Chapter 4. Research, research, research

THE EDGE – SHOWING INVESTORS YOU KNOW MORE THAN THEY DO

Getting a new venture off the ground and growing it to the point where it is truly valuable will bring you into contact with a lot of clever, knowledgeable people. Venture capital firms, the biggest backers of risky propositions, are crammed full of MBA researchers and if they don't have the right knowledge they are not shy of buying it in. They are also extremely picky. Worldwide, venture capitalists invest in around 10,000 businesses each year. In the UK, for example, the 214 members of the British Venture Capital Association put cash into just 1680 ventures in 2007/8, and that was a fairly typical year. That's about seven deals a year per venture ...

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