经典译文之创业离不开朋友,家人和傻瓜

 　　经典译文

　　Most entrepreneurs have learned that it’s almost always quicker and easier to get cash from someone you know， rather than angel investors 2 or professional venture capitalists. In fact， most investors “require” that you already have some investment from friends and family before they will even step up to the plate.
　　大多数创业者都明白，比起获得天使投资人或专业风险资本家的投资，从熟人那里获得资金几乎总要更快更容易一些。事实上，大多数投资者都“要求”在他们着手研究相关项目之前，创业者已经从他的亲朋好友那里获得了一些投资资金。
　　You see， investors invest in people， before they invest in ideas or products. Since they don’t know you （yet）， their first integrity check on you as a person is whether your friends and family believe in you strongly enough to give you seed money for your new idea. If they won’t do it， they why would I as stranger invest in you？
　　众所周知，投资者首先投资的是人，接下来才是创意或产品。因为投资者还不了解创业者，所以他们首先要对创业者的人品审查一番，看看他的亲朋好友是否对他有足够的信任，愿意给他启动新创意的种子资金。如果连亲朋好友都不愿意掏钱，对创业者一无所知的投资者凭什么要向其投资呢？
　　Friends and family will likely not expect the same level of sophistication on the business model and financials as a professional investor 1， but they do expect to see certain things. Here is a summary of some key items to think about as an entrepreneur before approaching friends， family， or even fools：
　　朋友和家人可能不会像专业投资者那样，要求创业者出具复杂的商业模式和财务信息，但他们的确希望看到确凿的东西。以下是创业者在求助于朋友、家人，甚或是钱多人傻的笨蛋之前需要认真思考的关键环节：
　　1. Don’t be afraid to ask， carefully. If you set around quietly waiting for someone you know to offer you money to fund a startup， you will probably have a long wait. On the other hand， if you open every conversation with “I need money，” you won’t have any friends or any money. Practice your “elevator pitch，” and end it by asking for the order.
　　1. 不要怕开口，言辞需谨慎。如果一位创业者安安稳稳地等待某位熟人为他提供初创企业的启动资金，他或许得熬上相当长一段时间。另一方面，假如创业者逢人就说：“我需要钱，”他恐怕连一个朋友都交不上，更别说筹措到资金了。创业者需要好好练习一下“电梯间演讲”，把要钱的话放到最后来说。
　　2. Be upbeat and respectful. Nothing kills everyone’s optimism and desire to help quicker than a negative or arrogant 3 attitude. If they are going to put cash into your company， chances are that they will expect to spend a fair amount of time together， either helping 4 you or certainly discussing progress. Nobody likes a downer.
　　2.生气勃勃，毕恭毕敬。没有什么比消极傲慢的态度更能扼杀大伙的信心和提携的意愿。如果大伙打算把钱投入创业者的公司，他们很可能期望跟创业者呆上足够长的时间，要么为他出谋划策，要么讨论公司的进展。没有人喜欢垂头丧气的家伙。
　　3. Be passionate 5 about the idea. Friends and family will quickly detect your level of sincerity 6 and thought behind the idea. You need to convince them that you have been working on this vision for a long time， and have done the “due diligence” on all the potential knockoffs. Daydreams 7 and “the idea of the moment” won’t get much respect.
　　3.对创业点子充满激情。朋友和家人很快就能察觉创业者对于创意的真挚程度和思考深度。创业者需要让他们相信自己致力于这个愿景已经有相当长的一段时间，并且对于所有潜在的风险都进行了“尽职调查”。白日梦和“灵光一现”不会得到太大的尊重。
　　4. Demonstrate progress and your own “skin in the game.” Saying that you need money to start is not nearly as convincing as saying that you have built a prototype on your own dime 8， but need more to roll it out. We all know people who can talk a good game， but never get around to building anything.
