120 of 120 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
So you need investors and need to write a business plan..., October 14, 2008
This review is from: Raising Venture Capital for the Serious Entrepreneur (Hardcover)
I did, so I bought five books. I will review them from worst to best.
"Finding an Angel Investor In a Day," by The Planning Shop (2007), told me nothing I didn't know, and I didn't know anything about business plans or angel investors. The title is ludicrous and the advice is obvious, e.g., "Your business plan should be concise, compelling, and irresistible to investors." 1 star.
"The ABC's of Writing Winning Business Plans," by Garrett Sutton (2005), walks you through writing business plans for a lawn mowing business and buying a pizza restaurant. If your business is more complicated, this is not the book for you. 1 star.
"The Ernst & Young Business Plan Guide," by Brian Ford, Jay Boorstein, and Patrick Pruitt (2007), is a good book but hardly inspiring or insightful. If you follow this book your business plan will be competent but won't grab investors. 3 stars.
"Angel Financing for Entrepreneurs," by Susan Preston (2007). This book doesn't explain how to write a business plan, but it explains how to make a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation to investors -- a presentation that will grab investors. For example, one question is "How is your product or technology scalable?" I also learned some of the financials that angel investors look for, such as what IRR is expected. This book helped and inspired me to write an excellent presentation, that became the basis for my business plan. 5 stars.
"Raising Venture Capital for the Serious Entrepreneur," by Dermot Berkery (2008). This is a textbook for a business school course about venture capital. This book is full of insights. Every few pages new ideas would compel me to go to my computer and add stuff or rewrite my business plan, for example, Berkery emphasizes the need for clear milestones. Preston mentioned milestones but didn't make it clear why they are so important. The financials that were briefly presented in Preston's book are thoroughly presented in Berkery's book, for example, what gross margin investors look for (80% or more) and why they need such extremely profitable products or services. Plus you learn the jargon or key phrases of venture capitalists, e.g., "a large but well signaled market," the importance of "market power" and an effective "route to customers." I feel that my business plan now speaks to investors in their language, with the numbers they are looking for. 5 stars.
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34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pulls it all together for me, March 27, 2008
This review is from: Raising Venture Capital for the Serious Entrepreneur (Hardcover)
I've worked in, and been around, VC and angel investor-financed businesses for a long time. So, in some ways the topics in this book are not entirely new to me. However, this book takes all the various buckets of entrepreneurial finance information that are scattered around my brain and puts them into a coherent whole.
More than that, since I am also in the process of fundraising for a startup, this book gives me clear guidance and demystifies the VC evaluation process. Other than investor scale and growth expectations, I think the advice applies equally well to angel investor evaluations.
The book is incredibly clear...I agree it is not a "VC for Dummies" book, yet a a total novice would indeed be able to navigate the content quite easily. The author has a gift for anticipating reader questions and possible confusion points...probably because he also teaches entrepreneurial finance and has seen all the questions before.
My husband saw me avidly reading this book and said "Do you have some racy novel between the covers of that book?" Joke aside, I have found it very compelling reading.
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant., December 8, 2008
This review is from: Raising Venture Capital for the Serious Entrepreneur (Hardcover)
There is one word for this book and its contents - Brilliant.
The book thoroughly covers the forward movement in start up and how to move towards proper funding. It helps entrepreneurs think through the tough decisions that face them - and gives solid advice and ideas by showing working examples and outcomes. By clearly describing the motivations around each party involved in funding situations and seeing how those motivations can change at each stage of the game - this book gives the reader tools that any serious start up needs. I recommend this book 150% - It has been a solid guide in the steps I have taken and are continuing to make in my start-up.
Mr. Berkery deserves a standing ovation for the serious depth and thinking placed into this volume and provided to the entrepreneurial world!
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