We would like to stage the equity gain in phases, each time a goal is meet the next phase will come into action. Is that possible?

An agency is an instant cashflow model business. Ugly to scale due to logistics of a team and the mess of being in a client-service business model. But easy to rapidly monetize. Make a phone call. Close a client. Collect the cash. (Yes, that's a bit over simplified). Your girlfriend shouldn't grab a dime from anyone before locking in her first client. An agency can be entirely self-funded and there's little reason to pursue funding. After she had generated her first $50,000 in clients (for example), she can supplement growth with debt financing. And, in no way, is the idea of your generous, retiring parents investing $70,000 into a first time business owner, when statistically most businesses fail ... a good idea. Fair rate is a flexible concept. If I was lending out $70k, I'd want to see 3x $210k back as a minimum. Irregardless of whether that is "fair"... it would be the minimum (for illustrative purposes) where the process of the due diligence and contracts and parting with $70k liquid in trade for a "maybe" $140k gain would be of interest.

Generally speaking, a Preferred Share class with strong protective provisions (such as the right to appoint a board member) could afford you significant protections but if the terms are too onerous relative to the amount of money and stage of the Company, it might prevent the Company from raising further funding downstream, thus hurting your investment. You could also put all of the money in on a convertible debenture, which has some advantages but doesn't necessarily protect you. The best way to protect your investment is to invest in good people that you trust. It's simple and true. Happy to talk through the particulars of your situation.

I know couple of businesses which could be of your interest to you. At the same time, since I have been 3-4 businesses simultaneously for quite sometime and also share similar vision like yours, Would you be interested in a short discussion? Fyi, I am also on the lookout of partners who can support hand in hand. Lets discuss...

What of the following things does your startup have? > Founders who have graduated from prestigious universities / previously exited companies to known acquirers / worked for a known companies (with known being a brand-name company such as Google, Amazon, Facebook etc) > Three or more months of statistically meaningful growth (e.g. for easy sake, double digit growth of a number in the thousands) > At least one investor who is active on AngelList (defined in the ideal state by at least one investment in a company who raised their round through AngelList and ideally whose social graph is connected to "high signal" members of the AngelList network) If you have none of these things, then at least, have advisors and referrers who have a strong AngelList profile. And another option is to seek out the AngelList scouts and pitch them directly. They are more open to this than anyone else and I've seen companies with very little traction and very little social proof get featured because a scout believes in the founder and/or the story. Without any or most of the above, it will be difficult to stand out or build relationships via AngelList, in my opinion. I assume now AngelList operates on a concept similar to the LinkedIn "degrees of connection" model, whereby an entrepreneur can now send unsolicited messages to investors so long as there is a degree of connection between the investor and the company. I get a few unsolicited emails a week from companies whose advisers or investors aren't people I follow but that because of the way they determine "connection strength", these unsolicited emails still gain my attention. I assume this is the case for all investors. So the more that you can build your list of advisers and referrers, the more connections you can solicit. That said, AngelList's inbound email system is almost entirely ineffective for "cold" emails to really high-profile investors. Happy to share with you what I think to be your best options for raising profile for your company.

In my last two start ups I have invested heavier into my team than i have in the past and it has paid off big. Hiring an expert in their position has proven to be one of my most successful and stress free action in business. I will add this to my best practices. If you want to learn more about what I've learned and some resources on where to look, schedule a call now while my rates are discounted for the next 24 hours.