If the original funding was obtained by taking on debt, the principal is paid down with equity, reducing the amount of interest due over time. Don't overvalue your equity. This is the Holy Grail of exit strategies. Bailing out The most likely scenario is that investors will pull the plug. These days more and more investors are analyzing their portfolio businesses for total losses so that they can focus on any business that has even the slightest chance for success.
Entrepreneurs are fighters and scrappers.
While these are great qualities in some respects, they also can lead to financial and social ruin. The business may not come through. Lose the ego, and learn to recognize the sunk costs. This is a hard lesson. Just look at how many dot-com entrepreneurs have their houses up for sale these days.