10 Tips to Help You Grab the Money

For the past seven months, I have been trying to raise capital for a new venture. Luckily for me, I have worked for and with venture capitalists and private investors. I also wrote a book on venture capital. All of this translates into access -- but not a term sheet.

For those of you who don't know what a term sheet is, it is a preliminary agreement of what investors are willing to invest for a piece of your company.

What does it take to get a term sheet? Urban legend has it that to get a term sheet you either have to sell an appendage or become a "made man" in one of the five organized crime families in New York. The truth is that you need 10 things. ...