This is a common situation that start-up owners face, and most don’t like the answer. To start, it probably isn’t worth anywhere near the $400,000 you have sunk into it.
Buyers only care about what the firm is going to do in the future. Most break-even businesses aren’t worth much. Two key exceptions to this are (a) revenues (and profits) are about to go through the roof – the ‘hockey stick,’ or (b) you have a lot of re-usable (and possibly re-deployable) assets.
If you genuinely believe a hockey stick is around the corner, why sell now? To enjoy the benefit of this uptick, you either hang on, or convince a buyer that riches are coming. This is a very difficult sale. If most of that $400k was spent on buying equipment that holds its value, or developing IP that has stand-alone value, you may be able to recover your investment. But in the same way a used car is worth less than a new car, used equipment generally doesn’t hold its value. Even inventory you have purchased or created is typically sold at a discount.
Build the business to a solid profit, or write off most of the last four years if you must exit immediately.