Most entrepreneurs have learned that it”s almost always quicker and easier to get cash from someone you know， rather than angel investors or professional venture capitalists. In fact， most investors “require” that you already have some investment from friends and family before they will even step up to the plate.
大多數(shù)創(chuàng)業(yè)者都明白，比起獲得天使投資人或?qū)I(yè)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)資本家的投資，從熟人那里獲得資金幾乎總要更快更容易一些。事實(shí)上，大多數(shù)投資者都“要求”在他們著手研究相關(guān)項(xiàng)目之前，創(chuàng)業(yè)者已經(jīng)從他的親朋好友那里獲得了一些投資資金。
You see， investors invest in people， before they invest in ideas or products. Since they don”t know you （yet）， their first integrity check on you as a person is whether your friends and family believe in you strongly enough to give you seed money for your new idea. If they won”t do it， they why would I as stranger invest in you？
眾所周知，投資者首先投資的是人，接下來(lái)才是創(chuàng)意或產(chǎn)品。因?yàn)橥顿Y者還不了解創(chuàng)業(yè)者，所以他們首先要對(duì)創(chuàng)業(yè)者的人品審查一番，看看他的親朋好友是否對(duì)他有足夠的信任，愿意給他啟動(dòng)新創(chuàng)意的種子資金。如果連親朋好友都不愿意掏錢(qián)，對(duì)創(chuàng)業(yè)者一無(wú)所知的投資者憑什么要向其投資呢？
Friends and family will likely not expect the same level of sophistication on the business model and financials as a professional investor， but they do expect to see certain things. Here is a summary of some key items to think about as an entrepreneur before approaching friends， family， or even fools：
朋友和家人可能不會(huì)像專業(yè)投資者那樣，要求創(chuàng)業(yè)者出具復(fù)雜的商業(yè)模式和財(cái)務(wù)信息，但他們的確希望看到確鑿的東西。以下是創(chuàng)業(yè)者在求助于朋友、家人，甚或是錢(qián)多人傻的笨蛋之前需要認(rèn)真思考的關(guān)鍵環(huán)節(jié)：
1. Don”t be afraid to ask， carefully. If you set around quietly waiting for someone you know to offer you money to fund a startup， you will probably have a long wait. On the other hand， if you open every conversation with “I need money，” you won”t have any friends or any money. Practice your “elevator pitch，” and end it by asking for the order.
1. 不要怕開(kāi)口，言辭需謹(jǐn)慎。如果一位創(chuàng)業(yè)者安安穩(wěn)穩(wěn)地等待某位熟人為他提供初創(chuàng)企業(yè)的啟動(dòng)資金，他或許得熬上相當(dāng)長(zhǎng)一段時(shí)間。另一方面，假如創(chuàng)業(yè)者逢人就說(shuō)：“我需要錢(qián)，”他恐怕連一個(gè)朋友都交不上，更別說(shuō)籌措到資金了。創(chuàng)業(yè)者需要好好練習(xí)一下“電梯間演講 ”，把要錢(qián)的話放到最后來(lái)說(shuō)。
2. Be upbeat and respectful. Nothing kills everyone”s optimism and desire to help quicker than a negative or arrogant attitude. If they are going to put cash into your company， chances are that they will expect to spend a fair amount of time together， either helping you or certainly discussing progress. Nobody likes a downer.
2.生氣勃勃，畢恭畢敬。沒(méi)有什么比消極傲慢的態(tài)度更能扼殺大伙的信心和提攜的意愿。如果大伙打算把錢(qián)投入創(chuàng)業(yè)者的公司，他們很可能期望跟創(chuàng)業(yè)者呆上足夠長(zhǎng)的時(shí)間，要么為他出謀劃策，要么討論公司的進(jìn)展。沒(méi)有人喜歡垂頭喪氣的家伙。
3. Be passionate about the idea. Friends and family will quickly detect your level of sincerity and thought behind the idea. You need to convince them that you have been working on this vision for a long time， and have done the “due diligence” on all the potential knockoffs. Daydreams and “the idea of the moment” won”t get much respect.
3.對(duì)創(chuàng)業(yè)點(diǎn)子充滿激情。朋友和家人很快就能察覺(jué)創(chuàng)業(yè)者對(duì)于創(chuàng)意的真摯程度和思考深度。創(chuàng)業(yè)者需要讓他們相信自己致力于這個(gè)愿景已經(jīng)有相當(dāng)長(zhǎng)的一段時(shí)間，并且對(duì)于所有潛在的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)都進(jìn)行了“盡職調(diào)查”。白日夢(mèng)和“靈光一現(xiàn)”不會(huì)得到太大的尊重。
4. Demonstrate progress and your own “skin in the game.” Saying that you need money to start is not nearly as convincing as saying that you have built a prototype on your own dime， but need more to roll it out. We all know people who can talk a good game， but never get around to building anything.
