SAN FRANCISCO (Business 2.0 Magazine) - It's the spring of 2006, and the sweet scent of entrepreneurship is in the air. Growing numbers of Americans are pursuing their startup dreams.

According to the National Venture Capital Association, seed-level VC funding nearly doubled in 2005. This year, based on current trends, it could double again. In Delaware, the country's incorporation capital, new business formation was up 19 percent last year, the highest one-year growth rate on record.

In other words, there's never been a better time to start your own company. New technologies are creating new business opportunities on the Internet, on mobile phones, in consumer products, and in information services. At the same time, many of these technologies have radically reduced the costs associated with launching a new venture.

In the late 1990s, a typical VC-funded startup needed roughly $10 million to amass the infrastructure and staff required to carry the company from its first business plan to its first product launch. Today that cost has been reduced to just $4 million -- and in many cases way, way less. The barriers to entry have never been lower.

While birthing a company is easier, succeeding is as difficult as ever. The general rule in the investment community is that only about a third of all startups ever turn a profit. Another third limp along at a break-even level, and the rest end in failure. Top among the reasons young companies fail are problems such as incorrect market focus and misguided executive leadership.

With that in mind, we wanted you to have all the benefit of hard-earned experience without having to actually endure the pain of making your own mistakes. We spoke to dozens of experts -- seasoned entrepreneurs, early-stage investors, venture capitalists, and first-time CEOs -- to understand what they've learned about the art of getting a new company off the ground. Then we set out to create a set of blueprints describing just how to do it.

There are no guarantees in the world of entrepreneurship. But there is a right way to go about it, and we've mapped the process out for you here. Just follow the steps listed below. As for the rest -- well, that's entirely up to you. You can thank us later.

• Phase One: Establish a Company
• Phase Two: Prototype the Product
• Phase Three: Develop the Beta Product
• Phase Four: Launch the Product
• Searching for angel investors
• What a VC wants to see in you
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