How to Fund a Startup
<img src="http://www.virtumundo.com/images/spacer.gif" height=15 width=1> Want to start a startup?
<img src="http://www.virtumundo.com/images/spacer.gif" height=15 width=1> 想要创业吗？
Get funded by Y Combinator .
获得 Y Combinator 的资助。
</td > November 2005 (This article is meant to be a complete summary of funding options for startup founders.
</td> 2005 年 11 月（本文旨在对初创公司创始人的融资选择进行完整总结。
In effect we're open-sourcing the kernel of what we tell founders about funding at Y Combinator .) --> Venture funding works like gears.
实际上，我们正在开源我们告诉创始人有关 Y Combinator 融资的核心内容。） --> 风险投资就像齿轮一样。
A typical startup goes through
典型的创业经历
several rounds of funding, and at each round you want to take just enough money to reach the speed where you can shift into the next gear.
几轮融资，并且在每一轮中，您都希望获得足够的资金来达到可以进入下一个档位的速度。
Few startups get it quite right.
很少有初创公司能完全正确地做到这一点。
Many are underfunded.
许多资金不足。
A few are overfunded, which is like trying to start driving in third gear.
有一些资金过剩，这就像试图开始三档驾驶一样。
I think it would help founders to understand funding better—not just the mechanics of it, but what investors are thinking.
我认为这将帮助创始人更好地了解融资——不仅是其机制，还包括投资者的想法。
I was surprised recently when I realized that all the worst problems we
最近，当我意识到所有最严重的问题都发生在我们身上时，我感到很惊讶
faced in our startup were due not to competitors, but investors.
我们创业公司面临的不是竞争对手，而是投资者。
Dealing with competitors was easy by comparison.
相比之下，与竞争对手打交道就很容易了。
I don't mean to suggest that our investors were nothing but a drag on us.
我并不是说我们的投资者只不过是我们的拖累。
They were helpful in negotiating deals, for example.
例如，他们在交易谈判中提供了帮助。
I mean more that conflicts with investors are particularly nasty.
我的意思更多的是，与投资者的冲突尤其令人讨厌。
Competitors punch you in the jaw, but investors have you by the balls.
竞争对手会打你的下巴，但投资者却会狠狠地打你。
Apparently our situation was not unusual.
显然我们的情况并不罕见。
And if trouble with
如果遇到麻烦
investors is one of the biggest threats to a startup, managing them is one of the most important skills founders need to learn.
投资者是初创公司面临的最大威胁之一，管理他们是创始人需要学习的最重要技能之一。
Let's start by talking about the five sources of startup funding.
让我们首先讨论启动资金的五个来源。
Then we'll trace the life of a hypothetical (very fortunate) startup as it shifts gears through successive rounds.
然后我们将追踪一个假设的（非常幸运的）初创公司在连续几轮中的转变过程中的生命周期。
Friends and Family A lot of startups get their first funding from friends and family.
朋友和家人 许多初创公司的第一笔资金都是来自朋友和家人。
Excite did, for example: after the founders graduated from college,
Excite 确实做到了，例如：创始人大学毕业后，
they borrowed $15,000 from their parents to start a company.
他们向父母借了 15,000 美元创办了一家公司。
With the help of some part-time jobs they made it last 18 months.
在一些兼职工作的帮助下，他们维持了18个月。
If your friends or family happen to be rich, the line blurs between them and angel investors.
如果你的朋友或家人碰巧很富有，他们和天使投资者之间的界限就会变得模糊。
At Viaweb we got our first $10,000 of seed money from our friend Julian, but he was sufficiently rich that it's hard to say whether he should be classified as a friend or angel.
在 Viaweb，我们从朋友 Julian 那里获得了第一笔 10,000 美元的种子资金，但他足够富有，很难说他应该被归类为朋友还是天使。
He was also a lawyer, which was great, because it meant
他也是一名律师，这很棒，因为这意味着
we didn't have to pay legal bills out of that initial small sum.
我们不需要用最初的小额资金来支付法律费用。
The advantage of raising money from friends and family is that they're easy to find.
从朋友和家人那里筹集资金的优点是很容易找到他们。
You already know them.
你已经认识他们了。
There are three main disadvantages: you mix together your business and personal life; they will probably not be as well connected as angels or venture firms; and they may not be accredited investors, which could complicate your life later.
存在三个主要缺点：您将工作和个人生活混在一起；他们的人脉关系可能不如天使投资公司或风险投资公司；他们可能不是合格的投资者，这可能会让你以后的生活变得复杂。
The SEC defines an "accredited investor" as someone with over a million dollars in liquid assets or an income of over $200,000 a year.
SEC 将“合格投资者”定义为拥有超过 100 万美元流动资产或年收入超过 20 万美元的人。
The regulatory burden is much lower if a company's shareholders are all accredited investors.
如果公司的股东都是合格投资者，那么监管负担就会低得多。
Once you take money from the general public you're more restricted in what you can do.
一旦你从公众那里拿了钱，你能做的事情就会受到更多限制。
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