<prompt> Human: My bil has no debt, no family and about 150k cash. He called last night thinking of investing 25k in a startup that installs smart parking meters for cities.Their projections claim to double his money in 4 years. I think its too risky, and instead suggested he put 90 of his disposable assets into a low fee index fund instead.Do you have any thoughts?Edit: Thanks everyone for your replies! I have sent my BIL the link to this thread, so hopefully he looks at it today and it helps him make his decision. Id welcome any more thoughts and suggestions.Assistant: Does you BIL have any history as an investor? How does he know these people? There is a surfeit of capital floating around these days. I would question the viability of any company that has to solicit an inexperienced investor. I would also second the post who brought up the question of whether he needs to be an accredited investor.Human: He has no history as far as I know. He met the CEO on a plane and got talking. He got a 40 page brief from the ceo detailing salaries plans etc. I dont know however if this was reviewed by an auditor or not.  <response>: Yeah, I would stay far away from that. It just doesnt make any sense. 