I often advise my Seed-stage founders to raise from individuals before pursuing institutional money.
But this advice isn’t one-size-fits-all.
So, I thought it would only be fair to list some reasons why you SHOULDN’T go through with a F&F round:
If your business is strong enough of an idea then it should be able to get funded from someone that isn’t your grandma.
If you’re strong enough of a founder, you should be able to get funded from someone that isn’t your grandma.
Spending your family’s money on a high-risk endeavor can make for an awkward Thanksgiving — In my own experience, it’s hard enough feeling the weight of being a founder. It’s even harder when the money you’re risking was pulled from your uncle’s retirement.
In fact, there are even a few possible ways to avoid raising a F&F round altogether:
Raise the least amount of money possible from institutional investors to show the most amount of progress (skipping the F&F round)
Raise money via pre-sales if you have to (with the right campaign, it’s much more effective than it may seem)
Apply to an accelerator or incubator program that will provide you resources to get your MVP off the ground
Fund your prototype or beta product using another income stream you may have
Perhaps it's best to keep your day job until you see a line of sight to launching your product and/or raising the funds needed to do so!