How to Approach Venture Capitalists

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The VC connects wealthy investors to nerds. There are few
alternatives. You can self-fund by consulting and by setting aside money for your venture. That doesn't work. You could go to friends and family, but that risks friendships. You could find "angel" investors, but that only delays going to VCs.

The VC community is a closed one. It caters to a restricted audience. In fact, you don't get to meet a VC unless you have a personal introduction. Don't send them your business plan unless the VC has personally requested it.

VCs don't sign nondisclosure agreements. That affords them protection if they like your ideas, but they want to
fund someone else to do them. At least two of my friends have had their ideas stolen and funded separately. One case was blatant theft--sections of the original business plan were crudely copied and taped into the VC-sponsored plan. My friend sued and won a moral victory and a little money. The start-up based on the stolen idea went public and made lots of money for that start-up's VCs. Most entrepreneurs don't have the time, the means, or the proof to sue. In the second case, venture firm D sent its expert several times for
additional "due diligence" regarding the possible investment. My friend got funding elsewhere, but D funded its expert with the same ideas.

VCs are sheep. The electronics industry is driven by fads, just as the fashion and toy industries are. The industry is periodically swept by programming language fads: Forth, C++, Java, and so on. It's swept by design fads such as RISC, VLIW, and network processors. It's even swept by
technical business fads such as the dot-coms. No area is immune. If one big-name VC firm funds reconfigurable electronic blanket weavers, the others follow. VCs either all fund something or none of them will. If you ride the crest of a fad, you've a good chance of getting funded. If you have an idea that's too new and too different, you will struggle for funding.

VCs aren't technical. Mostly, they aren't engineers--even the ones with engineering degrees. An engineering degree is a starting point. If you design and build things, you can become an engineer; if you work on your career, you
can become an executive or a venture capitalist. VCs in Silicon Valley are as technically sophisticated as VCs come. As you get geographically farther from technical-industry concentration, investors become more finance-oriented and less technically-oriented. Like all people, they dismiss what they don't understand, your novel ideas, and they focus on what they know, usually irrelevant marketing terms or growth predictions.

Experts aren't very good. The VC will send at least one "expert" to evaluate your ideas. Don't expect the expert to understand what you are doing. Suppose your idea
implements a cell phone. The VC will send an expert who may know all there is to know about how cell phones have been built for the last 10 years. As long as your idea doesn't take you far from traditional implementations, the expert will understand it. If you step too far from tradition--say, with a novel approach using programmable logic devices instead of digital signal processors--the expert will not understand or appreciate your approach. One company I worked with had an innovative idea for a firewall: build it with programmable logic and it works at wire speed. Wire speedmeant no buffering, no data storage, and therefore no need for a
microprocessor or for an IP (Internet Protocol) address. Simple installation, simple management, but so different that experts - even those from programmable logic companies - didn't understand it. To them, proposing a firewall without a microprocessor and an IP address was like proposing a car without an engine. No funding. Back to workat a big company. Worse for them; worse for us. The industry loses.
Progress is delayed.

VCs don't take risks. VCs have a reputation as the gun-slinging risk-takers of the electronics frontier. They're not. VCs collect money from rich people to build their investment funds. Answering to their investors contributes to a sheep mentality. It must be a good idea if a top-tier fund invested in a similar business. VCs like to invest in pedigrees, not in ideas. They are looking for a team or an idea that has made money. Just as Hollywood would rather make a sequel than produce an original movie, VCs look for a formula that has brought success. They're not building long-lasting businesses; they're looking to make many times the original investment after a few years. When VCs build a venture fund, they charge the fund's investors a management fee and a "carry." The carry, which is typically 20 to 30 percent, is the percent of the investors' profit that goes directly to the VC. The VC, who gets a healthy chunk of any venture-fund profits,
may have no money in the fund. Even a small venture fund will be invested across a dozen or so companies, spreading risk. Also, the VC, as a board member, will collect stock options from each start-up the fund invests in. The rich investors take some risk, though their risk is spread across
the fund's investments. The real risk-takers are the entrepreneurial engineers who invest time and brain power in a single start-up.

Venture funds are big. Too big. If your idea needs a lot of money, say $100 million, then you have a better chance of getting money than an idea that promises the same rate of return for $1 million. The VCs running a $1 billion fund
don't have the time to manage one thousand $1 million investments. It won't even be possible to manage two hundred $5 million investments. It's better to have fewer, bigger investments. In such an environment, if you need only $5 million, your idea will struggle for funding.

VCs collude. VCs collect in "bake-offs" that are the VC's version of price fixing. They discuss among themselves funding and "pricing" for candidate start-ups. Pricing sets the number of shares and the value of a share, and is typically expressed in a "term sheet" from the VC to the start-up. VCs optimize locally. It wouldn't do for several of them tofund, say, six companies in an industry wedge. Limiting the options to
two or three limits competition and makes the success of the few more likely. The downside: limiting competition stifles innovation and slows progress. As in nature, competitive environments foster healthier organisms. Innovation is the beneficial gene mutation to the current technology's DNA.

VCs don't say no. If the VC is interested, you can expect a call and, eventually, a check. If the VC is not interested, you won't get an answer. Saying "no" encourages you to look elsewhere--that's not good for the VC, who prefers to have you hanging around rather than going elsewhere for
funding. Fads change; the herd turns; your proposal may look better next year. In addition, the VC may want more due diligence from you - to add your ideas to a different start-up's plan. If VCs think you have few alternatives, they will string you along:
 "I love the deal, but it'll take time to bring the other partners along."
"We need more time to get expert opinions."
"We're definitely going to fund you, but we're closing a $500 million fund, and that's taking all our time."
"I'll call you Monday."
Once your alternatives are gone, they negotiate their terms.

