Venture Capital


The Fast Track to Face Time

By Ilan Mochari |  Apr 1, 1999

It's the eternal question asked by every entrepreneur who ever tried to raise capital: What do venture capitalists want? The answer, according to the Web ...  Read story

The Floodgates Are Open

By Stanley E. Pratt |  Jun 1, 1981

Loosed by recent tax reductions, a surge of investment dollars has filled venture coffers to record heights.  Read story

The Billion Dollar Gamble

By Christopher A. Leach |  Sep 1, 1981

That's how much money venture capitalists invested in new and growing companies last year. This year they're spending even more. Will the boom last forever?  Read story

A Brief History

Sep 1, 1981

Venture capital is as old as capitalism itself. But organized venture capital in the United States has a relatively brief history. After World War II, s...  Read story

Is Venture Capital Right For You?

Sep 1, 1981

Venture capital is by definition a risky business, but venture investors minimize their risks by imposing a number of requirements on the companies they f...  Read story

Venture Capitalists Don't Relish Risk

By David E. Gumpert |  Nov 15, 1999

Probably the key fact for entrepreneurs to remember about venture capital firms is that their names are misleading. Though the term venture capitalRead story

Expansion Capital: The Critical Issue

Sep 1, 1981

More than one small businessman has put down his morning paper after reading about the latest surge of money into venture capital and said to himself, "If...  Read story

East vs. West: Location, Location, Location

By Anne Marie Borrego |  Dec 1, 1999

What does location have to do with venture-capital funding? Plenty, says Scott Randall, founder and CEO of FairMarket Inc., a Woburn, Mass., Internet-auct...  Read story

Targeting the Right Venture Capitalists

Dec 6, 1999

There are many kinds of venture capitalists who invest in different types of opportunities. Some venture capitalists prefer to provide only seed capital; ...  Read story

What Capitalists Want

By Richard Loftin |  Nov 1, 1981

A survey shows what nearly 300 venture capitalists look for in new and expanding companies.  Read story

How important will my management team be to venture capitalists?

By Guy Kawasaki |  Aug 7, 2000

Finance & Capital mentor Guy Kawasaki responds: The strength of your start-up's management team is absolutely critical to your succe...  Read story

How I Got VC Money: Brian Brittsan

Sep 1, 2000

How a company that handles water conservation for buildings raised venture capital  Read story

What does it take to make a business plan attractive to venture capitalists?

Sep 6, 2000

Writing a Business Plan mentor Rhonda Abrams responds: Most new entrepreneurs think that a great idea is what captures a venture cap...  Read story

Must you show that you are different from a competitor to raise venture capital?

Sep 8, 2000

Finance & Capital mentor Guy Kawasaki responds to the following question from an inc.com user: When approaching venture capital...  Read story

How can I be sure that a venture capital firm will be a good fit with my company and our goals?

Sep 12, 2000

Finance & Capital mentor Guy Kawasaki responds: Before working with any investor or venture capital firm, you should research the f...  Read story

How do I prevent venture capitalists from stealing my idea?

Oct 23, 2000

Internet in Business mentor Bradley Feld answers the following question from an inc.com user: I'm shopping my business idea to a...  Read story

How do I raise venture money with no previous experience?

Nov 16, 2000

Internet in Business mentor Jakob Nielsen responds to the following question from an inc.com user: I have no experience raising...  Read story

Are U.S. venture capitalists willing to invest in tech entrepreneurs who target foreign markets?

Nov 30, 2000

Finance & Capital mentor Guy Kawasaki's response: The advice varies and depends on the country in which the start-up is located. U....  Read story

Business Development Companies: Boom Or Bust

By Doran Howitt |  May 1, 1982

A 1980 law made it easier for venture capital companies to go public. But the market's collapse and some fundamental questions have produced a trickle rather...  Read story

Guy Kawasaki on Angel Investors

By Guy Kawasaki |  Dec 12, 2000

Guy Kawasaki discusses when and how an entrepreneur should seek out an angel investor.  Read story

What size market interests potential investors?

