I own a firm that employs 15 people in the health care software sector. As many know, this is potentially the hottest industry in the next 10 years - as electronic medical records software systems for doctors become mandated, not optional. We've been in business for many years, but not profitably - this due mostly to a desire to grow organically without having to pursue outside investors and lose control over the company. In addition, we refocused our business only about 5 years ago to focus entirely on medical software. We also had a serious hiccup this year that affected probably about 1M in sales that we expected to hit - due to a vendor issue. We have since diversified and begun restructuring in order to reduce the threat of such an occurence in the future.

We did just under 2M in sales for 2007. Our infrastructure is set to accommodate growth, and our management team is STELLAR. We expect 4M in sales for 2008, but will struggle to meet that goal without some boost capital to get us through hiring/building infrastructure to accommodate the service and implementation of new sales in the pipe.

About $500k would be enough to ensure that we do 4M in sales for 2008 and 6M+ in 2009. We know what the market's potential is, and are poised for growth in every area - sales, web SEO/leads generation, and our technical implementation staff.

Any suggestions where to start first for funding this type of established (non-profitable) venture? We are looking for funding that would enable us to retain control - we know what we're doing, what our goals are and a plan how to get there, we just need a little cash flow. Any and all suggestions on strategy would be very much appreciated!

This is a very interesting story. Medical software is exploding in many areas, and there are a number of competitors in the same boat. One quick question, how have you been in business this long and still maintained an unprofitable status? Have you been profitable in the past, and then the "hiccup" drained your resources?
My suggestion is that you put together a business plan and strategy that shows the allocation of resources and consider equity investment. With a potential 2008 of 4 million in sales, you could get a decent valuation on the company and 500K would not be a stake that would be anything more than 30% of the company if that. You could go the debt route, however it seems as that is not an option for you if you are not profitable at this point in time. Cash flow is key, which would seem to suggest an equity stake.
You have a proven model and sales traction, which would suggest that there are equity investors out there. One other question would be is your software copywritten or patented?