VCs have pets. The VC's version of a pet is the "executive in residence." Many venture firms keep a cache of start-up executives on staff at $10,000 to $20,000 per month (a princely sum to an engineer, but just enough to keep people in these circles out of the soup kitchens). Start-up executives, loitering for an opportunity, may collect these fees from
more than one venture firm, since the position entails no more than casual advising. These executives have "experience" in start-ups. When you show your start-up to the VCs, they will grill you about the "experience" of your executive team. It won't be good enough, but not to worry, the VC supplies the necessary talent. You get a CEO. The CEO
replaces your friends with cronies. The VCs' pets are like Hollywood's superstars. Just like Julia Roberts and Tom Cruise, the superstar CEOs command big bucks and big
percentages (of equity)--driving up the cost of the start-up--but are "worth it" because they give investors and VCs a sense of security.

Your idea, your work, their company. The VC's CEO gets 10 percent of the company. VC-placed board members
get 1 percent each. Your entire technical team gets as much as 15 percent. Venture firms get the rest. Subsequent funding rounds lower ("dilute") the amount owned by the technical team. Venture firms control the board seats. The VC on your board sits on 11 other boards. Board members visit once a month or once a quarter, listen to the start-up's executives, make demands, offer suggestions, and collect
personal stock options greater than all of the company's engineers hold, with the possible exceptions of the chief technology officer and the vice president of engineering. The VC's executives control the company. You and the rest of the engineers do the work. VCs take advantage...to maximize the return for the venture fund's investors. Engineers are getting short-changed.

Values at variance. The VCs know money and they don't care about the technology; the entrepreneurs know technology and they need money. Money knowledge
applies across all the start-ups; the technical knowledge is unique to each. The VCs don't care about any single technology because they spread their investments across the opportunities. Knowing money isn't the same as knowing value. A year ago, VCs were lining up to give money to Internet dog-food companies; this year, they wouldn't back an
inventor with a working Star Trek transporter. It's financial; it's not technical or personal. To the VC, the engineer and the ideas are commodities. The venture firm squeezes the
technical team because it can. VCs believe that they are exercising their responsibility to maximize return for themselves and for the fund's investors.

Venture Capital Directory

1st Accredited Venture Capital, LLLP - http://www.microcapexperts.com/ Works with private and public companies with market capitalization’s under three hundred million dollars.

2i Capital - http://www.2icapital.com/ Focus: investment and intellectual capital network.

3i - http://www.3i.com/ Focus: leading international venture capital company.

Abundance Venture Capital - http://www.abundancevc.com/ Focus: private equity and venture capital investments for International investors who need protection of capital and tax-free returns.

Advanced Technology Ventures - http://www.atvcapital.com/ Investment focus: startup, first-round and later-stage investments in electronics, communications, software and health care.

Advent International - http://www.adventinternational.com/ Investment focus: companies at all stages of development, including early-stage, and in virtually any industry.

Affiliated Managers Group - http://www.amg.com/ Acquires majority interests in mid-sized investment management firms. Profiles the company, and affiliate products. Investor information. (NYSE: AMG)

All American Capital - http://www.allamericancapital.com/ Focus: venture capital funding using private placements and IPOs.

Allantra Venture Development - http://www.allantra.com Technology business management consulting services.

Alliance Global Investments Inc. - http://www.agiicorp.com/ A private equity investment firm providing venture capital, investment banking, management consulting, and export development services.

Almeida Capital - http://www.almeidacapital.com/ Focus: global venture capital research and advisory services.

Alpha Genesis Inc. - http://www.alpha-genesis.com/ Offering market analysis, due diligence, consulting and management services. Lists ventures, and presents the advisory board.

American Capital Strategies - http://americancapitalonline.com/ Evaluates and secures financing for middle market companies.

American Securities Capital Partners - http://www.american-securities.com/ Provides equity investments in privately and publicly held companies in numerous industries.

Ampal-American Israel Corporation - http://www.ampal.com/ Acquires interests in and/or invests in a broad variety of businesses located in the state of Israel or which are Israel-related. (Nasdaq: AMPL)

Ampersand Ventures - http://www.ampersandventures.com/ Investment focus: early and expansion-stage companies in communications, information technologies, life sciences and specialty materials and chemicals.

Apax Partners - http://www.apax.com/ Investment focus: start-ups to later-stage buyouts in a broad range of industries, most notably healthcare, information technology, telecommunications, specialty retailing and new media.

Aragon Financial Group - http://www.aragon-group.com/ Investment focus: venture capital, financing and debt restructuring.

Arcturus - http://www.earcturus.com/ Focus: acts as managing venturer and marketing in corporate joint ventures.

Argonaut Partners - http://www.argollc.com/ Focus: acquisition of industrial and business-to-business, value-added distributorships, direct marketing, catalog and telemarketing firms.

Astrina Capital - http://www.astrinacapital.com/ Focus: venture consulting and financial advisory for early-stage companies.

August Capital - http://www.augustcap.com Investment focus: companies with strong potential to become leaders in important information technology markets

Axa Private Equity - http://www.axaprivateequity.com/ Portfolio management company focusing on all the aspects of capital investment and private equity.

B4 Ventures - http://www.b4ventures.com/ Focus: venture capital or investment capital for small to mid-sized fast growing businesses.

Bain Capital - http://www.baincapital.com/ Focus: venture and expansion capital for private companies and growth capital for public companies in a wide range of industries.

BancBoston Capital - http://www.bancboscap.com/ Investment focus: early-stage venture capital to equity sponsorship, co-investment and mezzanine capital for buyouts, recapitalizations and expansion of mid-size companies

Bertelsmann Ventures - http://www.bvfund.com Investment focus: early stage, Internet centric, business-to-consumer and consumer-to-consumer.

Blue Point Capital Partners - http://www.bluepointcapital.com/ Focus: private equity investment firm that invests equity capital in middle market businesses.

Brockway Moran and Partners - http://www.brockwaymoran.com/ Investment focus: equity capital for acquisition recapitalization of middle-market companies.

Capital Solutions Network - http://www.capitalsearch.net/ Provides access to a network of private investors and institutional investment groups.

Capital Venture Partners - http://www.capvent.com/ Investment focus: buyouts and venture capital funds.

