An executive says to his VC partner in the above cartoon, "What burns my bottom about www.dazoosucks.com is that we capitalized them."

Who is the company's accounting firm? Early stage companies also need quality accounting advice and assistance to function and grow effectively. This generally involves three basic services. First, the law requires all companies to file tax returns,...

Who is the company's legal counsel? To be successful, early-stage companies need good legal counsel. The road from start-up through high growth to successful maturity is much too hazardous to forge ahead without a high-quality and appropriately...

Who are the company's existing investors, and who are the potential co-investors? Venture capitalists also often focus on the quality of companies' existing equity investors and potential current round coinvestors as a third screening mechanism. They...

What is the overall quality of the company's business plan? As a second screening mechanism, venture capitalists often scrutinize the business plans they receive to gauge the quality of general presentations, thoroughness, clarity, coherence, and...