Private equity and venture capital have for the past two decades been an increasingly important source of financing to early-stage new ventures, later stage private companies, and firms seeking buyout financing. According to a recent study the number of Business plans written in an year amounts to at least 15 million- an impressive figure that implies the great importance of business plans. Entrepreneurs however find the road from writing the business plan to the acquiring of the capital as one of the most frustrating and difficult challenges they face. This work therefore undertook the task to examine the major evaluation criteria investors apply in their decision-making process. The study furthermore distinguishes between the decision processes of private equity vs. venture capital.