Richardson's Growth Company Guide 5.0: Investors, Deal Structures, Legal Strategies

Roll up your sleeves and get to work. And do it with an extensively cross referenced resource that gets you answers fast!

If you have been looking for a resource to level the playing field between your management team and the sophisticated venture investors you need to finance your business, then consider this expanded and updated 5th edition of a critically acclaimed resource for people who run and finance growing privately-held businesses. If you are an angel investor who wants to know more about deal structuring, this book is also for you.

Written by a "veteran legal practitioner" who "knows his stuff," the Guide 5.0's practical, no nonsense approach reflects the author's 30+ years of working with growing companies and the investors who fund their growth. Entrepreneurs, venture investors and others have called earlier editions "a masterpiece," "the best corporate finance guide on the market today," and an "incredibly comprehensive resource." Critics add that the Guide "is laced with down-to-earth practical advice" and "no less than indispensable for the entrepreneurial manager."

This fifth edition Guide answers the questions most frequently asked by owners and operators of growing companies as they search for funding, negotiate financing terms, and address other critical issues. It's 250+ strategy-packed entries describe the types of investors who invest in private companies, methods companies use to attract these investors, and ways to evaluate funding proposals. They include strategies for negotiating with investors and methods for valuing privately held businesses. They discuss ways to protect and license technology and how to structure strategic partnerships and joint ventures. Using stock and other non-cash considerations to attract and retain key employees is also discussed.

Also included is an overview of venture basics that provides an introduction to private company investing and the types of issues investors and business owners face as they grow and finance growth. A fully annotated Series A Stock Purchase Agreement of the sort used by venture investors provides the more serious reader with a look at the actual terms investors use to structure their investments.

Past editions have been used by venture funds to help train new managers, by technology incubator managers to help their resident entrepreneurs, in business schools on the East and West coasts and by a Dutch venture capital fund as one of its organizational resources. It was even used, for a time, by a Soviet Union ministry as part of a program to ready Soviet businesses for impending changes brought on by Glasnost.

Readers have also praised the Guide for its breadth of practical content, readability and ease of use. The series has been called everything from "highly valuable" to "top notch" to "full of tips and strategies" by leading enterprise resources and publishers. One French reviewer went so far as to declare the Guide to be "la bible du venture capital."

Check out the author's web site at growco.com for more information and background.