Is it possible for entrepreneurs to succeed at growing ventures without early-stage venture capital? Based on the fact that more than 9 out of 10 of America’s billion-dollar entrepreneurs did take off without early-stage VC, Dileep Rao says YES! In Nothing Ventured, Everything Gained, Dileep Rao shatters the dominant myth that entrepreneurs need early-stage venture capital to build a giant business. In fact, says Rao, by avoiding or even delaying VC, billion-dollar entrepreneurs can control their companies and the wealth created by them—and retain more of that wealth. The book is based on 30 of Rao’s interviews with billion-dollar entrepreneurs (BDEs) and hundred-million-dollar entrepreneurs (HMDEs) and the analysis of the strategies of 85 BDEs. The author introduces the finance-smart skills, opportunity secrets, and strategy secrets of BDEs who took off without VC, and proves his points via stories of successful giants like Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Steve Jobs. Every entrepreneur will do well to read and benefit from Rao’s invaluable insights and expertise. ​Dileep Rao, PhD, financed the growth of hundreds of businesses and real estate projects over the twenty-three years he was VP of financing and business development at a venture development and finance institution. He advises entrepreneurs, governments, Fortune 1000 corporations, and financial institutions on building big businesses with finance-smart strategies. Dr. Rao is a clinical professor of entrepreneurship at Florida International University and has taught at Stanford University, the University of Minnesota, and in executive MBA programs in Europe, Latin America, and Asia.

Nothing Ventured heralds the start of a brand new series in the style of Jeffrey Archer’s #1 New York Times bestselling Clifton Chronicles: introducing Detective William Warwick. But this is not a detective story, this is a story about the making of a detective . . . William Warwick has always wanted to be a detective, and decides, much to his father’s dismay, that rather than become a lawyer like his father, Sir Julian Warwick QC, and his sister Grace, he will join London’s Metropolitan Police Force. After graduating from university, William begins a career that will define his life: from his early months on the beat under the watchful eye of his first mentor, Constable Fred Yates, to his first high-stakes case as a fledgling detective in Scotland Yard’s arts and antiquities squad. Investigating the theft of a priceless Rembrandt painting from the Fitzmolean Museum, he meets Beth Rainsford, a research assistant at the gallery who he falls hopelessly in love with, even as Beth guards a secret of her own that she’s terrified will come to light. While William follows the trail of the missing masterpiece, he comes up against suave art collector Miles Faulkner and his brilliant lawyer, Booth Watson QC, who are willing to bend the law to breaking point to stay one step ahead of William. Meanwhile, Miles Faulkner’s wife, Christina, befriends William, but whose side is she really on? This new series introduces William Warwick, a family man and a detective who will battle throughout his career against a powerful criminal nemesis. Through twists, triumph and tragedy, this series will show that William Warwick is destined to become one of Jeffrey Archer’s most enduring legacies.

Five men. Five unique personalities. Five different reasons. In "The Celluloid Closet Series," "Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained," five men embark in an epic journey, full of several twists and turns. This action packed, suspense, thriller, will have you entertained. A group of men who feel ostracized from society, take on a world of organized crime, each for their own personal agenda. These men who all come from several backgrounds, form a special brotherhood, to obtain the success they seek. Throughout the adventure, many trials and tribulations will form. These events will test these men to their ultimate potential and self worth. How far will these men go to achieve what they truly want? What risks will they be willing to take along the journey? Will they learn any important lessons along the way? Keeping in mind, "Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained." This story contains strong vulgar language, drug use, strong violence, LGBTQ topics, and other sensitive content.

There are many types of monsters; Vi just hopes she isn’t one of them. Now that medium and con woman Viola Thorne has been flushed out of hiding, she must dodge old marks and protect new allies while grappling with her ever-growing psychic abilities. On her way south to root out the clandestine organization that murdered her partner, she and her traveling companions (both living and dead) are drawn into a mystery surrounding a burlesque troupe aboard an old flame’s steamship. To get close to the suspects, Vi joins the show and is thrust back into the spotlight. Solving this case might be her next step toward redemption, but both mundane and supernatural forces are working against her at every turn. All aboard for wily women, fractured friendships, and ghosts galore in this paranormal adventure down the mighty Mississippi.

From his unique perspective Bill Ferris draws priceless lessons for investors, entrepreneurs, students and aspiring private equity practitioners. There are insights into how to raise funds, who are the right people for private equity, financial structuring of buyouts, exciting investments via IPOs, trade sales or otherwise.

From the stories of entrepreneurs who have built some of the world's great companies (such as the world's largest medical device company and the world's largest consumer electronics retailer), Bootstrap to Billions shows entrepreneurs how they too can control and build a huge business from scratch to create wealth and keep it.