If you're looking for money to finance your idea/project/start-up, here are the best advices I got out of the Churchill Club's "Successful Strategies for Early Stage Companies: The Investor Perspective" event this morning with Keith Larson, VP of Intel Capital; Robert Latta, Partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati; Eric O'Brien, Managing Director at Lightspeed Venture Partners and Carol Sands, Managing Member & Founder of the Angels Forum (pictured).

1) If you don't need money to run your start-up, then don't take it! Or just be very very very picky:

- But if you need money, please avoid "dumb money". The money you take from the VCs will start a relationship that will last for the next 5-10 years. So be smart with whom you're asking money from. The VCs should be able to help you building the company, either through building a team, making introductions, etc. So, as an entrepreneur, you have to choose carefully which VC you are bringing on board, as much as they do due diligence with your company;

- So valuation should not be a "end all and be all" kind of thing. Look at "soft issues" too, like the quality of your potential investors for example;

- Corporate VCs bring in-depth knowledge of their industry. But most of them won't last. And corporate VCs will ultimately pull you in areas that will benefit their strategic objectives and not necessarily your company. So the advice is to let the "pure play" VCs do the talking!

- Avoid hedge investors.