Not another VC. Not another credit card. Founder First Aid provides personal loans, financial tools, and wellness support designed for one person — you.
VCs fund your company. Accelerators mentor your pitch. Lenders collateralize your assets. But who takes care of the human being burning through savings, maxing credit cards, and losing sleep?
70% of founders use personal credit cards at 20%+ APR to fund their companies. The interest compounds while you're focused on product-market fit.
72% of entrepreneurs report mental health issues. 58% experience imposter syndrome. Financial stress is the #1 driver — yet 77% never seek help.
Founders don't fail because the idea was bad. They quit because they personally run out of runway. The human gives up before the startup does.
Simple, transparent personal capital with built-in protections no credit card or VC will ever offer you.
Tell us about yourself — your background, your startup, your situation. We underwrite the founder, not just the FICO score.
Prior career & earning potential, current venture traction, personal financial picture
$25K–$50K deposited directly to you. Use it for rent, credit card payoff, personal runway — whatever keeps you building.
12% APR · 5-year term · No equity · No board seat · No strings
If your income drops below $40K, payments pause — automatically. Up to 12 months of forbearance, usable in 3-month blocks.
Structured workout before collections. We'd rather restructure than report.
A personal operating system for the human behind the company. Financial tools, mental health support, and planning resources that don't exist anywhere else.
Not your startup's runway — YOUR runway. How many months can you survive? Personal cash flow dashboard updated in real time.
Average startup CEO salary is $161K — but ranges from $80K to $220K by stage. Know what's fair and model it against your burn.
See the true cost of personal debt from business expenses. Optimal payoff sequencing. Watch the number go down, not up.
Lightweight weekly pulse — sleep, stress, money worry. Not therapy. A nudge, a resource match, a reminder you're not alone.
Taboo but essential: what if the startup doesn't work? Updated backup plan, reversion salary estimate, peace of mind.
Not mentorship. Peers at your stage dealing with the same personal challenges. Founder with $40K in debt needs another founder who's been there.
We set aside one year of interest upfront as a reserve fund. That's why forbearance exists — your safety net is built into the structure, not bolted on as an afterthought.
No origination fee games. No prepayment penalties. No equity. No personal guarantee on your startup — this is a loan to you, the person, backed by your earning potential.
Our capital comes from a warehouse facility backed by investors who believe in this mission. Your interest payments generate 8% returns for them while giving you the cheapest personal capital available. Everyone wins.
Our warehouse facility offers institutional-grade yield with first-loss reserve protection, personal guarantees from high-reversion-salary borrowers, and a mission that matters.
Interested in learning more about the warehouse facility?
Contact Us →Every founder resource I found wanted to help my startup. Accelerators for my pitch. VCs for my cap table. Mentors for my strategy. Nobody asked how I was sleeping. Nobody helped me figure out if I could afford groceries next month.
Founder First Aid exists because the startup ecosystem has a blind spot the size of a canyon: the actual human being doing the building. We're not here to fund your Series A. We're here to make sure you survive long enough to get there.
Built in Chicago. Licensed under Illinois CILA. Backed by founders who've been exactly where you are.
Join the waitlist. We'll reach out when we're ready for you — with the loan, the toolkit, and the support you actually need.
No spam. No pitch decks. Just a heads-up when we launch.