Foreword

There are many business books out on the market that give great tips on building your business. Books can be great tools, but they don’t match up to the most important tools in your toolbox—people. People are what really help your business move ahead—successful, wellconnected people who are willing to share their expertise, their capital, and their connections with you.

Susan Preston is an entrepreneur’s most valuable tool. Through her books and her speaking engagements, she willingly shares her expertise and connections with companies seeking capital, with policymakers seeking to attract capital, and with national organizations looking to build an industry.

Angel investors know how to build successful businesses. Susan has firsthand experience as a talented entrepreneur and as a founder and participant in an active Seattle-based angel network. As an attorney with one of the West Coast’s leading law firms, she has helped countless companies reach their full potential. In this book, she opens the window to the “inner circle,” so we can see into the mysterious world of what investors are thinking—and what we need to do to get access to their capital and their connections.

 

Honorable Lorrie Keating Heinemann
Cabinet Secretary under Governor Jim Doyle
Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions
Madison, Wisconsin
September, 2006