You believe in your project idea. There is no way to bootstrap it and you need funding. The question is, from whom?
From professional investors or from amateur investors? They are totally different people doing it for totally different reasons.
Almost all charities are funded by amateur investors. Wikipedia, Kickstarter projects, cultural movements (Pink Dot) and a certain kind of scientific research. They are called donors.
The minute a professional invests in your company, they are counting the days until you sell it. Because that is the only way they can get a win. So the day you take a dollar, is the day you pre-sold your company. And it can be really stressful.
Amateur investors are a much better idea. Because you can deliver on the promise that “this is going to be interesting”. You can’t necessarily deliver on the promise of “We are going public.”
They say “You mean I get to get the first edition of the product? See how you design it, come for the opening party and it’s only 15,000 dollars? I’m in!” And if you found the right kind of these people, the energy they bring can be worth more than money.
Right now you are in charge of how much of your life you want to sell to your investor.
Do the thing that permits you to do your work, instead of playing a game that isn’t your game.
