By Frank Szivos, Angel Investor News Editor

Who: Valerie Gaydos - entrepreneur, investor and publisher – is the founder and president of Capital Growth, Inc., a financial news collection, publishing, business development and consulting company.

Valerie also serves a the Executive Director of the Private Investors Forum (PIF) Annual Angel Venture Fair (www.angelventurefair.com), which is produced by the Private Investor’s Forum (Philadelphia) And, serves as Executive Director of the Philadelphia region of the Pennsylvania Angel Network (PAN) (www.paangelnetwork.org).

Experience:  Valerie has been involved with many entrepreneurs and start-up companies as a founder, consultant, investor or advisory board member . She has served as an expert in gathering vital business information, locating experts and finding key resources, which promote and enhance a company’s ability to run a successful and profitable business - with or without outside capital.

Valerie has been publishing Capital Growth Interactive (www.capitalgrowth.com), a monthly newsletter on venture news and resources in private capital since 1995. Additionally, she has produced the Annual Venture Guide to entrepreneurial resources which is an annual compilation of business advice articles from various independent sources and which includes a listing of venture firms and listing of their deals done.

Tips for Entrepreneurs: Valerie has worked with numerous businesses to know that a great idea alone does not create a successful venture. The real work, and consequently the real success, of any business comes from the implementation and execution of great ideas along with the right contacts and connections to the proper experts. Knowing the right people with the right skills set can make or break a company.

Gaydos sees a great deal of opportunity now with a recovering economy. But it takes more than a great idea to build a successful business. She points out that most entrepreneurs fail to realize the best source of financing and the cheapest is customers.

She recommends that startups know why they need capital and what they want to do with it. Don’t look for the easy handout. Work hard at developing a customer base with as little external financing as possible. But, know when you really do need it.

Tips for Investors: What she sees drawing funding are not just the hot high-tech and high growth startups but also good old-fashioned businesses that have customers and revenue. There are great opportunities in buyouts, refinancings etc.. Look for businesses that have a realistic and solid business plan and can provide good return on investment. A smaller realized return is better than an unrealized dream. In 2001, when the market flattened out, a lot of good came from the downturn, weeding out the weak startups.

For serious angel investors, she recommends:  

• Get to know the angel groups in your area. And, Participate.
• Network, attend angel events and find other investors who find good deals and who can share their experiences, knowledge, expertise, resources.
• Understand your risk tolerance.
• Realize that all angel groups operate differently, some have fees and others don’t. Some have minimum investment criteria others have none. Participate where you feel comfortable.