131. Friends & Family Round: How to Protect Your Relationships AND Raise Money
The friends and family round is how most founders raise their first capital — but it's also where the most relationships get damaged. If you don't structure it right, you can accidentally screw over the people trying to help you, torpedo your next funding round, and make every family gathering awkward for years. In this episode, I break down exactly how to talk to your friends and family about investing, how to structure the deal using a SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity), and the ethical responsibilities you have when your investors trust you more than they understand the deal. Plus, I'll give you a tool you can send directly to your prospective investors that explains everything they need to know — from someone with no conflict of interest. Whether you're pre-revenue, pre-product, or just trying to figure out how to ask your parents for startup capital without ruining Thanksgiving, this episode has you covered. ## Links Blog post: https://ftb.bz/131B YouTube: https://ftb.bz/131V Free Startup Fundraising Toolkit: https://ftb.bz/raise-yt Video to share with your F&F investors: https://ftb.bz/friends-and-family-explainer Y Combinator SAFE templates: https://www.ycombinator.com/documents