In a dynamic 3-hour workshop, successful entrepreneur and angel investor John Richards will introduce premature scaling -- the #1 cause of startup failure -- and how “putting the cart before the horse” will threaten operational, funding, and outcome success. Richards will also explain the elements of the venture funding ecosystem, from the players to the differing modes of investment. He will end with how to best position a company for venture investment by avoiding vanity metrics and showing real traction through both innovation and financial metrics.