How to Get Former Employers and Co-Workers to Invest in Your Startup Three tips to keep in mind when asking people who once managed or worked with you for money.

Ryan Shank's former boss invested nearly $1 million in his startup this year. Alison Johnston Rue counts two past employers among contributors to the $1.1 million in seed funding she raised in 2012. And former Goldman Sachs trader Melissa Thompson scored a mid-six-figure seed round in 2013 from the head of her former trading desk, a broker she'd worked with, a past client and a onetime co-worker, among others.

It makes perfect sense to solicit funds from a former boss or colleague who thinks highly of you, has the financial means and isn't a competitor, according to Shank, COO of Mhelpdesk, a Sterling, Va., startup that sells management software for field-service businesses. "They already know the type of partner you'll be, from strategic thinking to work ethic," he explains.

Of course there's a right way and a wrong way to ask people who once managed or worked with you to open their wallets.