Startup Funding Espresso -- Taking Loans From Family and Friends
Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. Many startups use loans to fund their business. If you are taking a loan from family and friends, here are some points to consider: The first step is to determine the amount of the loan and how it will be disbursed to the startup. There\u2019s time-based disbursements. For example, the startup gets $20,000 now, $20,000 in three months, and the final $20,000 three months after that. Then there\u2019s milestone-based disbursement in which the funds are disbursed when the startup reaches specific milestones or goals such as prototype complete, product complete, customer sold. The loan should be made to the startup and not the founder.\xa0 You want clear dividing lines between the assets of the startup and the personal assets of its founders. Comingling personal assets with those of the startup is a bad practice. Avoid no-interest loans and establish an interest rate of at least 3%. If you set up a no-interest loan, the IRS will assume an \u201cimputed interest rate\u201d and tax the lender on an \u201cassumed\u201d amount of interest on income received. Determine if a personal guarantee and/or collateral are required. Most startups don\u2019t have assets aside from the intellectual property (IP) created by its founders and employees, so collateral is usually limited. A personal guarantee states that the entrepreneur will agree to be liable for repayment of the loan if for some reason the business cannot make the payments. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.Let\u2019s go startup something today.-----For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: Check out our other podcasts here: For Investors check out: For Startups check out: For eGuides check out: For upcoming Events, check out For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group