Mary Hodder, attorney Denise Howell, and venture capitalist Patricia Nakache lead a discussion on obtaining funding for your business. The panel looks at the process of conventional funding and considers how to use blogging to approach the process in a more unconventional way.

Patricia and Mary explain the difference between angel investors and venture capitalists. Angel investors fund from their own pockets - often in the range of several hundred thousand dollars. Funding from an angel is a good way to get your company off the ground before seeking VC funding, which is often in the $2-$10 million range.

Be aware that as the owner you give away part of your company with each round of financing. Patricia says that a typical series A round of financing is $4 to $5 million, for which you give up 30% to 50% of your company. When you get funding you're clearly creating a partnership. So know who your partners are. Check their references. And carefully consider how much you're willing to give away.

The good news is that today it's cheaper to build a company than it was during the dot com heyday, so you may not need VC funding. For example, one attendee says her company has been surviving by bootstrapping and doing consulting while in the beta stage of developing their product.