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VENTURE CAPITAL


Websites
  • Alltop Venture Capital
    Alltop's Venture Capital section consolidates the headlines from all of the top VC-related blogs.
  • Ask the VC
    Blog created to "discuss relevant issues in the venture capital and entrepreneurial ecosystem."
  • CapitalHunter.com
    A subscription-based financial information company that identifies and disseminates national data on venture capital and other equity financings.
  • DealBook - NY Times' Venture Capital Roundup
    A roundup of recent venture capital related news.
  • Dow Jones Financial Information Services
    Dow Jones Financial Information Services has consolidated the services previously offered through Venture Wire, Venture One, and Venture Reporter. Many of the old products are still available. For example, from this home page, click on the Venture Capital link on the left, and products like the VentureWire Alert newsletter are shown.
  • Funding Universe
    Online forum for matching angel investors and entrepreneurs. One of the better networks for this kind of activity.
  • FundingPost
    FundingPost connects entrepreneurs with Angel and VC investors, both online and at live regional events.
  • Growthink Venture Capital Research
    Growthink Research publishes venture capital funding and private equity reports that analyze financing trends for emerging companies. In addition to publishing dozens of "off-the-shelf" funding research reports, Growthink Research also performs client-specific market and competitive research projects.
  • National Venture Capital Association
    "NVCA is the venture capital industry's source for advocacy, networking, professional development and reliable and timely information."
  • PricewaterhouseCoopers/Venture Economics MoneyTree Survey
    "The MoneyTree Survey is a quarterly study of venture capital investment activity in the United States. As a collaboration between PricewaterhouseCoopers, Thomson Venture Economics and the National Venture Capital Association, it is the only industry-endorsed research of its kind."
  • Private Equity Hub
    "Private Equity Hub is an interactive forum for the private equity community... Its mission is simple: To help you do your job better, by feeding your head with news and views from/about your peers."
  • TheFunded.com
    "TheFunded.com is an online community of entrepreneurs to research, rate, and review funding sources worldwide. In addition, TheFunded.com allows entrepreneurs to view and share term sheets, to assist one another finding good investors, and to discuss the many facets of operating a business."
  • VC Experts
    VC Experts serves the needs of the private equity and venture capital communities with its anchor product, The Encyclopedia of Private Equity and Venture Capital by combining substantive commentary on the private equity and venture capital industries with online learning courses. The VCExperts.com site includes current industry news, weekly commentary, and the online University and 4,000 page Encyclopedia of Private Equity and Venture Capital.
  • Venture Blog
    Read this. It'll make you a smarter entrepreneur, guaranteed.
  • Venture Hacks
    Lots of practical advice for entrepreneurs striving to build a VC-grade company.
  • Visual VC Database
    "Wouldn't it be cool to see every venture firm in the US on an interactive map?" So asks Matt Winn, architect of Venture Capital Database (VCDB). VCDB is a tool for entrepreneurs and other startup enthusiasts to locate venture capital firms. You can search by entering a location into the search box, or by using the interactive map feature. You can also search for keywords in firm and venture professional bios. The bios include information regarding investment sector focus, histories, and affiliations.The database currently includes 492 venture firms, 863 locations, and 6774 professionals.

