[Talphin]

I don't know the first thing about venture capitalist's and how they work.

I would like to learn exactly what it is that they do, and what type of a relationship they might have with you as a business owner.

Does anyone have any good resources or links to some good reads about this subject?

Thanks.

[akula]

list of my vc bookmarks: http://del.icio.us/hotblogger/vc (read these)
list of vc bloggers: http://southerncrossventures.com/Blogroll (talk to these ppl)
vc news: http://www.vcnewscentral.com/ (read this)

The US vc industry is comprised of about 700 funds managing $252billion. For more facts see http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/st...tml?from_rss=1.

I work in vc. If you have questions I can probably answer them. The vc business is tricky. Things are not what they seem and there are unwritten rules for doing things.

[demiGod031]

A venture capitalist specializes in investing in start ups or companies still in the early stages of development. The objective of venture capital investing is to bring a company from incubation into a dominant competitor within its respective industry. This means generating a high return on its investment. In addition to proving financing, the venture capitalist also provides expertise in various professional fields to help the company meets its business objectives.

When a venture capitalist researches a potential investment, they look for companies with the best chance of succeeding. This is usually a company with a special competitive advantage, a highly regarded executive team and high revenue and profit growth. Venture capital investing is a high risk high return investment game.

Visit http://www.nvca.org/def.html for more information.

[bbalfour]

A ton of venture capitalists also keep blogs.

Start at www.ventureblog.com. Then on the left hand side he has links to about 20 other venture capital blogs.

[NeeJam]

for info on a venture capitalist visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venture_capitalist

[akula]

Originally Posted by demiGod031

A venture capitalist specializes in investing in start ups or companies still in the early stages of development.

Only a minority (<10%) of vc is spent on startups. Venture money is expansion capital for certain teams in certain situations. It's got very little to do with startups.

As a rule of thumb, vcs do not invest in pre-revenue consumer plays, and when an early stage deal does happen - it's an exception to this rule of thumb.

The vast bulk of vc is spent on suppliers of industry who want to execute an expansion plan.