Investing with a large group of friends

[Eric Neeb]

I recently brought up REI in a group email with a bunch of friends and I had a lot more feedback than I was thinking I would. It sounds like there would be a group of about 8-10 who all have interest and most of them actually can get their hands on $$ (I'd assume collectively we could come up with 100-150k).

Has any one ever done a deal with that size group?  Can this be successful?

My initial thoughts/concerns would be:

- Working with friends (always heard this isn't the best idea)

- Too many chefs in the kitchen

- Not enough meat on the bones to split profits 8-10 ways

- Not sure how this effects my personal investment goals. I'm viewing REI as my future, some may view this as just a way for side income.