At Female Founder Collective's The 10th House, we know that most founders assume venture capital is their only path to scale. However, they quickly realize equity dilution can cost them control, optionality, and long-term upside.
In our exclusive conversation with Cassie Rosenthal, Chief Marketing Officer and third-generation stakeholder of Rosenthal Capital Group, we discovered how non-dilutive financing can fuel growth without sacrificing ownership and why founders should be exploring these options far earlier than they think.
Cassie's track record speaks for itself. After running art galleries in Chelsea and Berlin for a decade, she joined her family's 88-year-old commercial finance firm that supports leading consumer brands with loan sizes from $500K to $40M+. She's worked with DTC apparel companies that scaled from $15M to $80M in two years, beverage brands that jumped from $10M to $70M, and digital creator-launched skincare lines navigating all-door Target launches. Her biggest revelation? "Working capital is for sustainable growth. Equity is to protect the investment until exit."
With scaling consumer brands requiring massive inventory investment, production cycles creating cash flow crunches, and wholesale expansion demanding capital most founders don't have, understanding the full landscape of non-dilutive options (think asset-based lending, factoring, PO financing, revenue-based lending and more) has never been more critical for emerging brands trying to grow without losing control.
Most founders follow the "traditional path": raise equity or venture, give up ownership, repeat. The problem is that equity dilution often comes too early, and founders lose control before they've even proven sustainable unit economics.
Cassie's philosophy is different: use non-dilutive financing as a lever for growth, and save equity for strategic leaps that actually require it.
Twenty years ago, brands borrowed more on receivables than inventory because retailers gave lead time before fulfillment and brands grew slower. Today, high-growth DTC brands can be doing $5M, suddenly blow up on social, and jump to $40M the next year. That speed requires different capital strategies, but founders who don't understand their options get trapped in expensive revenue-based loans or dilute ownership prematurely.
Here's what Cassie revealed about financing growth without giving up equity:
1. Treat this quarter like a wellness check for your business. Take stock of your financial health and be brutally honest: what's working, what's not, and how can you improve the deficits?
2. If you're the face or creative visionary, find someone you trust for finance strategy. Bring in a fractional CFO, part-time accountant, or financially strong partner early. Set up clean bookkeeping, reporting systems, and inventory visibility. This makes you more fundable and better able to navigate opportunities and downturns.
3. Growth is great, but can your business actually handle it? Sometimes you must say no to grow properly. Rebecca reinforced this: they said no to their first Nordstrom order because they weren't ready, and Nordstrom came back later. During COVID, they lost 70% of their business overnight. She prefers moving slower and safer, avoiding emergency moments.
4. Start talking to lenders early, even before you hit their revenue thresholds. Ask: what will you look for when I'm at $3-5M? What systems do I need? What pitfalls should I avoid? This prevents fire-drill fundraising and builds relationships so when you have a Target PO, lenders already know you and can move quickly.
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