Cardinal Ventures - http://www.cardvent.com/ Focus: acquire businesses that can be grown through internal means and by add-on acquisitions.

Carmichael and Company - http://carmichaelandco.com/ Investment focus: merchant banking firm offering financial advisory services to middle market companies through a broad global network.

CDC Capital Partners - http://www.cdcgroup.com/ Private equity investors in emerging markets.

CDP Capital - Technology Ventures - http://www.cdpcapital.com/technologyventures/ Investment focus: Québec, Canada, USA, Europe technology projects at various stages, from pre-startups to buy-outs.

Centurion Pictures - http://www.centurionpictures.com/ Seeks investment and support for the production of a full length feature film.

Churchill Capital - http://www.churchillnet.com/ Investment focus: middle market companies for buy-outs, recapitalizations, acquisitions and growth needs.

Clarity Partners - http://www.claritypartners.net/ Focus: private equity and venture capital firm focused in Southern California exclusively on investments in communications, media and related technologies.

CM Equity Partners - http://www.cmequity.com/ Private equity fund focusing on the acquisition of middle-market manufacturing, distribution and service companies.

Cogent Partners - http://www.cogent-partners.net/ Focus: private equity-focused investment bank that helps institutional, corporate and individual investors sell their assets in the private equity secondary market.

Columbia Strategy - http://www.columbiastrategy.com/ Focus: provides functional resources to funds to actively manage private equity and venture capital assets.

Commonwealth Associates - http://www.comw.com/ Merchant bank and venture capital firm offers services to corporate clients and investors.

Compere Associates - http://www.compere.com/ Focus: principal investor combining management, strategy and financing in acquiring telecoms, media, utility and financial services businesses.

Concert Capital Partners - http://www.concertcapital.com/ Investment focus: private equity firm that partners with the founders and management teams of profitable businesses experiencing rapid growth.

Convergent Capital - http://www.convergent-capital.com/ Focus: manages technology-oriented venture capital funds in France, Europe and Israel.

Cornerstone Capital Holdings - http://www.cstonecapital.com/ Private equity firm focusing on middle market buyouts, recapitalizations and industry consolidations.

Corpfin.com - http://www.corpfin.com/ Corporate finance solutions in private investment, public equities, and investment offerings.

Corven - http://www.corven.com/ An international advisory and private equity firm specializing in corporate venturing, providing experience and resources necessary to start new businesses.

Covalence - http://www.covalence.ch/ Focus: assessment of the contribution of multinational enterprises to human development in emerging and developing countries.

Crescent Private Capital - http://www.crescentlp.com/ Focus: private equity firm based in Boston investing in middle-market growth companies.

CrossBridge Venture Partners - http://crossbridgevp.com/ Investment focus: early-stage and emerging growth companies in information technology.

Crosspoint Venture Partners - http://www.crosspointvc.com/ An initial stage equity investor with focused expertise in three strategic areas - networking and communications, health care, and financial services.

Darwin Venture Partners - http://www.schwartzgroup.com/ Investment focus: early-stage business development and financing connecting venture capital firms and Fortune 1000 opportunities.

DealPipe, Inc. - http://www.dealpipe.com/ Listing exchange and business resource that connects entrepreneurs and business sellers with a broad network of investors, business buyers and transaction partners.

Desai Capital Management Inc. - http://www.desaicapital.com/ Focused on sponsoring acquisitions or recapitalizations of proven growth companies.

DFS Consult - http://www.dsf-finance.com/ Focus: investors from both sides of the Atlantic, specialising in obtaining financing for companies world-wide.

Dimeling, Schreiber & Park - http://www.dsppartners.com/ Focus: private equity investments in a broad range of middle market companies having superior management teams.

Dorset Capital - http://www.dorsetcapital.com/ Private Equity for Consumer Growth Companies

Dow Jones VentureReporter - http://www.venturereporter.net A service of Dow Jones & Company providing a database venture capital investments and investors. [requires subscription]

Dragonfly Capital - http://www.dragonflycapital.com/ Investment focus: private equity investor and advisor focused on Southeastern U.S. businesses in the Life Science and Information Technology sectors.

DragonVenture - http://www.dragonventure.com/ Focus: cross-Pacific venture capital, consulting and merger and acquisition company.

Edelson Technology Partners - http://www.edelsontech.com/ Investment focus: startups, second round and mezzanine financing and leveraged buyouts in a broad range of technologies.

Edison Venture Fund - http://www.edisonventure.com/ Investment focus: proprietary technologies or unique services in emerging markets, generally prefering expansion stage companies.

Emerald Capital Group - http://www.emeraldcapitalgroup.com/ Focus: provides services to private and public micro-cap companies.

EnerTech Capital - http://www.enertechcapital.com/ Investment focus: profitable service and technology companies related to utilities and the broader energy marketplace but will also consider early-stage.

Enterprise Partners - http://www.epvc.com/ Investment focus: privately held early-stage and emerging growth companies and selective leverage buy-outs of established companies.

Equilant Venture Advisors - http://www.equilant.com/ Produces presentations and diagrams that help entrepreneurial companies achieve success at key events, including venture funding, product launches, roadshows and customer sales.

EQY.com - http://www.eqy.com/ Focus: incubation reference site for investors and start-ups.

EuclidSR Partners - http://www.euclidpartners.com/ Investment focus: exploit the accelerating changes and advances in healthcare and information technologies.

Falcon Seaboard - http://www.falconseaboard.com/ Focus: privately-owned diversified energy and investment company with global operations.

Financial Development Company - http://www.findevco.com/ Focus: assists companies with their venture and equity capital needs.

First Analysis Venture Capital - http://www.facvc.com/ Investment focus: all stages of development in industrial and institutional automation, knowledge and information management, outsourced and specialized services, specialty chemicals and materials, telecommunications and information technology, and waste management and natural resource efficiency

FLAG Capital Management, LLC - http://www.flagcapital.com Investment focus: manages limited partnerships through which qualified individuals, families and their trusts or foundations invest in venture capital funds.

