Finance Essentials for Entrepreneurs is a startup owner's indispensable guide to basic finance. In this e-book, Zafar draws upon two decades of entrepreneurial experience to provide a simple, proven method for understanding the most important elements of financial management for businesses. Zafar understands what entrepreneurs need to know about business finance. He also knows that their time is precious. In Finance Essentials for Entrepreneurs, he delivers that knowledge in practical, to-the-point language free of technical jargon and longwinded discourses and provides spreadsheet examples that are clear and relevant.

This book tries to present simple but important concepts in accounts and finance necessary to run a start-up successfully. It is not intended to be part of any formal course but rather a handbook to manage the finances of a business. Finance and Accounts is a vast subject and a formal study could take some years. What we have tried to do in this book is to simplify those topics which are very essential and basic in the day-to-day running of a business. If you go through these pages and try to grasp these basic principles, there is every chance that you can master the basics of finance to run your business. You must be familiar with the Pareto principle. In most cases, eighty percent of the effect comes from twenty percent of the causes. Similarly, in running a business, twenty percent of the theories of finance and accounts are important for running eighty percent of your business. It is this twenty percent that we have tried to simplify and put across to you in this book, both in text and in a presentation. The presentation that follows the main text was given to a batch of entrepreneurs who had enrolled for a popular program designed by IIM Bangalore for founders of new start-ups. The presentation was very well received.

When you start a business, legal issues can seem complex, even scary. This simple guide helps you ask smart questions and get the right advice. Find out what practices will help you keep your legal matters clear and simple! You will learn key concepts and terms, how to choose an attorney, contract essentials, and what you need to protect (such as processes or intellectual property). Plus the basics of partnership and corporate structures, license and regulation essentials, employment issues, legal aspects of buying and selling, common pitfalls, international business issues—and more. Each of the books in the Crash Course for Entrepreneurs series offers a high-level overview of the critical things you need to know and do if you want to survive and thrive in our super-competitive world. Of course, there’s much more to learn about each topic, but what you’ll read here will give you the framework for learning the rest.

To start a successful business, you need a comprehensive toolbox full of effective financial and business techniques at your fingertips. Entrepreneurial Finance provides the essential tools and know-how you need to build a sturdy foundation for a profitable business. This practical road map guides you from crafting a meaningful business plan to raising your business to the next level. It offers potent methods for keeping firm financial control of your enterprise and insightful tips for avoiding the multitude of financial barriers that may block your entrepreneurial dream. Written by Steven Rogers, a leading educator at the prestigious Kellogg School of Management, this reliable guidebook covers: The dual objectives of a business plan and how to ensure that both are fulfilled Differences between debt and equity financing and how and why to use each Real-world methods for structuring a deal to benefit both the financier and the entrepreneur Valuation techniques for understanding what your business is truly worth Essential resources for finding the detailed information you need Entrepreneurial Finance clearly explains the inescapable rules of finance and business by using real-world examples and cutting-edge data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) research project. It features up-to-date coverage of phantom stock, options, and the state of entrepreneurship in such countries as Canada, Europe, Asia, and South America. This definitive guide is effective in today's business climate, with robust, no-nonsense coverage on everything from the new realities of revenue valuation and the growth of women entrepreneurs to the fallout from the dot-com boom and the impact of Sarbanes-Oxley on corporate governance. Just because you're in business for yourself doesn't mean you're alone. Entrepreneurial Finance helps you create a long-term plan for achieving maximum profit.

Let the experts at Inc.guide you through every critical step and potential pitfall as their on-the-ground reporting shows how to locate funding, manage your money, and smart hack your way to a comfortable retirement. Startup Money Made Easy gathers the best advice from the magazine’s pages, spotlighting celebrated entrepreneurs and inspiring stories. You’ll hear from: FUBU founder Daymond John, who mortgaged his family home for start-up capital—and built a $6 billion empire Makeup artist Bobbi Brown, who turned a modest lipstick line into a profitable 30-store enterprise Alexa von Tobel, who dropped out of Harvard Business School to launch the equity-magnate LearnVest.com Mark Cuban, Sallie Krawcheck, Max Levchin, and other founders who overcame financial obstacles on their way to the top Additionally, these stories include on-target tips that explain how to: Raise your first $10,000 in capital Power through the lean years Get friends and family to back you up Round up outside investors Go public or sell, while still staying in charge Reward people with great salaries and benefits Eliminate tax season surprises Grow without growing pains Cash flow problems are the number-one business killer. Whether you’re dreaming up a startup idea or knee deep in the craziness, learn to shore up your finances and safeguard the business.

Angel Financing for Entrepreneurs will give you the information you need to understand how angel investors think, as well as how to identify investor expectations, understand the investment analysis process, and prepare for post-investment requirements. Written by Susan Preston, an experienced angel investor, worldwide speaker and consultant on angel financing, and former Kauffman Foundation Entrepreneur-in-Residence, this hands-on resource, explains the factors that determine how private equity investors spend their money and what they expect from entrepreneurs. For example: Most venture capitalists do not invest in seed or start-up financing rounds Investors typically require seasoned management, with successful start-up experience Investors are looking for entrepreneurs with passion for their ideas and the willingness to take and apply sound advice Business plans must be well-written with detailed financial projections that extend 3–5 years Investors are looking for a clear path to profitability in the business model Entrepreneurs must have developed a corporate structure that is clean and uncomplicated And much more

25 Steps to Found and Scale a High-Growth Business The Startup Checklist is the entrepreneur's essential companion. While most entrepreneurship books focus on strategy, this invaluable guide provides the concrete steps that will get your new business off to a strong start. You'll learn the ins and outs of startup execution, management, legal issues, and practical processes throughout the launch and growth phases, and how to avoid the critical missteps that threaten the foundation of your business. Instead of simply referring you to experts, this discussion shows you exactly which experts you need, what exactly you need them to do, and which tools you will use to support them—and you'll gain enough insight to ask smart questions that help you get your money's worth. If you're ready to do big things, this book has you covered from the first business card to the eventual exit. Over two thirds of startups are built on creaky foundations, and over two thirds of startup costs go directly toward cleaning up legal and practical problems caused by an incomplete or improper start. This book helps you sidestep the messy and expensive clean up process by giving you the specific actions you need to take right from the very beginning. Understand the critical intricacies of legally incorporating and running a startup Learn which experts you need, and what exactly you need from them Make more intelligent decisions independent of your advisors Avoid the challenges that threaten to derail great young companies The typical American startup costs over $30,000 and requires working with over two dozen professionals and service providers before it even opens for business—and the process is so complex that few founders do it correctly. Their startups errors often go unnoticed until the founder tries to seek outside capital, at which point they can cost thousands of dollars to fix. . . or even completely derail an investment. The Startup Checklist helps you avoid these problems and lay a strong foundation, so you can focus on building your business.