VC Adventure

AUGUST 15, 2018

Most boards did some level of work to determine the FMV of a company’s stock but generally options were priced between 10% and 15% of a company’s then preferred price (because common equity sits behind preferred equity there is typically a discount applied to the FMV of common stock to account for this “overhang”).

Valuation 48

Valuation Common Stock Cap Table Software Review 48

Steve Blank

APRIL 26, 2022

At the turn of the century after the dotcom crash, startup valuations plummeted, burn rates were unsustainable, and startups were quickly running out of cash. For existing investors, sometimes it was a “pay-to-play” i.e. if you don’t participate in the new financing you lose. This article previously appeared in TechCrunch.

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Cram Down Founder Venture Capital Recapitalization 408

www.inc.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Finance | Tuesdays. Advisor. ); STARTUP. Financing a Small Business. Financing A Small Business. Personal Finance. Will Work for Equity. Why Arizona Bay started taking stock from its customers instead of cash. Dave Graham Business Venture Capital Private Equity GlobalLogic Inc. Newsletters.

Arizona 40

Arizona Equity Iowa Venture Capital 40

Startup Company Lawyer

MARCH 14, 2010

After the recent announcement of the Series Seed Financing documents by Marc Andreesen, Brad Feld points out that there are now four sets of “open source&# equity seed financing documents: TechStars Model Seed Funding Documents (by Cooley). Y Combinator Series AA Equity Financing Documents (by WSGR).

Finance 70

Finance Software Review Term Sheet Liquidation Preference 70

Scott Edward Walker

OCTOBER 19, 2020

Over the past six months, my firm has been engaged by a number of startups with significant intellectual property (“IP”) problems. The purpose of this blog post is to briefly discuss the three most common IP mistakes that startups make. working on the startup) while employed. Introduction. code, designs, logo, etc.)

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IP Software Review Founder Technical Review 52

www.mattbartus.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

Perspectives on issues affecting founders, startups and investors from a veteran startup lawyer in Silicon Valley. Equity for Consultants – Keep it Simple! posted Feb 3 in Equity , People issues. for every hour works, consultant accrues [hourly wage]in debt that will convert to equity in the next round).

Equity 40

Equity Vesting Silicon Valley Intellectual Property 40

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 27, 2013

In this period (less than 2 years) he has brought on incredibly talented senior execs is sales, marketing, product management, client services, finance, vp engineering and more. In addition to helping manage the board Chris also helps represent the interests of the angel investors / common stock holders. Startup Advice'

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Advisory Board CTO Hire Fractional CTO Los Angeles 365

The Startup Lawyer

DECEMBER 10, 2015

A startup founder’s desire to hold equity better than plain-vanilla common stock isn’t new. Several years ago, Series FF stock for founders was all the rage when it came to founder liquidity at subsequent financing rounds. In the past couple years, we’ve … Continue reading →

Common Stock 40

Common Stock Stock Founder Equity 40

Business Plan Blog

NOVEMBER 13, 2013

Most startup founders do not have enough capital to launch their companies and need to raise money at some point. Individual investors who provide financial funding to startups are called ‘Angel Investors.’ Convertible Debt Financing. Convertible debt provides startups with a relatively easy way to procure financing.

Finance 93

Finance Accredited Investor Angel Investor Seed Capital 93

keen.io

FEBRUARY 5, 2013

How I negotiated my startup compensation. When I started thinking about joining Keen, I quickly realized there is a lot I don’t know about startups. For example: Don’t accept equity compensation (stock shares) without knowing the percentage of the company you’ll own. I knew enough to know I wanted to join a startup.

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Salary Equity Startup San Francisco 50

ithacaVC

APRIL 5, 2011

One rule of simple cap tables is to issue “normal” stock to founders (common stock only) and investors (typically preferred stock, but sometimes common stock to early friends and family). The investor suggested to the faculty member that the investment be convertible debt.

