The Under the Radar conferences are the place to be if you want to get deals done in Silicon Valley. When it came to chairing our conferences, Sean's experience with and insights into young companies was a great fit for us.
– Alison Murdock,
President, DealMaker Media,
home of the Under the Radar Conferences

Wise Words: The Book

Preview   Support independent publishing: buy this book on Lulu.


Jump to ...


Wise Words: Lessons in Venture Capital & Entrepreneurship

It is Still Who You Know!

Use a Rifle, Not a Shotgun, When Hunting Venture Capital

Networking as a Factor of Commercial Evolution

The Double Dip: How to Build Once, Sell Twice and Make Money Three Times

Think You Can Talk Like a VC? Don't Be Such a Blowfish

Clamo, Ergo Sum (I Pitch, Therefore I Am)

What a VC Wants

The Direct vs. Channel Sales Debate

The Talent Triangle

The Cup, the Wallet & the Sword: How starting a buinsess is like starting a family; and how to choose your partner for either

The Power of a Pictogram

Ready for a First Date With Your VC?

14 First-Date Questions Investors Will Ask

Leverage Your Board

Business Jiu-Jitsu

the 5 Worst Things to Say to Investors

The 10 Ways Start-ups are like Marriage

Exit next Left: Preparing for M&A

Turning Silver into Gold: How to know if your idea has merit

Enterprise 2.0: The Future of Big Business

The 5 Books Every Founder Should Read

Everything I learned about business, I learned from the Green Lantern

Articles of Interest by Others

How to shake the money tree

Where to go when the bank says no

Keys to the capital

5 Keys to Getting Cash

Hope vs. Experience

Boot Camps Drill for Gold

Templates & Guides

BDC's Business Plan Template

BDC's Financial Statements Template

Ernst & Young Business Plan Guide

Ernst & Young's Outline for a Business Plan

OCRI Business Plan Workbook

Primaxis's Template for Seed Stage Business Plans

Ventures West Business Plan Template

WMC's Executive Summary Structure

Recommended Resources

Interactive Business Plan – for those looking for assistance getting started

Know Yourself Quiz - for those considering starting a business

BDC’s Are you ready? – Quiz for startups

Canadian Venture Capital Association

American Venture Capital Association

Canadian Venture Forum – Canada’s national financing forum

Toronto Venture Group

IBDNetwork - Silicon Valley’s Premiere Spot for Startups

The Wall Street Journal’s Centre for Entrepreneurship

Red Herring – the VC magazine

Business 2.0 magazine

Paul Gilligan – where to go to get infographix custom made