Rating: 
Summary: Focused too much on the IPO
Review: I'm giving it four stars because it really was a good and informative book, but it focused too much on raising money from venture capitalists and taking your company public. This is THE book if you've got the next hot electronic gizmo and will need millions to get it to market, but definately look elsewhere if you're a gal or a guy with an idea for a small internet-based business.
Rating: 
Summary: A Must Read for those participating in a start-up
Review: I'm really glad I read this book while interviewing with a dot.com start-up. Helped me to ask many of the right questions, reassured me that the managment team knew what they were doing and helped me identify weaknesses that I would have to overcome for the company if hired. I was.A very easy, articulate and well thought out book. I encourage any and all. Money well spent.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read
Review: I've read a lot of books on the subject of venture capital and startups, and I've got to tell ya: this one is really the Cream of the Crop for within it's subject matter space. It has helped me tremendously, and I keep it handy as a reference. It definitely helped me grow as a Founder/CEO!
Rating:
Summary: A must have resource for capital formation
Review: I've read several highly recommended books on capital formation and have been seeking out as many resources as possible in preparation for funding my company. I have yet to find a collection of insights, suggestions and educational materials to match this book. The only thing that could possibly improve it is a more current edition, but nonetheless, the information contained is timeless and invaluable.
Rating: 
Summary: A big disappointment
Review: If the title was "Managing and Financing Your Startup", I would not have been disappointed. It seems that Nesheim's central message is to find an experienced CEO, and push constantly to get financing. Nesheim is so insistent on this point that he basically ignores the critical, fundamental question of market assessment: how to determine whether the product is desirable and whether the company has a true "unfair advantage". It seems that Nesheim is more focused on a successful IPO and exit for the funders than on developing a viable business. As I read the book, I thought of companies like Webvan. Webvan would be successful in Nesheim's view: experienced management, seasoned directors, and well financed. But history showed that they had a product that was too expensive for the marketplace, and they are gone. While Nesheim does not cite Webvan, he does offer other success stories that have fallen far from their initial valuations: DoubleClick, Netscape, and SGI. Given that, I have a hard time trusting this book. The prettiest forecasts are meaningless unless they are based on a solid product and a solid competitive advantage. And here, Nesheim offers virtually no guidance.
Rating:
Summary: A big disappointment
Review: If the title was "Managing and Financing Your Startup", I would not have been disappointed. It seems that Nesheim's central message is to find an experienced CEO, and push constantly to get financing. Nesheim is so insistent on this point that he basically ignores the critical, fundamental question of market assessment: how to determine whether the product is desirable and whether the company has a true "unfair advantage". It seems that Nesheim is more focused on a successful IPO and exit for the funders than on developing a viable business. As I read the book, I thought of companies like Webvan. Webvan would be successful in Nesheim's view: experienced management, seasoned directors, and well financed. But history showed that they had a product that was too expensive for the marketplace, and they are gone. While Nesheim does not cite Webvan, he does offer other success stories that have fallen far from their initial valuations: DoubleClick, Netscape, and SGI. Given that, I have a hard time trusting this book. The prettiest forecasts are meaningless unless they are based on a solid product and a solid competitive advantage. And here, Nesheim offers virtually no guidance.
Rating:
Summary: Te main content not updated much since the last edition
Review: It is a very good book for anyone interested about high tech startup. However, I found that the main content, especially the case studies, have not been updated much since the last edition. The only change seems to be the tables outlining the growth of valuation of Yahoo and Netscape. There must be something more to add to the book about them and other successful internet startups.
Rating:
Summary: Wealth of Information- Ignore it at your own peril!
Review: It's true that this book is dated. It was written in 1992, and covers NOTHING after 1991, except for thinly disguised attempts to make the book appear more recent- the copyright is 1997, and there are new pages added with info on Yahoo and Netscape. That said, even if there was another good book on this subject out there, published in 1999, I would still recommend this book. The reason is simple. The information it contains is too important to miss. The book is very well-researched and well-written. If the authors did come out with a second edition that covered the 90s companies- in particular the dotcoms- I would still recommend buying this book, unless the second edition includes (or a meaningful comparison with) the information contained in this book, to put things in perspective. While looking at the valuations of dotcoms would be very interesting and useful, I believe you'll get a skewed picture unless you also have the pre-dotcom era data, to give you a realistic expectation of the potential of your own company.
Rating:
Summary: Great Insight Into VC Behaviour
Review: Its the inner workings of the VC I am after but this one is in a condensed enough form to hit the jugular. I wish I had bought the book much earlier. Just wish that this book will be updated soon with more internet company cases.
Rating:
Summary: On the mark for the US Venture Capital/high tech world
Review: Key assumption - the reader is seriously looking at starting a high tech company and is using a US equity model. With this in mind, the book is required reading [at least based on my experiences in Silicon Valley.] The content is directed to the founder/CEO. It covers the issues related to starting a company as viewed from an investor's perspective. It is not a guide book for running a company. Very focused on raising capital and how to shape a company so that the funding aspects of the company make sense in the US VC community. The numbers are a bit dated. The examples are from companies that went public a few years ago. From my recent experiences raising capital, the message and the averages still largely hold true so nothing has been sacrificed.
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