It does so by answering the questions most frequently asked by entrepreneurs and managers of growing companies as they search for funding and, later, negotiate for favorable financing terms.

The Growth Company Guide contains approximately 250 entries both arranged in alphabetical order and organized by Subject. Each entry describes a word or phrase that is commonly used by investors and entrepreneurs to describe an important fund-raising or growth company concept. Together, the entries explain what entrepreneurs need to know to prepare for fund-raising efforts and to attract and deal successfully with investors.

The book is comprehensive. It describes the types of investors who invest in private companies, the methods companies use to attract these investors, and ways to evaluate funding proposals. It includes strategies for negotiating better deals with investors. It also describes methods for protecting company secrets and using stock and other noncash considerations to attract and keep key employees.

Use the book as a tool before and during your fund-raising efforts. Don't read it from cover to cover and put it away. Instead, keep it handy and refer to it often. And don't feel that you have to read the book from beginning to end. Start with an entry that interests you and proceed as you like through the others.