Flagship Ventures - http://www.flagshipventures.com/ Investment focus: life science, information technology, and communications sectors.

Forest Hill Partners - http://www.foresthillpartners.com Investment focus: equity capital in management buyouts, turnarounds, recapitalizations, and growth financings.

Foundation Capital - http://www.foundationcapital.com/ Investment focus: start-ups in their formative stages, and all subsequent financings as a company develops, involving Enterprise & Internet Software, Communications & Networking, Technical Software, and Semiconductors.

Foundry Ventures - http://www.foundryventures.com/ Facilitates venture capital partnerships with private entrepreneurial companies.

Fox Paine - http://www.foxpaine.com/ Focus: capital for management buy-outs, going private transactions, and company expansion and growth programs.

Freeman Spogli - http://www.freemanspogli.com/ Private equity investment firm dedicated to investing in growing companies.

Fremont Partners - http://www.fremontpartners.com/ Investment focus: established middle market businesses.

Fremont Ventures - http://www.fremontventures.com/ Focus: help experienced management teams build businesses by providing relationships, strategic insight and ongoing financial support.

Friedland Capital - http://www.friedlandcapital.com/ Focus: venture capital and equity raising services.

Frontenac Company - http://www.frontenac.com/ Investment focus: health care services, information technology services and consumer/industrial businesses.

Fulcrum Partners Ltd - http://www.fulcrum-partners.com/ Offers training for those involved in all aspects of the venture capital and private equity markets.

FundingPost - http://www.FundingPost.com/ Raising venture capital by presenting to angel and venture investors.

Funk Ventures - http://www.funkventures.com/ Focus: primary investment interests in technology, education, entertainment and real estate.

Gabriel Venture Partners - http://www.gabrielvp.com/ Investment focus: funding through every stage of the company growth cycle.

Gaebler Ventures - http://www.gaebler.com Focus: early-stage venture capital investment with focus on information technology and business services companies.

Gemini Investors - http://www.gemini-investors.com/ Focus: investing in middle market companies.

General Atlantic Partners - http://www.gapartners.com/ Investment focus: long term minority investor focused exclusively on software and services, and related information technologies.

General Catalyst - http://www.generalcatalyst.com/ Funds breakthrough ventures and backs exceptional entrepreneurs via capital, business building resources and strategic support.

Generation Partners - http://www.genpartners.com/ Investment focus: seed to late stage information technology companies in telecommunications, data communications, computing and the Internet.

Glick Morganstern Capital Group - http://www.glickmorganstern.com Focus: arranges and negotiates financing for growth, acquisition, turnaround and start-up.

Greylock - http://www.greylock.com/ Investment focus: all stages of corporate development for companies in the software, communications, and healthcare industries

Gryffindor Capital Partners - http://gcpfunds.com/ Investment focus: emerging technology, growth equity and corporate consolidations in energy, information technology, manufacturing, diversified services, business services and healthcare.

Hamilton Robinson - http://www.hrco.com/ Investment focus: smaller, middle market opportunities in the areas of energy, utilities, industrial process and business services.

Hampshire Equity Partners - http://www.hampep.com/ Focus: invests in growth financing, buyouts, acquisitions, consolidations and corporate restructuring.

HarbourVest Partners - http://www.harbourvest.com/ Investment focus: software, hardware, data communications, telecommunications, financial services and management buy-outs of operating companies.

Harris & Harris Group, Inc. - http://www.hhgp.com/ Venture capitalist investment company which supports private investee companies. (Nasdaq: HHGP).

Hibiscus Investments - http://www.hibiscus-cornes.com/ Investment focus: bringing leading edge technology to the marketplace.

Hickory Venture Capital Corporation - http://www.hvcc.com/ Investment focus: rapidly growing ventues throughout the Southeast, Southwest, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, especially involving healthcare services, medical devices, telecommunications, and software

HRJ Capital - http://www.hrjcapital.com/ Focus: raising pools of capital from individuals involved in professional sports and investing it with a small number of top-tier venture capital funds.

Hydro-Quebec CapiTech - http://www.hqcapitech.com/en/index.html Focus: invests in companies whose technological products and services are related to the energy field.

Idanta Partners Ltd. - http://www.idanta.com/ Investment focus: young companies that have the potential to grow into substantial enterprises in the fields of information technology, health care and life sciences, retail and others

IDG Ventures - http://www.idgventures.com Investment focus: information technology companies, preferring either seed or first-round financings, or very late (last before IPO) stage investments

IE Consulting - http://www.ieconsulting.co.uk/ Assists clients operating within the private industry with resolving day-to-day strategic issues, with emphasis on the venture capital and private equity environment.

Incyte Capital - http://www.incytecapital.com/ Focus: private equity fund which seeks value-added investments in small to medium sized private companies.

Independence Holdings Partners - http://www.independencefund.com/ Focus: private equity, venture capital and alternative investment products for high net worth investors, institutions and their financial advisors.

Industrial Growth Partners - http://www.igpequity.com/ IGP provides private equity capital for management buyouts in middle-market manufacturing companies.

Information City - http://www.informationcity.com.au/ Australian company providing early stage funding and support services to new businesses. Includes case studies and current portfolio.

Information Technology Ventures - http://www.itventures.com/ Investment focus: fast growing information technology enterprises with "unfair" competitive advantages that have the potential to dominate their market space

InnoCal - http://www.innocal.com/ Investment focus: early and expansion stage, technology-based businesses

Institutional Venture Partners - http://www.ivp.com/ Investment focus: leading early-stage companies with advanced technology in information and life sciences, and selectively in later stage opportunities

Intersouth Partners - http://www.intersouth.com/ Investment focus: seed and early-stage life science and technology companies located near the Research Triangle and Austin

InterWest Partners - http://www.interwest.com/ Investment focus: full range of stages in information technology, health care and non-technology ventures

J.L. Albright Venture Partners Inc. - http://www.jlaventures.com/ Investment focus: emerging companies with exceptional prospects for growth, strong fundamentals and superior products and/or services

JAFCO America Ventures, Inc. - http://www.jafco.com/ Investment focus: communications, software, information services, systems/peripherals and semiconductors

Japan Asia Investment Company - http://www.jaic-vc.co.jp/ Focus: industrial sectors that improve quality of life.

