On the ladder of start-up money, VC's wouldn't bother themselves on a project with less than a 7 figure pre-money valuation. Angel Investors typically are looking for the 500k to 3mm pre-money valuations. You're even below most SBA/SBIC/SBDTC loans - the advice that this is where you use a credit card seems to be right on target, as scary as it may be to put up your own money.
Best other option? Start an LLC or other legal entity and find a friendly credit union that will let you run a line of credit only through its name/id, without you guaranteeing the loan personally (Not common).
-Allan
