Dileep Rao is a former VC and financier. He financed 400+ ventures and real estate projects using VC, debt, and leases – 9 entrepreneurs built billion-dollar or hundred-million-dollar companies. He also led 5 business turnarounds – 4 succeeded. After retiring from finance, Rao interviewed and researched an additional 116 Unicorn-Entrepreneurs. Based on his experience and research, Rao developed Unicorn-Entrepreneurship (UE): How Smart Entrepreneurs Takeoff without VC to Create Wealth & Control It. He writes and teaches about VC and Unicorn-Entrepreneurship. Rao has taught VC & UE at Harvard, Stanford, FIU and UM and globally, receiving numerous awards for teaching. Rao has written venture financing books for the NY Times and AMACOM; and Unicorn-Entrepreneurship books for Inc. magazine and FIU Business. He has been writing blogs on entrepreneurship and venture financing for Forbes for 10+ years. Dr. Rao has 2 (unused) engineering degrees and one doctorate in business administration. (www.dileeprao.com).