By Rhonda Abrams |  Jan 18, 2001

Writing a Business Plan mentor Rhonda Abrams responds: If you're looking for money for your business, one of the key things investor...  Read story

Financing: Where to Find It

By Lisa Chadderdon |  Feb 20, 2001

The hunt for financing is on. Only a year ago, venture capitalists seemed willing to throw money at just about any dot-com business plan. But funding toda...  Read story

Present At The Creation

By Robert A. Mamis |  Jul 1, 1982

James Toreson's Microcomputer Systems Corp. spawns new high-technology companies as well as healthy profits. Now eager venture capitalists are lining up outs...  Read story

Put Government Pension Funds To Work

By Belden Hull Daniels and Nancy Barbe |  Sep 1, 1982

Small companies need capital, and state and local government pension funds can help if lawmakers will allow it.  Read story

Stalking The Venture Capitalists

Sep 1, 1982

The major problem in the venture capital industry today, according to some, is neither lack of available money nor lack of attractive companies to invest ...  Read story

How to Get Funding Now: Two VCs Weigh In

By Carole Matthews |  Aug 15, 2001

In the September 2001 Inc story, More Strings Attached , Jill Andresky Fraser tells ...  Read story

Angel Investor Directory

Jun 13, 2005

Finding the right angel investor could help you get your start-up off the ground. Angel-investor networks are a good place to start looking for funding. T...  Read story

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Presenters

By Susan Greco |  May 20, 2002

Entrepreneurs learn pretty quickly that making a verbal pitch to investors is very different from submitting a written business plan. Here are seven good pra...  Read story

Directory of VC and Entrepreneurial Boot Camps

By Jennifer A. Redmond |  May 20, 2002

We've compiled a list of boot camps and forums across the country where entrepreneurs interested in acquiring capital are learning to fine-tune business plan...  Read story

The Equity Partnership As A Seed For Start-ups

By Michael Geczi |  Dec 1, 1982

Since the limited partners get the early losses, they demand less equity from founders at the time of tax-free conversion.  Read story

Today's 'Down Rounds' Bring Startups Pain

By Kara Scannell |  Mar 12, 2003

From The Wall Street Journal Online Fledgling companies are being forc...  Read story

Funding From Family: A Recipe for Disaster?

By Raymond Hennessey |  Jul 1, 2003

Friends and family are a common source of initial investment, but their presence as shareholders can cause havoc when you try to raise additional capital.  Read story

Why Venture Capitalists Hesitate to Play Games

By Peter Loftus |  Feb 1, 2004

NEW YORK -- The video-game industry is booming, but venture capitalists aren't playing. VC investments in games-related start-ups have been sporadi...  Read story

Incorporate Now!

By Laura Roe Stevens |  Sep 1, 2004

Two winters ago, one of Corbet Brown's employees slipped on ice while getting out of the company SUV. The employee's leg fell underneath the vehicle, brea...  Read story

Angel Investing

Jun 15, 2005

Angel investing has never been bigger. In the July 2005 issue, Inc. magazine explores the trends in angel investing now. Here, Inc.com offers addition...  Read story

Profiles of Angel Investors and Groups

By Jim Melloan |  Jun 15, 2005

As a complement to Inc. magazine's July 2005 feature "Angels With Angles,"* Inc.com shares sixteen more profiles of angel investors, groups and firms,...  Read story

9 Tips for Winning Over Angels

By Stacy Zhao |  Jun 15, 2005

It's never easy to woo an investor. But our tips will help you when you begin to approach angels.  Read story

Businesses Say No to IPOs

By Allen P. Roberts Jr. |  Jul 14, 2005

Mike Canney had a lot of options in front of him. As owner and founder of defense contracting firm Intelligence Data Systems, he was an entrepreneur that ...  Read story

Cashing In on Clean Technology

By Venuri Siriwardane |  Jan 2, 2009

Despite the credit crunch and falling oil prices, venture capitalists say green energy is still a good bet.  Read story

"Angel" Investors

Related Terms: Venture Capital ; Read story