Founders who are confident in their startups’ prospects and who are passionate about their ideas often discount the possibility that the startup could fail, but founders and investors who have already been burned by playing with fire take a very different view. One experienced advisor of startups observed, “If you go into business with money from friends and family, then you will either lose the business or lose your family, and have a very good chance of losing both.” A serial entrepreneur explained, “Out of principle, I do not include family in business/financial transactions or pursuits.
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