Friends and Family Round

A Friends and Family Round is an early fundraising round where a startup raises capital from personal contacts of the founders, often before institutional investors participate. A Friends and Family Round may use simple instruments (like SAFEs or convertible notes), but even a Friends and Family Round should be documented carefully to avoid securities and cap table issues later.

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Ryan Roberts Startup Lawyer
Ryan Roberts is a startup lawyer with more than two decades of experience advising on venture financings and M&A transactions totaling more than $1 billion. He is the author of the Amazon bestselling startup law book Acceleration.