The lesson it seems to me is that that is not the correct way to go about raising a small, $150k round. Founders should be able to round that up from friends and family.
Great way to destroy your most precious and important relationships.
Never borrow money from friends, be extremely careful when borrowing money from parents.
Actually re-reading your comment I'm still not sure what you mean? If you're not willing to sacrifice relationships to start a company, then you're not cut out for founding? Isn't that a pretty unhealthy position to take in life?
The potential to sacrifice relationships is the complete wrong way to look at it. Investing is not only opportunistic, it can help someone realize a dream.
Correct, if these are your first thoughts, you are going to struggle mightily as a founder.
Not everyone's family or social circle is in that financial position.
EDIT: If you assume your friends and family can each spare $500 (which given a median household income of $51,000/year or $3,500/month after federal taxes... Maybe half the U.S. Population in a given month can spare that after rent, food, childcare, auto, and debt repayments.) then you need to get 3000 "yes"s to get to 150k. At a 20% yes rate, that means you are asking 15,000 people for money. It makes far more sense to ask people in the upper decile, who make $145,000 per year of household income and who might have some investment income that they can throw at you. Alternately, to raise from people who regularly invest in early-stage businesses. If you don't have any such folks in your social circle, you are going to be busting your ass and trying to make cold intros.
> This is not about average
That is my entire point, that you are speaking from not from the perspective of a person whose connections are of average wealth. If you have a close enough relationship with that many people who have 10k (that is, 2 months pre-tax income for most people) they can just put into a highly risky venture, you are starting from a position of economic privilege: wealthy people trust you with their money.
Is it possible to build a consulting practice and thereby build relationships with people who will then be confident in your ability to execute? Sure. Is it possible to go to a college with wealthy professors and inordinately impress them? Sure. It is possible in the United States to work yourself into a higher class. All I'm saying is that being able to collect $150k from your connections certain things from your social position.