"There are things a venture can do to survive and succeed," said David Townsend, an assistant professor of management, innovation and entrepreneurship at North Carolina State University.

Townsend recently co-authored a study suggesting that undercapitalized startup ventures can still succeed, as long as the company takes measures to minimize its cash outflow.

"Undercapitalized ventures need to engage in management strategies focused on reducing their costs," he said, suggesting "outsourcing certain development tasks and accounting responsibilities or exchanging services with other companies."

This strategy helped Fresia Rodriguez side-launch her plus-size fashion label, she told CNNMoney.com.

As a way to reduce costs, the D.C. magazine journalist exchanged her writing skills for an accounting service, a printing service and a custom website.

Like Townsend, Victoria Colligan - co-author of "Ladies Who Launch: Embracing Entrepreneurship and Creativity as a Lifestyle" - suggested an exchange strategy to finance startup ventures.

"Creativity is at an all-time high," she told CNNMoney.com. Many entrepreneurs "are willing to think out of the box."