[gscott]

http://paulgraham.com/fundraising.html

Control-F and find Consulting in this essay

On the other hand, it might be worth giving away 50% to get the money you need. Once this venture is successful you won't have to give away 50% in future ventures. Make sure for that 50% you get enough money to go all the way with your project, which will mean taking money in stages.

[haasted]

... And be thorough when selecting the people you sell to. You may be able to leverage them for more than money, eg. use them as board members and have them use their network to help you get needed contacts to develop your business.

This was an incredibly successful strategy at my previous company. The investors had contacts at some very interesting clients, which allowed the salesmen to get in at a different level than if they had to start from scratch.