Where to Get Capital for Your Business: The Power of Leverage vs. Derivative

Where to Get Capital for Your Business: The Power of Leverage vs. Derivative

This chapter is for those who are seriously planning to start a business and are now stuck on the question, "Where do I get the capital?" Maybe you’re thinking about borrowing from a bank, asking friends, tapping your parents, or even seeking investors. You’re not alone—and I’ve been there, too.

Let me share with you something that changed how I view capital forever.

The Business Word Most People Don’t Understand: Leverage

In the world of entrepreneurship, especially when it comes to funding, there's a word that keeps coming up—leverage. Rich people and business experts throw this word around like it’s common knowledge, but for most beginners, it’s vague and confusing. Yet this single word holds a powerful concept.

So what is leverage?

Leverage simply means using other people’s money, time, or skills to execute your own business idea. That’s it. You leverage what others have—whether it’s money, talent, or hours—to make your vision work.

My Third Business: A Failed Experiment in Leverage

After two failed businesses, I started my third one—an invention company. My goal? Use leverage. My first business succeeded because a client asked me to install CCTVs. My second one, a software company, was born because someone needed a software solution. But this third one was different—it had new, unfamiliar products. No customers yet.

So I turned to investors.

For more than a year, I pitched to potential investors, sat through endless meetings, explained my vision—again and again. And after all of that? Not a single person invested. Maybe they didn’t believe in me. Maybe my ideas weren’t convincing enough. Whatever the reason, my business never took off.

Because I relied entirely on other people’s money, the business died before it could grow. It stalled. It rotted. No funds, no movement. End of story.

The Turning Point: When I Stopped Relying on Others

But God is good. He didn’t let me stay down.

One day, something clicked in my mind—Why not stop chasing leverage from others and focus on the opposite? That’s when I discovered the secret to my first successful business: the power of derivative.

The Opposite of Leverage: Derivative Thinking

What is derivative?

If leverage is depending on what others have, derivative is extracting value from what you already have. It means working with your own skills, your own team, your own resources—no matter how small—and building from there.

And that’s exactly what we did in my fourth business—KARCO, a clothing company.

How We Built KARCO Without Capital

When we started KARCO, we had zero money. No capital, no savings, not even investors. What we had was this:

  • A designer

  • An executor

  • A few friends willing to help

  • And a whole lot of grit

We focused on what we already had and built from there. That’s derivative thinking.

We designed shirts once and sold them multiple times. That’s derivative. We didn’t keep designing new products every day. We created once, extracted value over and over.

You work once, and earn multiple times. That’s the power of derivative.

Conclusion: Use What You Have—That’s Your Real Capital

So kasosyo, I hope you see the difference now. You don’t need to wait for investors, loans, or outside help to start your dream business. You already have something to start with. You just need to extract value from it.

Don’t get stuck chasing leverage. Start working with your derivative.

Because the truth is—you don’t need outside capital. You just need the courage to use what’s already inside you.

Back to blog