The Fast, the Steady and the Tenacious: Funding Pathways for Circular Start‐Ups

ABSTRACT Circular start‐ups (CSUs) are critical for unlocking the circular economy, yet they face persistent barriers in accessing finance. Despite growing interest from policymakers and financing institutions, little empirical evidence explains how these ventures pursue and secure funding. This is the first academic empirical study analysing how CSUs navigate and combine different funding sources. Based on semistructured interviews, supported by survey responses and firm‐level data from 32 early‐stage CSUs in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France, we explore how CSUs navigate and combine different funding sources over time. Our findings reveal three stylised funding pathways—fast, steady and tenacious—that shaped the interaction between funding amount and start‐up age. While business model type influences funding needs, our findings show that market‐fit and founder characteristics emerge as decisive factors determining funding success. Most CSUs rely on grants, subsidies and personal funds, while private and social impact investors remain scarce. The study contributes primarily to the circular economy literature, while also advancing the fields of sustainable entrepreneurial finance and circular entrepreneurship, offering practical insights to strengthen CSUs' growth.