The article presents the results of research conducted among enterprises financed by venture capital funds, among innovative enterprises not using this source of capital as well as amid venture capital / private equity funds. The identifying of venture capital market development barriers was the aim of the research. Secondly, it was to gather opinions on acquaintance with this source of finance among Polish businessmen; and also to gain a vc portfolio manager’s evaluation of venture capital’s value adding role to their portfolio companies. The managers also gave their opinions on co-operation with the managers of vc/pe funds and the quality of their advisory help given to these enterprises. The results shows that the knowledge of venture capital among managers of innovative enterprises is far from sufficient. On the other hand the majority of enterprises financed by vc/pe very highly assess the vc funds managers’ advisory contribution in the development of their enterprises. The managers of venture capital funds point out many barriers impeding the functioning of vc funds in Poland. These are mainly in law and administration, but – in manager’s opinions - Poland is still a very attractive country for venture capital/private equity investments. The most frequently underlined advantages are: the size of the market, a large number of enterprises with considerable growth potential, a large equity gap as well as the possibility to employ highly qualified management. Respondents pointed out some ways of possible improvement of vc/pe operating conditions. The most frequently emphasized are: first; the regulations (especially tax systems) should be stable and predictable, secondly; regulation relating vc/pe activity should be liberalized, thirdly; some incentives for investors in risky businesses should be introduced.