This book examines the range of financing options that a company has at the startup phase of its life cycle.
This period is hard, new businesses need to look to any and all sources of capital that can help create value inflection points, take risk off the table, and position the company for additional investment. This book will cover a variety of funding sources including seed, angels, grants, venture capital, and non-traditional sources such as foundations and crowd funding.
We will be looking at the landscape through the eyes of the determined entrepreneur and that of the investor. The takeaways from each chapter will include:
- Navigating the investment world
- Determining appropriate capital sources for your venture
- The standard investment criteria
- The nuts and bolts of venture capital
- And non-dilutive funding such as grants.
We will also lightly examine business planning, basic finance, and creating an investor presentation – though much of this can be a topic on their own. This should help you generate ideas and set a plan of action for funding your company.
Message From the Author: To my readers: I operate a healthcare startup in San Francisco, CA and we have raised $500K from notable angel investors such as the CEO of a publicly traded software company. In honor of privacy, many of the names in this book have been redacted. I graduated from a business and entrepreneurship program from one of the top medical schools in the US. It was there that I enrolled in the course Healthcare and Life Sciences Venture Financing to formalize my education around the venture capital world. Although there is an emphasis on healthcare life science funding, the concepts and resources will apply to any industry. The bulk of this book comes from the knowledge I learned from the course. The course cost me 8 weeks and $500. I want to share my knowledge with anyone who might benefit, at a cheaper cost.
This is a collection of my notes, experiences, and personal lessons – in bullet point form. My goal for this book is that you can digest all that I have learned in under 30 minutes and you use this as a reference guide to navigate the challenges of financing your business.
