Fast Talk

Smart! As long as a real friend you can trust and not a mere acquaintance.

Smart, so long as one can maintain a balance between a working relationship and a friendship.

Just hire a lawyer to draw up a contract outlining your respective responsibilities and exit strategies, no matter how close you are with your business partners.

It's a great idea to go into business with friends. You already understand one another and how things will work. The issue though can be knowing one another too well. It's harder to get friends to buckle down and do the work, because of the friendly relationship you work. But even when not working with friends, I like to make my colleagues and employees friends because it helps foster a more communicative atmosphere. I believe that would be the overall benefit to starting a business with friends, but it could also be the downfall. At times, you might find yourself afraid to tell friends the truth because you don't want to hurt their feelings.

all depends on if I want them as friends still

There are some issues that can not be ignored when / while going into business with friends. Those issues are the ones that draw the line between success and failure. To name a few:
True friendship means trust and trust in business can be a foundation for the platform of loyalty, team work, brain storming that leads to good plans with effective strategies, .. etc.
Business partnership means a contractual commitment that all parties involved must honor as well as it is the final platform for working together and each party is committed to his / her duties towards a common mission and objectives. Also, this contractual relationship can be the foundation for legal separation in the future based on disputes and problems / disagreements.
When friends are partners means stronger ties between / among board members with no barriers to communicate.
My final say on this topic that a team with proper and ethical as well as professional ties are in a great position to build a great business / enterprise. On the contrary is true.

Mahmoud Sabbah

Smart! An existing relationship can smooth out some of the rough spots in getting a business off the ground. If you already respect each other, trust each other, and enjoy each other's company, you're more likely to work well together.

I vote smart.

Risky - Doing Business requires getting your game on, not letting your hair down.

Professional relationships are valued for the ability to to achieve specific goals. They demand deep dependence, reliablity and sacrifices seldom doled out in equal measure. When goals aren't met the business desolves.

Friends are for hanging back, doing life, enjoying each others presence, and being there even when the chips are down.

We used to say: don't go into business with friends 'cuz either you won't be in business or you won't be friends.

Seriously, a lot of my thinking on people/friends/business/creativity is drawn from my years playing in rock bands. Personally, I need to be brutally honest in my work environment (hence my freelance status) and many relationships can't tolerate that kind of energy.

All of that said, I know people who have made it work and can only marvel. Better people than I, I suppose.