Is your company investment grade? That's the question that every business owner, investor and employee should be asking before sinking any time, energy or cash into an organization.

In 17 Reasons Your Company Is Not Investment Grade & What To Do About It, Zane Tarence, investment banker and serial entrepreneur, describes 17 interrelated characteristics that make a company investment worthy. He also provides detailed, actionable recommendations that owners of companies in any industry can implement immediately.

Investment-grade companies are private companies that: 1) generate predictable cash flow, 2) deliver tangible value to all stakeholders, 3) attract top talent, 4) can support add-on acquisitions, and 5) give their owners freedom. Whether owners plan to raise funds, self-fund, recapitalize, purchase or roll up additional companies, sell, or stay in their companies forever, creating an investment-grade company is critical.

Zane Tarence has spent over 25 years creating, investing in, advising and selling technology-based businesses. He is a speaker, author, and partner and managing director of Founders Advisors, LLC, a Birmingham-based investment banking firm.