While there is no formalized list of “Thou Shall Not” items for start-ups seeking funding similar to the Ten Commandments, if there were, Thou Shall Not encumber your balance sheet with debt, would certainly make the list.

The Billion Dollar Startup Club has 101 companies as of July 2015, with the number one private company valued at $46 billion. It’s no secret, technology has revolutionized entrepreneurship. The explosive growth of tech-based companies is at its highest since 1995, surpassing the dot-com boom of year 2000.

Entrepreneurs have numerous options for obtaining funding to explore and validate their startup concept.

“We filter out half of these qualified interviewees in the first minute.”

The words were NOT an accurate reflection of the company I worked for.

If this research were to uncover the ‘secret sauce’, entrepreneurs could prepare accordingly and drastically increase their probability of successfully acquiring the funding.

Receiving investment from angels can be a daunting, time consuming process, one that is inherently inefficient. Experienced entrepreneurs take steps to minimize these funding inefficiencies.

 An entrepreneur without funding is a musician without an instrument.― Robert A. Rice Jr.

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.

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