Nothing Ventured: The Perils and Payoffs of the Great American Venture Capital Game

Venture capital is money invested at high risk by millionaires, individually or through organzed funds, to develop commercially the dreams and scientific breakthroughs of entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs of Apple Computer. Kunze, who heads the California-based Life Science Ventures, here explains the process. Case histories describe the pangs of creating a product prototype, refinancing for factory production and sales development, patent worries, unanticipated equipment glitches and potentially devastating conflicts among managers and personnel--or between the majority-owning venture capitalists and the originating entrepreneur. Such hazards can lead to a desperation sale or merger, or outright failure with millions lost, but successes such as Genentech, Microsoft, Digital, Intel and others keep the venturers coming back for more. This is an enlightening look at fast-track American enterprise, and a first-class cautionary guide. Fortune Book Club alternate. (Mar.)