• Home
• About Us
  • Firm Overview
  • Senior Consulting Team
  • Advisors
  • Market Expertise
  • Press Coverage
  • FAQs
• Services
  • Services Overview
  • Business Plans
  • Biz Plan Reviews
  • Biz Plan Makeovers
  • Financial Forecasts
  • Interim Management
  • Strategic Planning
  • Executive Coaching
  • Exit Planning
  • Market Research
  • Investor Services
  • Sales & Business Development
  • Marketing
  • Company Valuations
  • Turnaround Advisory
  • Web Design
  • Other Services
• Our Clients
• Entrepreneur Resources
• Papers
• Blog
• FAQs
• Contact Us
  • Contact Form
  • Contact Information
  • Leave Feedback
  • Get the Newsletter

The Entrepreneur's Library

GETTING READY

• About.com - Entrepreneurship
  Collection of articles, video clips and other resources for new entrepreneurs.
• Resources for Entrepreneurs by Gaebler Ventures
  A collection of short articles on business planning, capital formation, and related topics.
• Service Corps Of Retired Executives (SCORE)
  Nonprofit association dedicated to encouraging the formation, growth, and success of small business nationwide through counseling and mentoring programs.
• Startonomics 2009 Conference
  Video footage from Startonomics 2009, with speakers covering tech industry trends and important considerations for today's entrepreneurs.
• Startup 101: How to Build a Startup
  "Startup 101 is a serialized book about the thrills and spills of starting a Web technology venture... Startup 101 is for first-time entrepreneurs who want to go through the whole startup life cycle - including raising money, building a valuable business, and making a lot of money by selling the venture or taking it public."
• Tannedfeet.com
  With the byline "The Entrepreneur's Help Page", this website holds practical insights into the marketing, legal, financial, and social issues of small business.
• TechCrunch
  TechCrunch provides news, reviews of product developments and a database of individuals including investors. TechCrunch offers an Elevator Pitch section that gives startups the opportunity to have their 60-second pitch voted on and critiqued by peers - see http://pitches.techcrunch.com/
• The Go Big Network
  The Go Big Network is an online community that connects entrepreneurs, investors, and other individuals that play a role in the startup business world.
• 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.

