I took money from friends and family. I would not do it again. Most of my investors were well meaning. And, their expectations were often set by what they read

I took money from friends and family. I would not do it again. Most of my investors were well meaning. And, their expectations were often set by what they read in the media. I had one investor dream that he was a millionaire, and was initially very upset when we sold for a lower valuation than his investment valuation, and did not understand why he was not receiving all of the purchase funds rather than an amount based on his ownership share. There was a generally poor understanding of investment and this was hard to explain to a friend. Angels, supposedly, know that they will probably lose their entire investment, while F&F almost never think that, nor can they afford to. Of course there are pros and cons of each type of investor. The thing that would have me hold off from taking investment from friends & family would be that they often cannot to bring anything other than money to the table. If you read about Ron Conway, for example, you'll see he brings money and his whole being (connections, advocacy, etc.) when he invests. This is a big deal. F&F investors intend to do this, but they are as different in this way from "real" investors as growth hackers are from government workers. They don't know how to build businesses, and don't have much other than more opinions, generally. And, if you have a family member that does not fit this bill, then by all means, take them as an investor.