Investment readiness criteria

Funding sources

Useful web sites

Recommended reading

Founders' equity allocation

The New Business Road Test: What entrepreneurs and executives should do before writing a business plan by John Mullins. Recommended by Simon Williams.

From Vision to Exit: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Building and Selling a Business by Guy Rigby. Recommended by Simon Williams.

Coaching for Performance: GROWing People, Performance and Purpose by Sir John Whitmore. A diamond amongst the polished glass of coaching literature. Recommended by Simon Williams.

Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Technology Products to Mainstream Customers by Geoffrey Moore. Recommended by Simon Williams.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship by Peter F. Drucker. Recommended by Simon Williams.

Seed-Stage Venture Investing: The Ins and Outs for Entrepreneurs, Start-Ups, and Investors on Successfully Starting a New Business - very expensive, even second-hand, and written from a US perspective, by invaluable nevertheless. Recommended by Simon Williams.

BVCA Directory by the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association. Pretty much everyone who's anyone in the UK VC industry. Recommended by Simon Williams.

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell. Powerful and compelling, it's about the psychology of decision making and gut instinct. Recommended by Michelle Field.

Founders' equity tool : Amongst a group of two or more founders in a new business, who should receive what proportion of the equity? This is a rough and ready tool to help you take a first stab at a difficult question. Devised by Simon Williams.