Based on Bill Fisher's three-day seminars that regularly sell out all over the world, this book offers the kind of capital-raising street smarts no entrepreneur can do without. As a banker in Silicon Valley in the '80s and a businessman who founded a number of successful companies beginning in the '90s, Fisher has seen firsthand the kind of rookie mistakes aspiring entrepreneurs make that end up stopping them before they have a chance to get started. Fisher looks at six traditional steps in the capital-raising process and digs beneath the surface to expose subtle but critical aspects of each-knowledge that, until now, could come only with experience. For example, entrepreneurs believe that great business ideas get funded. Not true-just look at the failure rates of venture-backed companies. Great business stories get funded, and all great business stories have a similar construction and shape. And of course the entrepreneur needs an investor, but each investor comes with his or her own personality issues. You need the right match for long-term success, not just whoever is waving the biggest check-a temptation that is easy for cash-strapped entrepreneurs to succumb to. Having this book is like going into your investor meetings with a trusted advisor who knows all the ins and outs of raising capital.