their firm in the first 4 years and why you believe this is how they will fund themselves.

b) Suppose at the end of year 4 the firm is not yet ready to launch its first units, and does not yet have customers in place to trial the equipment. Describe the type of funding the team is likely to pursue at this stage and why you believe they will fund themselves this way.

c) Suppose instead that at the end of year 4 the firm is fully ready to launch its first units, and has several customers in place to purchase the equipment. Describe the type of funding the team is likely to pursue at this stage and why you believe they will fund themselves this way.