About the Authors

Nicole Gravagna: Nicole is a leader in the start-up and investing community in Colorado through her work as the Director of Operations in the Rockies Venture Club, Board Member of 10.10.10, and Advisory Board Member of Coalition for a Connected West. She also serves on the board of RAFT (Resource Area for Teaching) and acts as a founding advisor to Alternatives in Science Club, a student organization at University of Colorado devoted to connecting business and life science. You can follow Nicole through Twitter @NicoleGravagna or through her blog posts at RockiesVentureClub.org. Nicole holds a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Colorado, a MS from the University of Maryland, and a BS from Washington College.

Peter K. Adams: Peter Adams is the Executive Director of the Rockies Venture Club, a non-profit organization furthering economic development by connecting investors and entrepreneurs through conferences (Angel Capital Summit and Colorado Capital Conference), networking events, educational offerings, and facilitation of early-stage investor groups. His role includes creating deal flow of hundreds of firms per year, screening for investable companies, developing best practices for due diligence and negotiation, and providing education for investors in the areas of valuation, term sheets, negotiation, syndication, and portfolio strategies. Peter has over 25 years of business experience, beginning in the 1980s with a technology company responsible for fulfilling a sole-source contract for all personal computers for the Colorado state government, including universities, agencies, and related offices. Peter is a serial entrepreneur, having founded five companies. He has also served over a dozen years as Economics Director and as CIO of an international professional services firm. Peter is also the CEO for BizGirls.org, a non-profit summer camp for high-school girls to learn entrepreneurship, and Omniportraits, a for-profit e-commerce venture. Peter holds a BA degree from Colorado College, and an MBA from Regis University.

Authors’ Acknowledgments

Nicole: I would like to thank my husband, Fred, for his unwavering support in all that I do. My family and mentors have empowered and encouraged me to keep reaching farther. The Colorado start-up community has continued to inspire me through my own high-risk journey. And a big thank you to Peter, my coauthor, who held the door to opportunity open for me. I’d also like to thank Jim Keating, for his insightful comments on the manuscript.

Peter: I would like to acknowledge the Colorado Venture Capital and Angel Investing community for their collaboration and helpfulness. I’d also like to thank my family and friends for their support while we were writing this book, and my coauthor who did so much to help get this book written.

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

Acquisitions Editor: Stacy Kennedy

Editor: Tracy Barr

Technical Editor: James P. Keating

Project Coordinator: Patrick Redmond

Cover Image: ©iStockphoto.com/David Schmidt