The Fundraising Rules

Book excerpt: The Fundraising Rules is a very clear explanation of the startup fundraising process, written by a person who has been on both sides of the fundraising process as a venture capitalist, angel investor and venture-backed startup founder. This book will guide you through the fundraising process from planning your fundraising strategy, to creating pitch materials, to getting the meeting, to closing the deal. You can read more about Mark Peter Davis, the author, on his blog http://mpd.me or follow him on Twitter http://twitter.com/mpd. WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING: "THIS IS VERY CLEAR!" - Julien Smith, NY Times Best Selling Author and Startup CEO "A practical guide from someone who has seen thousands of pitches - read it to get the inside track on how to get funded with the least amount of pain." - Jeff Bussgang, General Partner of Flybridge Capital Partners & Author of Mastering the VC Game "The Fundraising Rules should be required reading for entrepreneurs raising any round of capital. These tools will increase your odds of successfully getting funded, raising the right amount of money at the right valuation, and starting off the relationship with your investors in the best possible way." - Jed Katz, Managing Director of Javelin Venture Partners, Co-Founder of Rent.net & Move.com "This book is a clear step-by-step guide to the funding process and a great reference for founders preparing for that rite of passage." - Erick Schonfeld, Executive Producer at DEMO & Former Editor of TechCrunch A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Many of the world's best entrepreneurs are bad at fundraising. At first, I didn't understand why, since the skills used in fundraising are many of the same skills used to create businesses. Over time, however, the reason these athletes underperform became clear. They don't possess a fundamental understanding of the fundraising process. They have the skills, but not the knowledge. My mission in writing this book is to illuminate the fundraising process so that engaging these venture capitalists is no longer like walking in the dark. I will provide a detailed account of both the key steps in fundraising and the rationale behind them. The information should help entrepreneurs see through the eyes of the venture capital investor, enabling them to better understand motivations of investors and how best to engage them. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mark Peter Davis is a serial entrepreneur, community organizer and venture capitalist. He is a Venture Partner at High Peaks Venture Partners and a co-founder of Venwise, Devspark, Founder Shield and several other companies. Mark is the author of a blog (mpd.me) that addresses industry topics and offers guidance to entrepreneurs on how to raise venture capital. Mark is also an occasional contributor to a number of industry news services, including PE Hub, Mashable, OPENForum, Business Insider and Inc.com.