---Paying a dividend out of my own pocket, to be reimbursed from the growth fund once we are underway
- This has the problem of people potentially labelling me a ponzi, as I would be paying dividends before provable income.
This is a very bad idea for exactly the reason you gave.
Also, never borrow money to pay dividends. By definition, a dividend is a distribution of a company's
earnings.
Not a distribution of a company's debt (loans).
Only pay dividends with coins made by the company.