I thought you had friends who were willing to help you out...
Take money from whoever you can - friends, families, and fools. You're not at the investor stage yet where people can eat you alive, and you can just refuse it if they try to. Keep well funded if you can; don't wait until you're out of cash, as investors know you'll be in a bind and will use it against you as much as they possibly can.
Taking money from friends would add motivation (or stress, but you seem like the type who can handle tight situations) and resolve to getting your startup off the ground, so I would recommend you pursue those initial starting funds.
Taking money from someone does make you responsible for that money, but doesn't make him your boss. They're called investors precisely because they give you money and hope to make a return on it - they don't have time to boss you around. Also, if you take money from someone, it means that they believe in your product, which is a great boost to morale especially if you're going in alone.
Finally, there are other ways of raising money besides selling your company - I know convertible debt is one choice, but I'm not familiar with any other low-cost routes (besides YC).
I plan to go the FFF (friends, families and fools) route in a few months. I have money to last me 4 months and after that it will be credit cards, but I hope to have something solid by then and I will be in a better position to get money.
Take money from whoever you can - friends, families, and fools. You're not at the investor stage yet where people can eat you alive, and you can just refuse it if they try to. Keep well funded if you can; don't wait until you're out of cash, as investors know you'll be in a bind and will use it against you as much as they possibly can.
Taking money from friends would add motivation (or stress, but you seem like the type who can handle tight situations) and resolve to getting your startup off the ground, so I would recommend you pursue those initial starting funds.
Taking money from someone does make you responsible for that money, but doesn't make him your boss. They're called investors precisely because they give you money and hope to make a return on it - they don't have time to boss you around. Also, if you take money from someone, it means that they believe in your product, which is a great boost to morale especially if you're going in alone.
Finally, there are other ways of raising money besides selling your company - I know convertible debt is one choice, but I'm not familiar with any other low-cost routes (besides YC).