What the Experts Say

The new economy will have two kinds of business models that successfully attract investor capital:

One will be the ever-present GAPE Great American Product/Exit Game - model of hot product/fast-growth/fast investor-liquidity, which only a very small number of companies will be fortunate enough to have.

The other super model that will attract investor capital will be the Visionary Business Builder model detailed in this book. this new model provides entrepreneurs with the theory and strategies that will permit outstanding business growth and investor returns. Eventually, even the venture capital investing will embrace this disruptive new start-up model.

Business Angels : Securing starting up finance
Editorial Review by Patrick Coveney

Featuring new findings from a landmark Oxford University study of the informal venture capital market, this book gives clear and essential advice for entrepreneurs seeking funds to facilitate their plans. While much has been written about financing through the formal sector (banks), this is the first book to focus exclusively on the informal market - family, friends and private investors, the real "business angels."

Venture Capital and Private equity : A Casebook
by Joshua Lerner, Josh Lerner

Over the past fifteen years, there has been a tremendous boom in the private equity industry. Despite this growth, many questions about private equity remain unanswered, and many of it’s features continue to be mysterious. This volume, divided into four modules, explores these exciting and important questions. The first module examines how private equity funds are raised and structured; the second considers the interactions between private equity investors and the entrepreneurs that they finance; the third examines the process through which private equity investors exit their investments; and the last reviews many of the key ideas developed in volume.

Angel Investing:  Matching Startup Funds with Startup Companies - A Guide for Entrepreneurs, Individual Investors, and Venture Capitalists
Editorial Reviews by Robert J. Robinson, Mark van Osnabrugge

According to Robert J. Robinson and Mark van Osnabrugge, so-called business angels - those generally unheralded private investors who usually specialize in high-growth fields and often involve themselves directly in the endeavors they fund - now provide 30 to 40 times more financing each year than their more famous counterparts, venture capitalists. In Angel Investing, Robinson and Van Osnabrugge use personal interviews, anecdotal evidence, and more than 300 research studies to show exactly who these financiers are, how they operate , and where they can be found. Robinson, an international management consultant, and Van Osnabrugge, an associate professor at Harvard Business School, also compare various financing options, explain precisely how angels and venture capitalists function differently, describe proven ways to attract them, and provide relevant resources. "The vast size and power of the business angel market in the united Sates is not well understood but is of incredible importance to our entrepreneurial sector and, indirectly, to maintaining our economic growth and standard of living," the authors write. They pack their book accordingly with valuable information for serious fund-seekers who have exhausted the traditional three F’s (founder, family, and friends), as well as those who are considering entrepreneurial investments of their own. -Howard Rothman

Robert E. Berney, Chief Economist, U.S. Small Business Administration
This is the best research on the angel capital market that I’ve seen.

Peter S. Cohen, Author, Net Profit and The Technology Leaders
Angel investing in raising capital for a new enterprise should read Angel Investing!

Ned Heizer, Founder and First Chairman, National Venture Capital Association
Anyone interested in raising capital for a new enterprise should read Angel Investing!

The first authoritative, comprehensive guide to angel investing offers indispensable insights into the current state of the angel investment market, and provides a resource section designed to link investors and start-up companies.

Angel investment is becoming a popular way for entrepreneurs to bring their companies from the "idea stage" to the full-blown funding of venture capital or an initial public offering on the open market. For the individual investor, becoming an angel may generate potentially enormous financial returns; h or she can invest in a company with tremendous growth potential in the early stages - before it goes public.

Angel Investing is an indispensable guide for both entrepreneurs seeking capital and would-be angel investors in search of a big return. Its in-depth coverage reveals what active angel investors seek in a start-up, how entrepreneurs can pitch their company, financing strategies, and the invaluable resources used by the pros. The book includes an extensive listing of organizations, web sites, and other networks that link investors and entrepreneurs.