With a title that sounds like a Dan Brown novel, it's only right that Simon Acland here seeks to burst a few myths. Despite—or maybe because of—his successful career in venture capital, Acland is particularly harsh on the dangers posed to entrepreneurs by that breed of investor (characterised here as the vultures of the title).

Indeed, VCs get variously described as "beasts", "the devil" and even drug dealers (pushing capital injections on to easily addicted entrepreneurs). For their part, entrepreneurs seeking funding are not helpless prey, but rather "lions". It's hard to shake off the idea that this brave imagery wasn't at the front of Acland's mind as he wrote about the dangers of various types of finance.

The writing is informal—and some may find the tone too irritating at times—but the material is accurate. Anyone seeking outside investment from either an angel or a venture capitalist should read this first. There would be no danger of going into a deal with your eyes closed. Acland won't make friends among VCs with this, but he'll have plenty of entrepreneur fans before long.