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Archive for the ‘Venture Drill’ Category.
PowerPoint Presentation Outline
Writing is tough for everybody, and making slides that represent what your deal is doubly tough. You want your listeners to be listening to your sales skills, not figuring out what you have on the slides, so keep it very simple. Here are some pointers that helped one of our entrepreneurs raise over $13.5 million.
Continue reading ‘Creating Your PowerPoint Slides For Investors’ »
Perfecting Your Fast Pitch and Your Email Quickview
What makes fund-raising so hard is not only understanding this process, but also at the same time putting your deal into a package that can be communicated and shared quickly and efficiently. Venture capitalists, especially those that focus on financing early stage ventures, get carpet-bombed with packages outlining business concepts at various stages of development. Continue reading ‘How to Prepare your Fast Pitch for Investors’ »
Entering Into a Relationship With a ”Matchmaker” May Pose Risks
There are an increasing number of online “matchmaker” services that “find” venture capital and angel investors for entrepreneurs. The characteristic that these “finders” all share is their preferred method of being compensated. It is a fee that usually consists of a percentage of the money raised. Continue reading ‘Be Careful Using a “Matchmaker” to Help You Raise Money’ »
The Venture Impact Report
Published by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), Venture Impact takes a look at the economic impact of venture backed companies. This study looks at the contribution venture backed companies have had on overall job creation, revenue creation and innovation over the last 30 years.
NOTE: This is an Adobe PDF file. Download the Report in PDF
Access the Best Seed & Early Stage Life Science Pipeline in the World!!
The 2008 Life Sciences Venture Forum is the largest - and longest running - showcase of early stage innovation and entrepreneurship on the planet. It is the must-attend event for those seeking access to untapped quality deal flow from around the world. Continue reading ‘Special Event: 2008 Life Sciences Venture Forum’ »
Angel Investors in Groups Achieve Investment Returns In Line with Other Types of Equity Deals
This report was conducted over the past year and analyzed results from 86 organized angel investor groups throughout the United States, involving 538 individual angel group investors who have experienced more than 1,130 exits in which companies that had received the investments were acquired, went public, or were closed. Continue reading ‘Report: Angel Investor Groups’ »
Uncovering Knowledge Structures of Venture Capital Investment Decision Making
Pankaj Patel and Rodney D’Souza, doctoral students at the University of Louisville, have received the fifth annual “Best Doctoral Paper” award from the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration. They presented their winning paper, Uncovering Knowledge Structures of Venture Capital Investment Decision Making, at the annual meeting of United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE). Continue reading ‘Venture Capital Investment Decision Making’ »
Quickview At Understanding the Venture Capital Industry
We present answers to some of the most popular questions entrepreneurs have about venture capitalist.
>>See Also Special Guide: Venture Capital, Special Guide: Creating Your Business Plan
Continue reading ‘Venture Capital: Frequently Asked Questions’ »
The business plan is perhaps the most important written document you can ever create. It describes all critical internal and external elements and strategies for guiding the direction of your venture’s first several years as well as giving potential investors an idea of the venture’s structure, objectives, and future plans.
Continue reading ‘Special Guide: Creating Your Business Plan’ »
Special Guide for Raising Money From Venture Capitalists and Angel Investors
Is your company “really” investor ready? Do you know how to market and sell to outside investors? Do you have a sound financing strategy? Here is what Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop, once said: “There are only two ways of raising money: the hard way and the very hard way.”
Our detailed outline simply follows the content and approach of our online resources. We recommend that the total length of your business plan be no more than 15 to 20 pages. Each Value Driver should be one page (10 total pages) with 3 to 5 paragraphs for each page. Your financial section should be limited to 3 to 5 pages (the notes and assumptions can be embedded on the spreadsheets) and your Executive Summary should also be 3 to 5 pages.
What Makes a Great Venture Capitalist?
Now that you know and understand the specifics of your business—you know your numbers cold, you have the financials prepared, you understand how much you need, and grasp the fundamentals of valuation—it is about finding and evaluating the right investors for your specific deal. But navigating through the universe of investors can be confusing, even for the most experienced entrepreneurs. Continue reading ‘How do you know you have the right investor?’ »
How to Value Your Deal Like an Investor
One of the entrepreneur’s most difficult challenges is assessing and determining a value for the emerging growth venture. Simply put, value is determined by the interaction of three major ingredients: cash, risk, and time. Valuation depends mainly on understanding the venture, its industry, and the general economic environment, combined with a very prudent job of forecasting. Investors know that careful thought and hard work leads to foresight. Continue reading ‘How to value your deal like an investor?’ »
Discussions About The Food Chain Of Entrepreneurs
Not all venture capitalists invest in start-ups and early-stage ventures. Venture capital firms have different preferences and practices, including how much money they will provide, where in the entrepreneurial life cycle they prefer to invest, and the cost of capital or expected annual rate of return they are seeking. The sources of capital change dramatically for entrepreneurs at different stages of development and rates of growth. Continue reading ‘What are the stages of a company in the food chain?’ »
Understanding the Selection Process With Investors
Venture capitalists mitigate the risk of venture investing by developing a portfolio of companies in a single venture fund. They invest in a small percentage of the business plans that get placed and reviewed at their firms. When considering an investment, they carefully screen the technical and business merits of the deal before them. Continue reading ‘How does a venture capital firm screen deals?’ »
No established company rode higher on the Information Technology Wave than Santa Clara, CA-based Sun Microsystems, whose sales nearly doubled, to $18.3 billion, in the three fiscal years that ended in June 2001. Stanford University graduates Scott McNealy, Bill Joy, Andy Bechtolsheim, and Vinod Khosla got together in 1982 to start SUN (Stanford University Network) Microsystems. Continue reading ‘Case In Point: Sun Microsystems Launches’ »
Your exit strategy is important because it helps you define success in business. When entrepreneurs have not thought through an exit strategy, it may be an indicator that they are not focused on the eventual transition of the venture. There is a saying among venture capitalists, “It’s easy to get into an investment, but how do we get out?” Continue reading ‘Case In Point: Intel Capital’ »
How much money do you need? When do you need it? How do you value your venture and structure a “good” deal? Who are the best investors for your deal? And what are your financing alternatives? A concise financing strategy threads these important elements together. Continue reading ‘Case In Point: Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Buyers’ »
Discussion About An Accredited Investor
Under the Securities Act of 1933, a company that offers or sells its securities must register the securities with the SEC or find an exemption from the registration requirements. Continue reading ‘What is an accredited investor?’ »
U.S. Venture Capital Investment Reaches New Level Since Q1 2001
Dow Jones VentureOne and Ernst & Young LLP Quarterly Report Finds Increasing Investor Focus On Later Rounds; Deal Median Approaches $8 Million for First Time Continue reading ‘U.S. Venture Capital Investment Reaches New Level’ »