JK&B Capital - http://www.jkbcapital.com Investment focus: telecommunications, software and information technologies, but will consider outstanding opportunities in other industries

JP Morgan Partners - http://www.chasecapital.com/ Investment focus: private equity for a global investment opportunities including management buy-outs and recapitalizations, venture capital, growth equity and equity to reduce excessive debt burdens.

JZ International Europe - http://www.jzieurope.com/ Focus: private investment firm specializing in buying and building European companies in partnership with management.

Katalyst - http://www.katalyst.com/ A middle market, investment and advisory firm offering venture capital, investment banking services and business advisory services.

KBL Healthcare Ventures - http://www.kblhealthcare.com/ Investment focus: startup, early-stage and emerging growth companies in the healthcare industry, particularly medical devices, healthcare services and niche pharmaceuticals

Kennet Capital - http://www.kennetcapital.com/ Investment focus: European information and communications technology companies

Kestrel Venture Management - http://www.kestrelvm.com/ Investment focus: deals too large for most individual investors and too small for many venture capital firms - broad array of New England industries

Keystone Capital, Inc - http://www.keystonecapitalinc.com/ Private equity investment firm specializing in leveraged buyouts, mergers and acquisitions.

Khazaen Financial and Industrial Consulting - http://khazaen.com/ Focus: company start-ups; early stage funding.

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers - http://www.kpcb.com Investment focus: early-stage ventures, and includes the KPCB Java Fund

Kline Hawkes & Co. - http://www.klinehawkes.com/ Investment focus: later-stage venture deals, change of control situations and industry consolidations in California companies involving communications, technology or health care

Koor Industries Ltd. - http://www.koor.co.il/ Investment company with holdings in Israeli telecom, defense electronics, agro-chemicals and venture capital markets.

KPS Special Situations Fund - http://www.kpsfund.com/ Investment focus: constructive investing in turnarounds, restructurings, bankruptcies, employee buyouts and other special situations.

Labrador Ventures - http://www.labrador.com/ Investment focus: early-stage companies seeking less than $1 million and involving digital technologies - information, communications, software, media/entertainment, and semiconductors

LeBonfante Group - http://www.lebonfante.com/ Focus: develop businesses and provide venture capital primarily throughout the Hispanic market.

Lynwood Capital Partners - http://www.lynwoodcapital.com/ Focus: acquiring or investing in niche businesses with revenues of ten to fifty million dollars.

Mac Investment Company Inc - http://www.macinvestco.com/ Focus: specializing in venture capital, private equity, and direct investments.

Madison Dearborn Partners - http://www.mdcp.com/ Focus: management buy-outs, growth equity financing, recapitalization and acquisition-oriented financing.

Marathon Investment Partners - http://www.marathoninvestment.com/ Investment focus: manufacturers, distributors, and technology and service companies.

Marcus Venture Consulting - http://www.marcusventures.com Works with early stage technology and technology-related ventures to bridge the risk gap, and help entrepreneurs and financers achieve their goals.

Maton Venture - http://www.maton.com Investment focus: technology-based, private companies at various stages of development

Matrix Partners - http://www.matrixpartners.com/ Investment focus: early-stage software and communications companies

Mayfield Fund - http://www.mayfield.com/ Investment focus: seed to second-round financing in companies with unique, information or healthcare technology-driven products and services that address well-defined needs in rapidly growing markets

MBC Dotcom - http://www.mybizcapital.com/ Venture capital and business finance facilitator and advisory firm.

MDB Capital Group, LLC - http://www.mdbcapital.com MDB Capital Group is a merchant/investment banking firm that is a NASD registered broker/dealer located in Santa Monica, CA. MDB invests via Reg D private placements in public and private companies.

Menlo Ventures - http://www.menloventures.com Investment focus: early-stage and emerging growth companies in the areas of biotechnology, medical devices, healthcare services, computer software, hardware, networking, communications, and the Internet

Mergenet Solutions Inc. - http://www.mergenetsolutions.com/ Focus: specializing in venture capital, management services, shell funding, private placement.

MicroCap Venture Fund - http://www.xpressmarketing.biz/MicroCap/ Focus: business capital and venture financing using alternative strategies and structures including a reverse merger.

Mitiska Net Fund Europe - http://www.netfundeurope.com/ European Internet venture capital fund, based in Belgium. Company profile, team members, portfolio and news.

Moore, Clayton and Company - http://www.mccglobal.com/ Focus: traditional industries converging with new technologies, in particular healthcare, energy, entertainment, financial services, communications and education.

Morgenthaler Ventures - http://www.morgenthaler.com/ Investment focus: early-stage ventures and "middle market" management-led buyouts involving information technology, health care or industrial technology

Mycapital, Inc. - http://www.mycapital.com/ Venture capital database and web application to help companies raise capital.

National City Equity Partners - http://www.nationalcity.com/corporate/business/equity.asp Focus: invests equity and mezzanine capital primarily in private companies.

NCIC Capital Fund - http://www.ncicfund.org/ Focus: debt and equity financing for early-stage, technology based companies in Ohio and Indiana

Needham Capital Partners - http://www.needhamcapital.com/ Focus: manages investment partnerships primarily in the equities of later-stage private growth companies.

New Enterprise Associates - http://www.nea.com/ Investment focus: principally early-stage companies in information technology, medical and life sciences

New Era Partners - http://www.newera-partners.com Provides investor due diligence, business and technology consultative services to small and mid-size technology firms as well as the venture capital community.

New York Private Placement Network - http://www.nyppe.com/ Focus: financial services firm and an online global marketplace for all classes of private securities.

