My cousin is crowdfunding for her new business. I’m not familiar with crowdfunding and I’m not sure if asking how much bootstrap capital she has is overstepping a boundary or not. I don’t believe she has a business plan, she just has an online campaign explaining her business and the amount needed which is in the tens of thousands.

A little background: unfortunately there have been money issues in our family which makes me leery in general. I’ve never had a money issue with her and we have a good relationship that I don’t want to go sour through something like this. Our family isn’t the closest and she’s put this campaign out to the family as well. This is her first business, she’s excited but more terrified. Should I just shut up and invest (because its family, not wanting to sour things and she’s terrified) or treat this as a teachable moment and ask her questions like: do you have a business plan, are you bootstrapping/do you have savings etc. I’m an entrepreneur myself so I’ve been giving her some advice. Tens of thousands is a lot of money and I love my cousin and want to help her, plus we’re in the same work field so there’s that too. Just not sure how to go about this so your advice is appreciated.