Easy As Pie

Enamored with your idea for a start-up? Before risking it all, recognize that the new book by former U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce Joseph W. Bartlett will help you avoid starting the wrong business for the wrong reasons. Fundamentals of Venture Capital (Madison Books, $24.95, 800-462-6420) provides the information you'll need to start and bring your business to maturity. Unlike writers who play up entrepreneurial successes, Bartlett points to such issues as whether you should start your own company, whether anyone will buy your product or service, and whether they'll pay enough to allow you a profit. Bartlett, now a partner in the corporate finance group in the New Your City office of Morrison & Forrester LLP, offers clear-cut insight and direction, cutting through the jargon to provide a step-by-step review of the venture capital process and how to access the market. Writing in plain English, Bartlett focuses on such key issues as finding seed capital, setting up your company, gathering a team of advisors, preparing for an IPO and much more (including advice on minimizing taxes!).

Paul DeCeglie (MrWritePDC@aol.com) is a former staff reporter for Journal of Commerce and American Banker.