Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open.

What should I look at before investing in a start-up?
In addition to evaluating the business (great answer), consider the potential payoff. If bonds pay off in the 5-10% range, the S&P500 has averged 10.5%. You should be expecting a payoff of 15-20% to invest in something riskier than the stock market.  That means that if you invest $10k, then in 5 years you'll need to get out $25K (20% returns over 5 years).   If you get less than this much in 5 years, the risk-to-reward ratio probably rules this out as a good investment.