Seed money, sometimes known as
seed funding or
seed capital, is a form of
securities offering in which an investor invests capital in exchange for an equity stake in the company. The term
seed suggests that this is a very early investment, meant to support the business until it can generate cash of its own (see
cash flow), or until it is ready for further investments. Seed money options include friends and family funding,
angel funding, and
crowdfunding.