David S. Rose, the CEO of Gust and Founder of the New York Angels defines Due Diligence in his book, Angel Investing – The Gust GUIDE TO Making Money and Having Fun Investing in Startups. The careful investigation into a company prior to making an investment.

The entrepreneur seeking investment should recognize the advantages of obtaining such an investment. However, the endeavor needs entrepreneurs to have a strong understanding of their objectives, opportunities, strategy, and fit with potential corporate partners.

Every businessman knows being cost-effective is important. But early stage financing companies should never cut corners with these critical components!

I can confirm that not only will you increase your network with more successful individuals, you’ll form great relationships, learn from others about what it takes to become a great investor, and (maybe) get an early entry into the exciting and inspiring world of venture investing. You’ll also get a better sense of the big picture of the whole investment cycle.

One or two of every ten investments bring most of the returns to the portfolio of an angel investor, and it’s difficult to determine which of the companies will provide the returns.

Concept stage startups are usually funded by entrepreneurs, family, friends and individual angels. An opportunity has presented itself to you, an idea for a scalable business you see clearly in your mind. How much is your idea worth?  It all depends on what you do with it.

Any entrepreneur who is serious about his trade will need to know about the term sheet.

“A term sheet is like a prenuptial agreement and a coach’s playbook. Spend the time to understand the plays, and what happens should you ever separate from the business.”- Mitch Thrower

Angel and venture capital investors may receive hundreds or even thousands of executive summaries each year. With their time being limited and the competition for their attention intense, it is extremely important that the entrepreneur provide executive summaries that “Wow!”

As the startup proceeds through the due diligence process related to a potential investment from an angel group, VC or Corporate VC, (CVC), the process will include discussions and reference checks with a broad base of the start-ups’ constituents.