NewVista Capital - http://www.nvcap.com/ Investment focus: early-stage technology companies managed by minority and women entrepreneurs

nGenuity Capital - http://www.ngenuitycapital.com/ Investment focus: profitable and near profitable companies, as well as start-up companies with a short term path to profitability.

North American Funds - http://northamericanfund.com/ Focus: acquiring or making substantial equity investments in small businesses with significant growth potential.

North Bridge Venture Partners - http://www.nbvp.com/ Investment focus: early-stage companies in software, communications and health care

Norwest Venture Capital - http://www.norwestvc.com Investment focus: startups, emerging growth companies, management buyouts, acquisitions and recapitalizations

Novak Biddle Venture Partners - http://www.novakbiddle.com/ Investment focus: information technology companies in the very early stages through first round, but also later-stage opportunities and spin-outs where they can add significant value

NPDC - http://www.npdcinc.com/ Focus: seek to identify, fund and nurture business ideas through participation of our members to create and capture new markets.

Oak Investment Partners - http://www.oakinv.com/ Investment focus: early-stage and selective restarts or recapitalizations of later-stage information technology, health care or retail companies

Oddtrack, Inc. - http://www.oddtrack.com/ Service linking entrepreneurs with venture capital firms looking for new ventures to fund.

Outlook Ventures - http://www.outlookventures.com/ Investment focus: early-stage investments in consumer and business-to-business Internet services, intranet-based business applications, interactive tools, multimedia and telecommunications

Ovation Capital - http://www.ovationcapital.com/ Investment focus: includes Internet and mobile infrastructure, software, storage and data networking.

Pacific Century Group Ventures - http://www.pcentury.com/ Investment focus: all stages from initial private seed capital rounds to senior public equity financings in information technology, natural resources, real estate and special situations

Pacific Horizon Ventures - http://www.pacifichorizon.com/ Investment focus: technology companies involving healthcare or life science; early-stages in the Northwest, later-stage deals can be anywhere in U.S.

Pacific Venture Group - http://www.pacven.com/ Investment focus: broad range of stages (startup through consolidation) involving healthcare services and information systems oriented towards a managed care solution

Pacifica Fund - http://www.pacificafund.com/ Focus: Silicon Valley based seed and first round venture capital firm.

Palladium Equity Partners - http://www.palladiumequity.com/ Focus: private investment firm founded by experienced operating executives and investment professionals.

Parallax Capital Partners - http://www.parallaxcap.com/ Investment focus: acquisitions and investments in technology businesses.

Partech International - http://www.partechintl.com/ Investment focus: startups and emerging growth companies in the United States, Europe and Japan involving information technology, life sciences and business services

Peninsula Capital Partners - http://www.peninsulafunds.com/ Investment focus: subordinated debt and equity to superior middle-market companies requiring capital to fund growth or other special situations.

PICA Corporation - http://www.picacapital.com/ Focus: provides venture capital and equity-related investments in enterprises and companies embarking on expansion.

Piper Jaffray Venture Capital - http://www.piperjaffray.com/info3.aspx?id=116 Investment focus: emerging-growth companies in medical devices, healthcare services and technology.

Primus Venture Partners - http://www.primusventure.com/ Investment focus: various stages of development, with greater emphasis on businesses beyond proof of concept and which are demonstrating capacity to become large enterprises

Proma Investment - http://www.proma-investment.com/ Offers investment database with contacts to investors, financiers, and venture capital firms.

PureTech Ventures LLC - http://www.puretechventures.com Supports life science ventures based on breakthroughs from research institutions, providing management support and seed funding.

Quad-C Management - http://www.quadcmanagement.com/ Focus: private equity investment firm seeking to partner with successful management teams to complete leveraged acquisitions or recapitalizations of leading middle-market companies.

Quan Ventures - http://www.quanvc.com/ Investment focus: emerging technology niches in telecommunications, semiconductors and Internet infrastructure.

RAF Ventures - http://www.rafind.com/ Investment focus: early-stage service, financial, retail, and manufacturing companies, mostly in the Mid-Atlantic states

Real Options Approaches in Venture Capital Finance - http://www.realoptions.dk Resources for those interested in valuing start-up venture firms, or growth options in general, based on a Master's Thesis by Søren Bruun Petersen and Peter Christopher Bason.

Red Rock Ventures - http://www.redrockventures.com Investment focus: seed and early-stage companies that develop and sell enterprise solutions to medium and large companies

Regulation D Resources - http://www.regdresources.com/ Focus: provide the framework to raise venture capital and angel investment.

River Capital - http://www.river-capital.com/ Focus: organizes and invests in the acquisition of select, well-established middle market companies.

River Cities Capital Funds - http://www.rccf.com/ Investment focus: 1st round and follow-on for Midwest companies in a variety of industries; not seed or startup stages -- must be actively selling their product or service

Rock Maple Ventures - http://www.rockmapleventures.com/ Investment focus: early-stage technology businesses in a variety of industries, emphasis on software, financial services, health care and communications.

Rockies Venture Club - http://www.rockiesventureclub.org/ Focus: non-profit that connects entrepreneurs, service professionals, investors, venture capitalists and other funding sources.

Rockmont Capital - http://www.rockmontcapital.com/ Focus: investing in and acquiring companies and working with their management to build profitable and successful businesses.

Roser Ventures, LLC - http://www.roserventures.com/ Investment focus: early-stage companies across a broad range of industries and located in the Rocky Mountain region

RoundTable Healthcare Partners - http://www.roundtablehp.com/ Investment focus: operating-oriented private equity firm focused on the healthcare industry.

RRE Investors - http://www.rre.com/ Investment focus: expansion stage information technology ventures

Ruppert Ventures - http://www.ruppertcompanies.com/ventures.html Investment focus: small to mid-size companies searching to grow to the next level.

SAGICAP - http://www.sagicap.com/ Focus: European-based advisor specialized in consultancy services dedicated to the private equity industry.

