I would recommend you check out a few sites like: http://www.venturehacks.com http://www.venturehacks.com http://answers.onstartups.com http://answers.onstartu

I would recommend you check out a few sites like: http://www.venturehacks.com http://www.venturehacks.com http://answers.onstartups.com http://answers.onstartups.com http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com To answer your questions directly: 1) You generally tell them how much money you are trying to raise (based on your financial projections). The valuation determines what percentage ownership you end up giving up in exchange for the funding. The total amount you end up with is negotiable. 2) The VC takes a percentage ownership of your company, and generally ends up with a seat on your board, Officer salaries are generally determined by the board. As the founder, you usually specify your salary requirements during the fund raising process....an overly large salary is a red flag and could turn investors off. The total amount of control the investors end up with depends on your specific situation. 3) Usually it is done as one big check. However, it may be split up into 'tranches', which are delivered upon meeting certain milestones. 4) Most startups do end up failing, the investors know the risks associated and factor that in their decisions about what companies to fund. If it fails, it fails. The fact that your company is a separate legal entity protects you from personal liability. 5) Generally investors end up taking a 20%-40% ownership stake in your company per round. If you raise multiple rounds, each new investor takes a new slice of the pie. I would definitely recommend checking out the sites I linked above to get a much more thorough overview of the fundraising process. I would also recommend looking into angel investment.