Business ideas are a dime-a-dozen. But as every entrepreneur knows, it’s getting hold of the dime that is the challenging part. Funding is the crucial piece of every success story, and none of the heavyweights of the NASDAQ ever made a nickel before they had received the financial support necessary to convert a promising business plan or an exciting product into a successful, profit-making enterprise. These days, with entrepreneurship identified as a key engine for growth, there is no shortage of investment vehicles from both the public and private sector, but the trick is to persuade them to invest in your endeavor. And that takes as much understanding of what they’re looking for as a belief in the potential of your idea.

As both an experienced venture capitalist and a serial entrepreneur, Jeffrey Bussgang has seen the issue from both sides and has been able to translate his career in each into an important and accessible guide to the VC landscape – many laced with examples from the real world. Perhaps the most important section of the book is his contention that the entrepreneur shouldn’t do anything to chase the money, and that the enterprise should be as selective about the VC as the VC will be with the destination of their investment.

“I hope the book will help entrepreneurs level the playing field when pursuing VC capital so that they can secure the necessary resources to achieve their vision,” says Jeffrey in his introduction. It’s clear few books have done more to achieve the mission.

Mastering the VC Game: A Venture Capital Insider Reveals How to Get from Start-up to IPO on Your Terms 
Jeffrey Bussgang (Portfolio), 2010