Salix Ventures - http://www.salixventures.com/ Investment focus: early-stage health care services (including health care information technology) companies

Sanderling - http://www.sanderling.com/ Investment focus: seed and early-stage new biomedical market opportunities, including emerging technology

Schroder Ventures US - http://www.svus.com/ Investment focus: growth-oriented businesses in the technology, media, telecom and business services sectors.

Seaflower Associates, Inc. - http://www.seaflower.com/ Investment focus: promising seed and first-round investments in companies in most segments of the biomedical industry that are located in either New England or the Great Lakes region

Second Venture Corporation - http://www.secondventure.com/ Runs a proprietary venture exchange network to enable venture capital funds and angel groups to better manage their deal flow.

Seidler Equity Partners - http://www.sepfunds.com/ Investment focus: established, growing, niche-dominant manufacturing and service businesses.

Sequoia Capital - http://www.sequoiacap.com Investment focus: primarily very early-stage West Coast technology companies; post beta-stage around Boston and Austin; later-stage nationwide

Seven Hills Partners - http://www.sevenhillspartners.com/ Focus: investments and buy-outs of entrepreneurial enterprises, primarily in the areas of healthcare and interactive media.

Sevin Rosen Funds - http://www.srfunds.com Investment focus: early-stage (and follow-on rounds) for information sciences and life sciences companies

Sierra Ventures - http://www.sierraven.com Investment focus: early-stage healthcare, information technology-related companies and service businesses

Sigma Partners - http://www.sigmapartners.com/ Investment focus: ventures of all stages, primarily in technology-based companies, but also non-technology

Signal Lake Venture Fund - http://www.signallake.com/ Investment focus: early-stage broadband telecom and networking infrastructure being built for the global economy.

Silicom Ventures - http://www.silicomventures.com/ Focus: provide funding to early-stage high technology start-ups.

Skypoint Capital Corporation - http://www.skypointcorp.com/ Investment focus: very early-stage high-technology opportunities in North America, the United Kingdom and Israel in telecommunications and IT

Small Enterprise Assistance Funds (SEAF) - http://www.seafweb.org Provides equity financing to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries, emerging markets and in countries undergoing economic transition.

Smedvig Capital - http://www.smedvigcapital.com Investment focus: Europe based mid- to early-stage companies with specialisations which employ technology for re-engineering of business processes or create added value from the use of customer or market data.

Softbank Venture Capital - http://www.sbvc.com/ Focus: seed stage to mezzanine round investments for Internet companies.

Sonostar Ventures - http://www.sonostarventures.com/ Focus: invests in promising private companies across a number of industries and in the public debt and equity markets.

Sorrento Ventures - http://www.sorrentoventures.com/ Investment focus: emerging early-, mid- and later-stage companies in the greater San Diego area involving health care, electronics, high technology, or consumer products

South Atlantic Venture Funds - http://www.southatlantic.com Investment focus: expansions, acquisitions, buyouts and recapitalizations located in Florida, the Southeast and Texas

Southeastern Technology Fund - http://www.setfund.com/ Investment focus: 1st or 2nd round investments in Southeastern US companies providing information technology and solutions to the healthcare, and telecommunication industries

Sports Venture Partners - http://www.svpllc.com/ Focus: alternative investment vehicle for professional athletes investing in established growth equity financing.

Spring Capital Partners, L.P. - http://www.springcap.com/ Investment Focus: mezzanine financing for growing small and medium-sized businesses.

Sprout Group - http://www.sproutgroup.com/ Investment focus: startups, expansion financing and management buyouts involving business to business services, communications, distribution, education, health care services, information technologies, life science products, or retail

SSM Ventures - http://www.ssmventures.com/ Investment focus: primarily Southeast and Texas companies at various stages of development involving software and technology, consumer services and retail, telecommunications, healthcare services, and business services

Sterling Investment Partners - http://www.sterlinglp.com/ Focus: middle-market company buy-outs and capital for ownership transitions, growth and financial restructuring.

Stone Canyon Venture Partners - http://www.stonecanyonvp.com/ Focus: equity investments in select early-stage businesses with high growth prospects.

Strategic Investments & Holdings - http://www.sihi.net/ Focus: acquires and grows successful companies in partnership with operating management.

Summer Street Capital Partners - http://www.summerstreetcapital.com/ Focus: private equity fund, venture capital, investment, financing.

Summit Partners - http://www.summitpartners.com Focus: profitable companies which are poised for continued growth in the fields of software, technology, information services, healthcare, and financial services

Sustainable Jobs Fund - http://www.sjfund.com/ Community development venture capital fund which finances recycling, remanufacturing, environmental and other companies.

Sutter Hill Ventures - http://www.shv.com/ Investment focus: technology-based startups which pioneer products or services in growth markets

Svoboda, Collins L.L.C. - http://www.svoco.com Focus: investing in and building value-added service and distribution companies with fundamentally sound operating models.

Swander Pace Capital - http://www.spcap.com San Francisco-based firm providing value-added investing in consumer products companies.

TA Associates - http://www.ta.com/ Investment focus: profitable private growth companies in software, technology, healthcare, financial services, media and consumer products

Tech Coast Venture Network - http://www.tcvn.org/ Non-profit organization bringing together users and providers of resources for new and emerging businesses.

Technology Crossover Ventures - http://www.tcv.com/ Investment focus: growth capital to expansion stage information technology companies

Technology Funding Inc. - http://www.technologyfunding.com/ Pioneer in public venture funds

Technology Investments - http://www.carsten.com/ Focus: seed stage information technology ventures located in Northern California

Technology Partners - http://www.technologypartners.com/ Focus: seed or first stage ventures involving information processing, communications or health care

Telesystem - http://www.telesystem.ca/ Focus: private equity company of the digital economy, active on a worldwide scale through a knowledge network.

Telos Venture Partners - http://www.telosvp.com/ Investment focus: post-seed funding --generally the first or second significant financing -- in information technology, semiconductors, and communications. Also invests in the "restarting" of struggling private companies.