• 10 Lessons from Wall Street Every IT Professional Should Master
  An excellent article covering ten common errors that executives of emerging technology companies make when working with the investment community.
• 10 Steps to a Hugely Successful Web 2.0 Company
  Most of these tips apply to non-web companies as well.
• A Fundraising Survival Guide
  "Raising money is the second hardest part of starting a startup. The hardest part is making something people want: most startups that die, die because they didn't do that. But the second biggest cause of death is probably the difficulty of raising money. Fundraising is brutal."
• A Realistic Look at Partnerships, Incorporation and ESOPs
  Video giving realistic views of partnerships, incorporations and employee stock options plans.
• Accidental Entrepreneur
  You're a middle-aged, middle manager who gets laid off. You send out 100 résumés and get absolutely nowhere. Now what? Some people in this bind start their own businesses. A lucky few end up doing much better than they did while toiling for other companies.
• Answering the Call
  Trust corporations to know when the VC game is ready for new players.
• Bootstrapping 101: Starting Up When the Economy is Down (Video)
  Michael Jones, a successful serial investor, discusses ways to overcome some of the unique challenges of starting up during a recession.
• Can I Get a Little Help Here?
  You need experience to hit up investors, but no one said it had to be your own.
• Cash Crunch
  Don't let investors and lenders use that old "it's the economy" line as justification to put the squeeze on your business.
• Determining Returns On Investments
  A finance expert explains what capital providers expect to receive from their investment.
• Factor Your Receivables for More Cash
  "Need a quick cash infusion? A factoring service can help you out."
• Get Funding Without Giving up Your Company
  "Do investors want an enormous piece of the pie? Find out how to negotiate them down."
• 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."
• Going Somewhere?
  "Keeping a financial road map in your company's back pocket is always a capital idea."
• Hidden Treasure
  "Your search for capital should start in the nooks, crannies, equipment and real estate your business already has."
• How About That 'B' Round?
  "If it's time for a second round of financing, read this first."
• How Can Start Ups Grow?
  For new ventures a lack of resources makes growth difficult to come by—just ask those nine out of ten fledgling firms that fail. Professor Mukti Khaire says the key may be in acquiring intangible resources such as legitimacy, status, and reputation.
• How to build a bulletproof startup
  Got a great idea? There's never been a better time to turn it into a great company. Here's a 16-step guide to help you do it right. This is "must" reading for new and experienced entrepreneurs alike.
• How to Give a Lousy Presentation: Fifteen ways to make a bad impression
  "Giving truly great presentations requires skill, work, and practice. Giving catastrophic presentations is far easier. So if you want to take the easy way out and look like a rank amateur, here are 15 surefire tips to guarantee that you leave a really, really bad impression."
• In Pictures: The 20 Most Important Questions in Business- Forbes.com
  A slideshow treatment of the top twenty points that any would-be entrepreneur or business owner absolutely must have sorted out, preferably before the capital is all spent and the customers have all left. Any entrepreneur who can't answer these questions quickly and easy has some thinking to do. A quick and easy must-read checklist for those coming up with their own business plan.
• 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.
• I'm a VC. Here's What I Want to Know.
  A checklist of questions every entrepreneur must address for investors.
• Learn by Pitching
  Business plan competitions and venture forums might be nerve-racking, but they can also get you the cash you need.
• Loans and Equity Investments Compared
  "How to choose between getting a loan or selling part of your business to an equity investor."
• Love Your Idea (Don’t Want to Finance It)
  Even after investing $600,000 of his own money, "Mr. Brooks is snared in the Catch-22 paradox that bedevils many entrepreneurs who have come up with a promising product and marketing plan: investors are reluctant to open their wallets until they see a functioning business. But it is difficult to create a functioning business until the investors open their wallets."
• Model Behavior
  "Abstract number sorcery won't cut it anymore. Investors want to know exactly how you're going to make money."
• Money For Ownership?
  "You don't have to sell your soul to raise startup capital."
• Navigating China's Visa Problem
  Discusses the potential difficulties that have recently been posed to entrepreneurs and businessmen hoping to do business in China, start a business in China, or even open a branch of a currently existing business in China. Specifically discusses the new, more strigent measures in place for obtaining a business visa in China, which now involves months of planning and significant cash. Particularly relevant for entrepreneurs and small businesses looking to benefit from China's planned telecom overhaul.
• Out of Stock
  "When your stock price is stalled and you can't hope to improve it, is it time for your company to quietly step back into private life?"
• Out on a Limb
  "Finding capital in today's battered market means taking risks."
• Personal Loan Guarantees
  "Before you sign on the dotted line, take some time to understand your liability."
• Public Opinion
  "Becoming synonymous with inflated valuations and dotcom disasters hasn't done much for IPOs' reputation. How long before we can start to talk about going public again without snickering?"
• Raising Money Through Equity Investments
  Bringing investors into your business gets you more than just money -- you get new co-owners, too.
• Raising Start-Up Capital
  A guide from Inc.com
• Seven Founding Sins
  The seven things entrepreneurs must avoid at all costs.
• Stock Options
  More entrepreneurs are now choosing to sell private stock offerings. And in saying no to IPOs, they're reaping the benefits.
• Strategy Letter I: Ben and Jerry's vs. Amazon
  "Building a company? You've got one very important decision to make, because it affects everything else you do. The decision? Whether to grow slowly, organically, and profitably, or whether to have a big bang with very fast growth and lots of capital."
• The 18 Mistakes that Kill Startups
  An excellent essay detailing the mistakes that you can control. Although some of the points are specific to software startups, most points apply to startups in any industry.
• The Anatomy of a Financing Deal
  "First things first: There is no such thing as a typical deal."
• The Best Startup Advice I Have
  David Cowan of Bessemer Venture Partners describes the Sales Learning Curve, developed by Stanford Business Professor Mark Leslie. The gist: between product development and sales ramp-up, there needs to be a period in which you figure out how to perfect what you have to sell.
• 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 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."
• Top Ten Legal Mistakes Made by Entrepreneurs
  "The life of a startup can be precarious, a wrong turn disastrous. Harvard Business School professor Constance Bagley discusses the most frequent legal flops made by entrepreneurs, everything from hiring the wrong lawyer to puffing up the business plan."
• Translating the Term Sheet
  "An investment firm has made you an offer. Now learn what the numbers mean."
• Worth the Price You Pay?
  "If your search for venture capital feels like it's getting out of hand, maybe you don't need their money after all."

• Entrepreneur Scan
  E-scan offers the potential entrepreneur, businessperson, self-employed or franchise owner a chance to see a detailed report about their most important asset – themselves. Results are compared with other successful businesses to indicate those business skills that need improvement.
• High Tech Startup Valuation Estimator
  Wondering what your pre-money valuation will be if a VC ever puts a term sheet on the table? Answer the following questions, and we'll calculate an approximate range for you. Of course, every situation is different, so your mileage may vary.

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