　　4.展示进步和创业者“自身的资金投入”。与其说自己需要启动资金，不如说自己已经自筹资金建立了一个样板，但还需要资金将其推向市场，后者更有说服力。我们都见过这样的人，他们说得天花乱坠，但从未付诸于行动。
　　5. Ask for the minimum rather than the maximum. We would all love to have a million dollars of funding to “do it right” and build the company of our dreams. But your chances are minimal 9 of finding someone who will give you that much to start. Set some milestones 10 for three or four months out， and show what you can do， then ask for more.
　　5.融资按部就班，不求一蹴而就。我们都想获得一百万美元的融资，“一步到位”地建造自己梦想的公司。但创业者几乎不可能找到一位愿意出这么多钱作为启动资金的人。以三四个月为期设置一些里程碑，展示取得的成果，然后再要求进一步的投资。
　　6. Communicate the risks， and write down the agreement. Be honest with naive 11 family members and friends about the inherent risks of a startup — at least 70% fail in the first five years. Don’t take money from family or friends who can’t afford to lose it. Think hard about the consequences of a possible startup failure and the loss of their funding.
　　6. 告知风险，立字为据。一定要向天真的亲朋好友们坦率的说明创业的固有风险——至少有70%的初创企业可能会在开张前5年倒闭！不要从无力承受损失的家人或朋友那里拿钱。务必要仔细想想创业一旦失败，资金投入损失殆尽的后果。
　　7. Show some incremental 12 value along the way. Look for ways to get some traction 13 with a minimal product， while you are still developing the main event. In high technology， this is called “release early and iterate，” which allows you to make corrections as you go， as well as adjust for the market changes. It also shows progress to early backers.
　　7.一步一步地显示递增的价值。创业者依然在开发核心产品的时候，需要设法用外围产品获得市场的某种认同。在高科技领域，这叫做“尽早推出，查漏补缺（release early and iterate）”，这种方式可以让创业者一边开发产品，一边根据市场变化对其进行修正，这样做还可以让早期的支持者看到企业的进步。
　　8. Network to build investor relationships before you ask for money. Having a real project， rather than just an idea， is a strong positive when networking for angels or VCs. Now you really have something to discuss， and real credibility as an entrepreneur. Build the friendship first， ask for advice on a real project， then maybe money later.
　　8.融资未动，人脉先行。结交天使投资人或风险资本家，建立人脉的时候，掌握一个实实在在的项目（而不仅仅是一个想法）可以带来非常积极的效果。因为，这样才能切实拥有可资讨论的东西，也才能算得上是名符其实的创业者。先跟投资人建立友谊，就手头真是的项目想他们征求意见，接下来或许就可以开口要钱了。
　　Overall， don’t think of friends and family funding only as a last resort. There are massive advantages， like sharing profits with friends and family， as well as the strategic credibility than can be gained from funding from someone you know， rather than from a professional investor.
　　总体而言，不要仅仅只把家人和朋友仅仅视为最后的资金渠道。从熟人（而不是一位职业投资者）那里获得创业资金可以带来巨大的好处。它不仅可以让亲朋好友分享利润，还能为创业者积累起具有战略性意义的信誉度。
　　I hope all of these points seem like common sense to you， and you wouldn’t think of handling it any other way. Yet， I’m continually amazed at how often I am approached as a professional investor by strangers asking for a million dollars to fund an idea， without hitting even one of the above points.
　　我希望以上这些对有志创业的人来说都已经是常识，除此之外，别无他法。然而，作为一位专业投资人，我经常碰到一些陌生人，上述几点他们连一项都没有做到，就来向我申请高达100万美元的创业资金。这种事总是让我惊讶不已。
　　We can all recount horror stories of families and friendships torn apart by money lost on someone else’s speculative 14 dream. In these cases both the entrepreneur and the funding partner are the fools. Don’t be one.
　　我们都听说过这样的悲剧，一些人因为别人的发财梦而蒙受经济损失，最终撕裂了亲情和友情。在这些故事中，充当傻瓜的不仅是创业者，还包括他们的融资伙伴。但愿你不是！