4.展示進(jìn)步和創(chuàng)業(yè)者“自身的資金投入”。與其說(shuō)自己需要啟動(dòng)資金，不如說(shuō)自己已經(jīng)自籌資金建立了一個(gè)樣板，但還需要資金將其推向市場(chǎng)，后者更有說(shuō)服力。我們都見(jiàn)過(guò)這樣的人，他們說(shuō)得天花亂墜，但從未付諸于行動(dòng)。
5. Ask for the minimum rather than the maximum. We would all love to have a million dollars of funding to “do it right” and build the company of our dreams. But your chances are minimal of finding someone who will give you that much to start. Set some milestones for three or four months out， and show what you can do， then ask for more.
5.融資按部就班，不求一蹴而就。我們都想獲得一百萬(wàn)美元的融資，“一步到位”地建造自己夢(mèng)想的公司。但創(chuàng)業(yè)者幾乎不可能找到一位愿意出這么多錢(qián)作為啟動(dòng)資金的人。以三四個(gè)月為期設(shè)置一些里程碑，展示取得的成果，然后再要求進(jìn)一步的投資。
6. Communicate the risks， and write down the agreement. Be honest with naive family members and friends about the inherent risks of a startup — at least 70% fail in the first five years. Don”t take money from family or friends who can”t afford to lose it. Think hard about the consequences of a possible startup failure and the loss of their funding.
6. 告知風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，立字為據(jù)。一定要向天真的親朋好友們坦率的說(shuō)明創(chuàng)業(yè)的固有風(fēng)險(xiǎn)——至少有70%的初創(chuàng)企業(yè)可能會(huì)在開(kāi)張前5年倒閉！不要從無(wú)力承受損失的家人或朋友那里拿錢(qián)。務(wù)必要仔細(xì)想想創(chuàng)業(yè)一旦失敗，資金投入損失殆盡的后果。
7. Show some incremental value along the way. Look for ways to get some traction with a minimal product， while you are still developing the main event. In high technology， this is called “release early and iterate，” which allows you to make corrections as you go， as well as adjust for the market changes. It also shows progress to early backers.
7.一步一步地顯示遞增的價(jià)值。創(chuàng)業(yè)者依然在開(kāi)發(fā)核心產(chǎn)品的時(shí)候，需要設(shè)法用外圍產(chǎn)品獲得市場(chǎng)的某種認(rèn)同。在高科技領(lǐng)域，這叫做“盡早推出，查漏補(bǔ)缺（release early and iterate）”，這種方式可以讓創(chuàng)業(yè)者一邊開(kāi)發(fā)產(chǎn)品，一邊根據(jù)市場(chǎng)變化對(duì)其進(jìn)行修正，這樣做還可以讓早期的支持者看到企業(yè)的進(jìn)步。
8. Network to build investor relationships before you ask for money. Having a real project， rather than just an idea， is a strong positive when networking for angels or VCs. Now you really have something to discuss， and real credibility as an entrepreneur. Build the friendship first， ask for advice on a real project， then maybe money later.
8.融資未動(dòng)，人脈先行。結(jié)交天使投資人或風(fēng)險(xiǎn)資本家，建立人脈的時(shí)候，掌握一個(gè)實(shí)實(shí)在在的項(xiàng)目（而不僅僅是一個(gè)想法）可以帶來(lái)非常積極的效果。因?yàn)?，這樣才能切實(shí)擁有可資討論的東西，也才能算得上是名符其實(shí)的創(chuàng)業(yè)者。先跟投資人建立友誼，就手頭真是的項(xiàng)目想他們征求意見(jiàn)，接下來(lái)或許就可以開(kāi)口要錢(qián)了。
Overall， don”t think of friends and family funding only as a last resort. There are massive advantages， like sharing profits with friends and family， as well as the strategic credibility than can be gained from funding from someone you know， rather than from a professional investor.
總體而言，不要僅僅只把家人和朋友僅僅視為最后的資金渠道。從熟人（而不是一位職業(yè)投資者）那里獲得創(chuàng)業(yè)資金可以帶來(lái)巨大的好處。它不僅可以讓親朋好友分享利潤(rùn)，還能為創(chuàng)業(yè)者積累起具有戰(zhàn)略性意義的信譽(yù)度。
I hope all of these points seem like common sense to you， and you wouldn”t think of handling it any other way. Yet， I”m continually amazed at how often I am approached as a professional investor by strangers asking for a million dollars to fund an idea， without hitting even one of the above points.
我希望以上這些對(duì)有志創(chuàng)業(yè)的人來(lái)說(shuō)都已經(jīng)是常識(shí)，除此之外，別無(wú)他法。然而，作為一位專業(yè)投資人，我經(jīng)常碰到一些陌生人，上述幾點(diǎn)他們連一項(xiàng)都沒(méi)有做到，就來(lái)向我申請(qǐng)高達(dá)100萬(wàn)美元的創(chuàng)業(yè)資金。這種事總是讓我驚訝不已。
We can all recount horror stories of families and friendships torn apart by money lost on someone else”s speculative dream. In these cases both the entrepreneur and the funding partner are the fools. Don”t be one.
我們都聽(tīng)說(shuō)過(guò)這樣的悲劇，一些人因?yàn)閯e人的發(fā)財(cái)夢(mèng)而蒙受經(jīng)濟(jì)損失，最終撕裂了親情和友情。在這些故事中，充當(dāng)傻瓜的不僅是創(chuàng)業(yè)者，還包括他們的融資伙伴。但愿你不是
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