I'd have no trouble taking money from friends who have been around the startup block a couple times. These people don't need me to protect them from themselves.

I'd have no trouble taking money from friends who have been around the startup block a couple times. These people don't need me to protect them from themselves. Asking directly seems tacky, but they'd know I was looking (some I'd be going to for help finding investors!), and if they expressed interest, that'd be fine. Family I'm more iffy on, but that may only be because I don't really have a bunch of relatives who are both financially secure enough and sophisticated enough to understand what they're doing. In fact, I can only think of an aunt and uncle who I might consider taking money from, but even that I'm not so sure about. It's really about whether they fundamentally grasp business, investment, and risk. And if they can't distinguish business and personal relationships, I don't think they're sophisticated enough to be investing in a startup to begin with.