Venture Capital Handbook: New and Revised [Paperback]

David Gladstone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1987

Handbook on how to raise start-up business capital. Written by the president of America's second largest venture capital company, this book covers all aspects of the venture capital raising process: From the presentation of the proposal, through the negotiation process, through the legal closings, to the final exit by the venture capital company. For courses in Venture Capital, Entrepreneurship, Small Business and Investments.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Financial Times Prentice Hall; Revised edition (October 1, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0139415017
• ISBN-13: 978-0139415012
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #616,103 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #59 in Books > Business & Investing > Small Business & Entrepreneurship > Raising Capital

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Plain-English primer for Main Street audience, October 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Venture Capital Handbook: New and Revised (Paperback)

Rather than Silicon Valley technopreneurs, this plain-English book is oriented toward Main Street small business operators. Within those confines, the author actually does a diligent job of demystifying the interaction with potential investors, explaining the fundamental process, and breaking down the deal documents into understandable components.

Is this the right book for you? Judge for yourself, from the following excerpts:

- Number 2 on the list of Ten Things Not To Say to a venture capitalist: "Some friends and I ... purchased the franchise to a doughnut operation. I am putting $25,000 of my money into the deal through a second mortage on my house, and my wife and I are going to help operate the doughnut shop."

- Put the financial history in columnar format.

Readers who find such caliber of advice instructive, are taught to negotiate and structure collateralized loans with equity kickers, typically denominated in the hundreds of thousands.

If your needs lie on a different plane, obviously you should look elsewhere.

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Venture Investor's Guidebook, February 13, 2000

By 

Frederic Harwood (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Venture Capital Handbook: New and Revised (Paperback)

I am in the process of investing in a start up and found Mr. Gladstone's advice invaluable to the investor. He describes succinctly, in bullet form, the conditions that an investor should lay down for the owner when offering to invest. Most helpful was his point that the investment is a loan AND a stock deal, and how to structure both. He also provides a rule of thumb for how much of a company the investor can ask for given the value of a company. And he reinforces the point that the investor can make 12-15% a year on the stock market,(even more today), so to invest in a venture that is almost by definition riskier will require some serious multiples. This was all in all a very helpful book to the investor. I did not find the book so helpful in finding and nurturing outside sources of money, which was what I was originally interested in, but now that I have invested some of my own money, the book is extremely valuable.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best "How-To" Venture Capital Handbook Available, February 11, 2000

By 

John Medlin - See all my reviews

This review is from: Venture Capital Handbook: New and Revised (Paperback)

I read and used the first edition of this book in 1983 and since then have used it in raising $27 MM in equity financing for four companies. In addition, it has served as the basis for a short term course in "Raising Equity Capital" for start-up companies. One of the business plans based on this book was regarded as "one of the best seen" by VC companies around the country. I highly recommend it for the novice and the professional.