Mike Monroe
Many-a-businesses have been founded on the deep dollars of friends & family. Unfortunately, too, money has been lost, relationships have been ruined, and grudges have been created. How can you fall in the first category and not the latter? Well these resources are a really good start!
Heed these warnings before you ask friends and family for financing your business. Some great tips on how to be transparent and how to manage expectations of first time investors.
This post is more for entertainment value/sorrow than anything. But it made the list as a reminder to all of you thinking about F&F financing: help your loved ones think through worst-case scenarios. The world does not need another Michael Vick.
An excellent step by step approach on how to target potential friend & family investors. By setting yourself up for success (RE: picking the right people), you will avoid tremendous headache down the road. A great read.
Virgin Money (formerly Circle Lending) served as loan administrators between F&F investors and aspiring entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, they withdrew from the market in 2010, but not before publishing this excellent (free) ebook on the subject. Check out sections 4, 5, and 6.
Learn the 4 ways to accept money from friends and family. Some great tips here regarding the proper attitude and structure of the agreement. I particularly like tip 1 and 3 (if your F&F investors will go along with it).
Sure, securing money for your business is important, but so is preserving the relationships of those closest to you. Here's how to do both. This post provides a solid overview of the whole process.
If your loved ones believe in you, investors probably will, too. Here are 9 awesome tips from an angel investor, who views F&F investing as the first step to approaching venture capitalists and other major players. Tips 4 and 5 are gold.
