[This is a guest article written by entrepreneur Zack Shapiro of the University of Colorado, Boulder]

I live in Boulder, Colorado, home of TechStars, a slew of bloggers and start-ups galore. Everyone seems to have their own great idea for the next big thing. Start-ups come in all shapes and sizes; they aren't all websites either. A start-up can be anything from a new city service to a catering company to an iPhone app.

When someone has a great idea they usually need money to make their idea a reality. But how do they get the money they need to take their dream from a prototype or a piece of paper, to a product that others can use, buy or otherwise interact with?

There are three major types of funding that entrepreneurs often seek out. Those three types are available in the forms of Friends and Family (commonly called F&F), Angel Investors and Venture Capital. Each require those interested to present or pitch their ideas in hopes that the particular investor will be interested in funding a project that aims, down the road, to be a self-sustaining business. Investors exist to make dreams come true for those that would otherwise not be able to fund, say, a 20 person staff over four years as their product evolves and matures.