创业家离不开朋友、家人和傻瓜

    4.展示进步和创业者“自身的资金投入”。与其说自己需要启动资金，不如说自己已经自筹资金建立了一个样板，但还需要资金将其推向市场，后者更有说服力。我们都见过这样的人，他们说得天花乱坠，但从未付诸于行动。

    5.融资按部就班，不求一蹴而就。我们都想获得一百万美元的融资，“一步到位”地建造自己梦想的公司。但创业者几乎不可能找到一位愿意出这么多钱作为启动资金的人。以三四个月为期设置一些里程碑，展示取得的成果，然后再要求进一步的投资。

    6. 告知风险，立字为据。一定要向天真的亲朋好友们坦率的说明创业的固有风险——至少有70%的初创企业可能会在开张前5年倒闭！不要从无力承受损失的家人或朋友那里拿钱。务必要仔细想想创业一旦失败，资金投入损失殆尽的后果。

    7.一步一步地显示递增的价值。创业者依然在开发核心产品的时候，需要设法用外围产品获得市场的某种认同。在高科技领域，这叫做“尽早推出，查漏补缺（release early and iterate）”，这种方式可以让创业者一边开发产品，一边根据市场变化对其进行修正，这样做还可以让早期的支持者看到企业的进步。

    8.融资未动，人脉先行。结交天使投资人或风险资本家，建立人脉的时候，掌握一个实实在在的项目（而不仅仅是一个想法）可以带来非常积极的效果。因为，这样才能切实拥有可资讨论的东西，也才能算得上是名符其实的创业者。先跟投资人建立友谊，就手头真是的项目想他们征求意见，接下来或许就可以开口要钱了。

    总体而言，不要仅仅只把家人和朋友仅仅视为最后的资金渠道。从熟人（而不是一位职业投资者）那里获得创业资金可以带来巨大的好处。它不仅可以让亲朋好友分享利润，还能为创业者积累起具有战略性意义的信誉度。

    我希望以上这些对有志创业的人来说都已经是常识，除此之外，别无他法。然而，作为一位专业投资人，我经常碰到一些陌生人，上述几点他们连一项都没有做到，就来向我申请高达100万美元的创业资金。这种事总是让我惊讶不已。

    我们都听说过这样的悲剧，一些人因为别人的发财梦而蒙受经济损失，最终撕裂了亲情和友情。在这些故事中，充当傻瓜的不仅是创业者，还包括他们的融资伙伴。但愿你不是。

    本文作者Martin Zwilling是职业创业家公司（Startup Professionals Inc.）创始人兼CEO。

    译者：任文科

    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.

    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.

    6. Communicate the risks, and write down the agreement. Be honest with naïve 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.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    Martin Zwilling is CEO & Founder of Startup Professionals Inc.