But the good news is that in recent years there has been a resurgence in the growth of venture capital firms-not to the degree of the '80s, but welcomed growth none the less. With the right mix of product, management, and marketability, you may again receive a warm embrace from traditional venture capitalists. Don't assume one firm is as good as another. There exists a varied degree of preferences among these financiers. Some prefer to provide seed money for start-ups, while others focus on later stages of funding or leveraged buyouts.
Some firms only focus on specific industries or geographic areas.
The qualifications are stiff, as is the competition. Each key player should be heading a different area of the business. The ideal team has 3 or 4 players. The most attractive products are ones that already have an established market, but are one or more years ahead of competing products. This competitive edge can be derived from innovations in design which make it superior, or innovations in manufacturing which make it cheaper, or, as is the trend lately, innovations in marketing.