Articles
  • Anatomy of a Term Sheet
    Venture Capital: An overview of trends, strategies, and structural issues. Note that this is a little dated - see the "Term Sheet for First Round Venture Capital" below for something a little more recent, although less detailed.
  • Banking 2.0: New Capital Connections for Entrepreneurs- Forbes.com
    This article discusses some of the payoffs and pitfalls of some of the new alternative methods of raising capital today. It outlines how some ways are available for obtaining financing online without going through the traditional bank structure. Specifically, the article discusses how to obtain financing online and through social networking sites, and some of the risks and benefits this sort of financing provides.
  • Do VCs Take The Summer Off? Entrepreneurs Say Yes. Data Says No.
    It's commonly believed that it's impossible to get the attention of an investor during the summer because they're all on vacation. Think again.
  • Entrepreneur Magazine's Top 100 VCs in 2007
    Nowadays, it seems like venture capitalists are an endangered species, but your chances of finding VC funding are better than you think.
  • Evaluating New Venture Opportunities: Conversations with Venture Capitalists
    Prominent venture capitalists describe what they look for in an investment opportunity.
  • Giving VCs a Winning Pitch
    "Wondering how to grab potential funders' attention and keep it? Here are some key pointers from the other side of the desk."
  • In Pictures: 10 Presentation Killers- Forbes.com
    An easy to digest slideshow presentation of ten crucial errors to avoid when making your sales pitch to investors or venture capital firms. This is an important read for any entrepreneur going into a sales or investment meeting. Even the soundest of business plans can fail to raise capital if you leave investors unimpressed by your pitch or your presentation style.
  • In Search of Inexperience
    The common wisdom is that a "proven management team" is more likely to succeed with a new venture than somebody else. Guy Kawasaki (and the author of the article Guy's posting is based on, Glenn Kelman) argues that this may be lazy thinking on the part of investors.
  • In VC deals, Price Doesn't Matter - But The "Promote" Does
    This article will give you a leg-up in your funding deal by discussing the areas of weaknesses for entrepreneurs.
  • MTDC
    A venture capital firm talks about their selection criteria and unwritten rules for selecting new ventures to invest in.
  • One-on-one with Guy Kawasaki, CEO, Garage Technology Ventures
    The changing environment for companies seeking venture funding.
  • SBIC Financing, Step-by-Step
    This article explains the mechanics of pursuing SBIC money. SBIC's are private venture capital firms licensed by the Small Business Administration.
  • Term Sheet for First Round Venture Capital
    This article describes, and links to, a model entrepreneur-friendly term sheet. One of the goals is to reduce the amount of time and money that goes into term sheet negotiations. The article briefly describes the rationale for eliminating participation with preferred stock, imposing a 1x liquidation preference, and enacting a single trigger vesting acceleration upon acquisition.
  • The Fundable Startup
    PowerPoint on the "characteristics of early stage companies that attract outside investors" by a Screening Committee member of the Launchpad Angel Group.
  • The Top Ten Lies of Entrepreneurs
    "Guy Kawasaki says: 'I get pitched dozens of times every year, and every pitch contains at least three or four of these lies. I provide them not because I believe I can increase the level of honesty of entrepreneurs as much as to help entrepreneurs come up with new lies. At least new lies indicate a modicum of creativity!'"
  • The Top Ten Lies of Venture Capitalists
    Guy Kawasaki says: "Venture capitalists are simple people: we've either decided to invest, and we are convincing ourselves that our gut is right (aka, 'due diligence') or there's not a chance in hell. While we may be simple, we're not necessarily forthcoming, so if you think it's hard to get a 'yes' out of venture capitalist, you should try to get a conclusive 'no.'"
  • The True Costs of Raising Money
    "You probably don't have a clue what it really costs to raise the capital you need to fund your business. This expert spells it out for you."
  • Turndowns
    Here is a study of why 50 of 150 actual plans were rejected by a Screening Committee member of the Launchpad Angel Group.
  • VCs Look for Entrepreneurs
    "VC firm leaders talked about the qualities they look for in startups and management at the Red Herring East 2006 conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts..."
  • Venture Capital 101
    A no-nonsense, 70-page guide to venture capital. Explains what VC is, who it's for, and how to get it.

Directories
Books
Insider’s Guide to Venture Capital, 2002   Insider’s Guide to Venture Capital, 2002
Dante Fichera

Essays by insiders, plus an extensive directory of venture capital firms.



Term Sheets & Valuations   Term Sheets & Valuations
Alex Wilmerding

An Inside Look at the Intricacies of Venture Capital Term Sheets & Valuations



Venture Management Handbook   Venture Management Handbook
Cliff Conneighton

An entrepreneur’s practical guide to stock, finance, and contracts.





Disclaimer: Inclusion in this directory does not constitute an endorsement. The materials linked to from this page are copyrighted to their respective owners.