Ironically, raising millions of dollars is usually easier than raising thousands.
The way the system works is that if you build something of value, the money will find you. Yes, there is a catch-22: you need seed financing, but no one will give you a cent until you have a marketable product and your company is producing revenue—which means that you don’t really need the money. But that’s the way it goes.

-Vivek Wadhwa, From the TechCrunch Article “Ditch the Biz Plan, Buy a Lottery Ticket”

Of late, I’ve been asked by people to shed some light about the Angel, Venture Capital, and Private Equity industries. People are absolutely fascinated and intrigued about early-stage financing. It’s sexy, right? To be able to invest thousands or millions of dollars into innovative ideas and turn them into millions or billions more is something not everyone gets to do everyday. But the rate at which I hear young, talented people wanting to be on “that side of the table” is alarming.
Let me digress for a moment. Every business needs …