Seed money, sometimes known as seed funding or seed fund, is a form of securities offering in which an investor purchases part of a business. The term seed suggests that this is a very early investment, meant to support the business until it can generate cash of its own, or until it is ready for further investments. Seed money options include friends and family funding, angel funding, and crowdfunding
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seed_money
see also venture capital
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