Originally Published September 1999

FINANCE

Stacey L. Bell

So, your company has a great idea for a new medical device that would make a current surgical procedure less invasive, thereby shaving more than two weeks off patients' recovery time. Your R&D department has created a prototype, you've done some initial clinical testing, and you've assembled a crackerjack team to get the product off the ground. All you need now is the capital to support that team, right? Well, maybe. Before you take the leap into full-scale development, now would be a good time to make sure that your fledgling product has what it takes to win a venture capitalist's heart—and checkbook.