With more than 6 Billion dollars of early-stage and VC Capital waiting to be invested in the coming years and thousands of entrepreneurs-in-waiting in the growing and young economy that India is, I expect this book to make a big difference to many people and the realization of their dreams.

For any entrepreneur, raising money from a non-promoter financial agency or institution is a tough and tearing proposition. It raises many questions and confusions, many fears and doubts, many temptations and tribulations. The book has been written with deep sensitivity to the entrepreneur's situation and predicament. The book often anticipates and clears such issues. Valuation, Dilution, Sharing of Control, Communication, Size of Funds required etc are difficult and confusing areas which great deal of subjectivity and context dependence. The book is an authoritative guide on most of these issues without losing its readability at any point. It makes a special effort at various places to point out pitfalls and myths.

I picked up this book at a Landmark store in Chennai and could not put it down. Written by and large in a second person, personable voice "Your business", "You must" etc., it takes on a prescriptive tone that is surprisingly highly acceptable to the reader because of the substance and solidity of presentation. The book touches so many important things so adequately that I decided to get in touch with the author and thank him personally for writing such a book. The author Pankaj turned out to be a most friendly, widely read, deep thinking and financially savvy person of very high integrity and commitment to his projects. I remain in touch with him till date and am waiting for more of his books.

With 26 well written chapters in five parts that include VC Industry Workings, Assessing Readiness for VC funding, Preparing for the VC, Negotiating and Structuring the Deal and Managing the VC relationship and 5 excellent appendices including a glossary of VC terminology (including slang!), the book is a must-have-in-your-bookshelf reference and guide.

The book will be useful for all entrepreneurs, promoters, Chartered Accountants and MBA's trying to learn this field or engage in a self-study project. It is a great gift to give to that enterprising friend of yours whom you know will one day start a business and successfully grow it.

The positive spirit of the book, its thoroughness and ability to genuinely educate the entrepreneur will make this book one of lasting relevance and many, many subsequent editions. Vultures, greedy financiers and low-balling peddlers of capital will run scared of this book as it promises to enlighten the entrepreneur on how to spot and handle such behaviors of financiers.