Thames Valley Investment Network - http://www.tvin.co.uk/ Links investors to companies with high growth potential who are seeking funding from £50,000 to £1million.

The Bellwether Group - http://www.bellwethergrp.com/ Focus: provides strategy consulting, financial advisory, principal investing and acquisition capabilities to Southern California based high growth companies.

The Pembroke Group - http://www.thepembrokegroup.com/ Investment focus: early-stage funding for proprietary software and hardware technology, information technology and e-commerce investments.

The Providencia Partnership - http://www.propari.com/ Focus: business and project availability of funding, strategic management and due-diligence assessment.

The StartUp Lab - http://www.thestartuplab.com/ Focus: business and venture development company providing services to venture capitalists and early-stage companies.

The Sterling Group - http://www.sterling-group.com/ Focus: private equity firm engaged in the acquisition and ownership of operating businesses.

Thompson Clive Venture Capital - http://www.tcvc.com/ Investment focus: life science and information technology ventures, early-stage through later-stage, on both sides of the Atlantic

Thomson-CSF Ventures - http://www.ventures.thomson-csf.com/ Investment focus: electronics, telecommunications, and computer software and systems opportunities where there is potential synergy with Thomson-CSF companies

TI (Texas Instruments) Ventures, L.P. - http://www.ti.com/tiventures Investment focus: early-stage technology companies involving software infrastructure and hardware applications leveraging digital signal processing (DSP) and related technologies

TL Ventures - http://www.tlventures.com/ Investment focus: category-defining, early-stage companies in information technology, communications and biotechnology.

Top Technology - http://www.toptechnology.co.uk/ Investment focus: early-stage British technology companies

Transatlantic Ventures - http://www.taventures.com/ Focus: assist European companies in preparing and implementing their entry plan into the North American market.

Trautman Wasserman and Company - http://www.trautmanwasserman.net/ Focus: combines venture capital investing with conventional money management for companies requiring funding in the one to twenty five million dollar range.

Trident Capital - http://www.tridentcap.com/ Investment focus: exclusively in information and business services companies, including content providers, transaction processors, application software and Internet products and services

Trinity Ventures - http://www.trinityventures.com/ Investment focus: early-stage companies in three industries -- computer software, electronic commerce, and communications

Tuckerman Capital - http://www.tuckermancapital.com/ Focus: partners with fundless sponsors to acquire profitable manufacturing companies.

Tullis-Dickerson & Co. - http://www.tullisdickerson.com/ Investment focus: small and mid-sized emerging growth healthcare companies.

Turkven Private Equity - http://www.turkven.com/ Focus: affiliate of Advent International investing in Turkish companies.

TVM Techno Venture Management - http://www.tvmvc.com/ Investment focus: European and U.S. communications technology, information technology and biotechnology

U.S. Venture Partners (USVP) - http://www.usvp.com/ Investment focus: principally companies headquartered in the Western United States in three sectors of industry: medical, technology and retail/consumer

Vanguard Venture Partners - http://www.vanguardventures.com/ Investment focus: pre-revenue stage in information technology and life sciences sectors

VC Experts - http://vcexperts.com Sells online reference manual on all aspects of venture capital, including forms, annotations and polls.

VenGlobal Capital - http://www.venglobal.com Investment focus: Early-stage ventures particularly in the data communications and electronic design automation (EDA) industries.

Venrock Associates - http://www.venrock.com/ Venture capital arm of the Rockefeller family with investment focus: a high percentage of investments are seed or first round, and second round investments are considered where there is a complete management team and demonstrated progress toward market leadership

Ventanis - http://www.ventanis.com/ Portfolio monitoring and management software for venture capitalists and entrepreneurs.

Venture Capital and High-Technology Enterprise - http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/seind98/c6/c6s4.htm#top Overview of venture capital and high-technology in a 1998 National Science Foundation report.

venture capital consult - http://www.vc-consult.com/ Focus: venture capital consulting for start-up companies in Germany, UK and the US.

Venture Capital Strategies - http://www.venturecapitalstrategies.com/ Prepares entrepreneurs or companies seeking investment capital and unites them with investors.

Venture Factoring - http://www.venturefactoring.com Offers venture factoring as an alternative to venture capital financing.

Venture Management Services - http://www.vmsgroup.com/ Focus: startup and later stage companies involving wireless communications, Internet, value added networking services, content and local service.

Venture Planning Associates - http://www.ventureplan.com/ Consulting services for business finance and funding strategies for entrepreneurs.

Vision Capital - http://www.visioncap.com/ Investment focus: trans-Atlantic expansion for proven U.S and European technology companies

WaldenVC - http://www.waldenvc.com/ Investment focus: early-stage technology companies involving software, interactive services and related enabling technology.

Warburg Pincus Ventures - http://www.warburgpincus.com/ Providing investments in information technology, healthcare, media, communications, energy, financial and business services.

Waterside Capital Corp - http://www.watersidecapital.com Waterside Capital is a publicly held company headquartered in Norfolk, VA. Founded in 1993, the company is a licensed Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) and has $50 million in capital to invest.

Weiss, Peck & Greer - Venture Partners - http://www.wpgvp.com Investment focus: early- and expansion-stage information technology and life sciences companies throughout the US

Westaim Corporation (The) - http://www.westaim.com/ Operates two high technology businesses: iFre Technology, Westaim Biomedical; two industrial technology businesses: Surface Engineered Products and Aerospace Products; and two industrial products businesses: Coinage and Chemicals. (Nasdaq: WEDX).

Weston Presidio Capital - http://www.westonpresidio.com Investment focus: later-stage growth companies, recapitalizations and buyouts in a diverse set of industries

William Blair Capital Partners - http://www.wmblair.com/departments/private_equity/ Focus: early-stage venture capital, growth equity, and leveraged equity recapitalizations and management buyouts across a broad range of industries

Wind Point Partners - http://www.wppartners.com/ Investment focus: all stages of development, from expansion capital for emerging growth companies to sponsoring acquisitions or recapitalizations