How Trading through Barter is Good For Startups

Cashflow problems are the major reason why many startups fail. When a business first starts trading, the cashflow must be closely monitored and saved at every possible opportunity. Often this means that the business owner is reluctant to spend cash on what are deemed to be ‘nice-to-haves’. However, these ‘nice-to-haves’ are often ‘must-haves’ that the business is simply delaying paying for or acquiring until they generate enough revenue to be able to afford the expense

Often, credit is hard to come by as banks prefer to finance government, debt and big corporations. They are not so keen to support small and medium enterprises and bank credit is unreliable since it is almost never there when you actually need it.

By joining Silvatree, a startup has access to another credit clearing facility and can generate new customers from the exchange members that are financially incentivised to trade with you – they pay with their trade silva and so are getting a discount while the startup receives full value for their goods or service. These new customers will often become repeat customers and if they are satisfied are likely to recommend the startup to others thereby generating new cash paying customers too. The trade silva received can then be used for the business expenses, saving cash in the business and improving the likelihood of the new venture being successful.

There are many things that can be bought with trade silva on the network. Amongst others, those typically required by many startups include: