There are numerous types of business investors and a multitude of names by which they are coined; angel, seed, start-up, venture capital, private equity, mezzanine, leveraged buyout, management buyout, public companies, etc.

Investors are usually more active within a certain bandwidth corresponding to the growth cycle of a company from birth to maturity. A simplistic view is to divide investors into the following main categories, which coincide with the phases of a company’s maturing process:

• Angel – founding
• Venture Capital – early stage
• Private Equity – growth phase
• Mezzanine – growth/maturing
• Public – mature