Common Stock 45

Common Stock Stock Cap Table Preferred Stock 45

Eric Friedman

JUNE 27, 2016

Bigger/better advisors who get more equity have things like; excellent domain expertise to help you avoid pitfalls, deep connections within the industry to help with the intros, partnerships, and more. As a potential advisor looking to get involved with the company; MORE EQUITY! This leaves plenty of room for a final 4th advisor for

Equity 98

Equity Vesting Cap Table Common Stock 98

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

It’s like we need a finance 101 course for entrepreneurs. In finance they call it “terminal value” but the truth is the price is as arbitrary at your A round as it is at your seed round. If you want to give them a 33% discount you offer them half of a $1 common-stock warrant for every $1 share they purchase.

Venture Capital 417

Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet 417

The Next Web

JUNE 17, 2015

Giving up equity in your business, as an alternative to paying cash, often sounds like a great idea to cash-starved startups. But, giving up equity in your business is often a very big decision, and can come at a long-term price, both financially and operationally. How Easily Can You Source Capital From Professional Investors?

Equity 60

Equity Valuation Preferred Stock Common Stock 60

Gust

OCTOBER 12, 2011

Last week , we took the plunge and began dissecting an example term sheet for a convertible debt financing round piece by piece. In Part II, we looked at the mandatory conversion language that is at the heart of any convertible debt financing. In my experience, a term of 12 to 24 months is common, with 12 months being on the short end.

Finance 107

Finance Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Early Stage 107

Scott Edward Walker

APRIL 9, 2012

Introduction We are in the golden age of seed financing. Venture capital funds, seed funds, super angels, angel groups, incubators, and “friends and family” are all playing the seed financing game and investing early in startups in an attempt to land the next Facebook. What is a Convertible Note?

Preferred Stock 87

Preferred Stock Finance Common Stock Liquidation Preference 87

Gust

OCTOBER 21, 2011

For convertible notes, the only liquidity event we need be concerned with is an acquisition of the startup in the near future, before the maturity date; otherwise, the notes will convert to equity of one kind or another, and the eventual sale of that equity (in a public offering, acquisition, or private sale) is a different subject for another day.

Finance 79

Finance Pre-Money Valuation Term Sheet Liquidity Event 79

Growthink Blog

MAY 10, 2012

When seeking equity investments, the source of capital is, for the most part, tied to the stage of capital being raised. You see, equity capital is raised in stages or rounds. Mezzanine Financing Most companies that raise equity capital and are eventually acquired or go public receive multiple rounds of financing first.

Equity 88

Equity Mezzanine Later Stage Venture Capital 88

Haystack

JULY 8, 2018

And with this, every year, a new cohort enters into the “tech startup” world, and there’s no official canon to read, no “one-stop shopping” site or user manual to get briefed on the things you absolutely need to know. You can read more about the types of stock granted in startups here.

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Early Stage Dilution Private Equity Common Stock 95

www.payne.org

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Startup Equity For Employees. 2 Stock Classes: Common and Preferred. 5 Stock vs Options. 6 Founders / Restricted Stock. 7 Salary vs Equity. Important disclaimer: Ive got experience negotiating stock compensation packages from both sides of the table. Stock Classes: Common and Preferred.

Equity 56

Equity Employee Vesting Preferred Stock 56

Gust

JUNE 7, 2014

5) Senior Preferred Stock and warrants. 7) Junior Preferred Stock and warrants. 9) Common Stock (including any Preferred that converted to Common, any exercised options, and all Founders stock) and Common stock warrants. Invested Interests company early stage funding investors startup starup'

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Warrant Preferred Stock Early Stage Common Stock 157

Scott Edward Walker

MAY 15, 2012

This post is the third part of a three-part primer on convertible note seed financings. Part 1, entitled “ Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Convertible Note Seed Financings (But Were Afraid To Ask) ,” addressed the basics. Part 2, entitled “ Convertible Note Seed Financings: Econ 101 for Founders ,” addressed the economics.

Finance 64

Finance Founder Accredited Investor Preferred Stock 64

Early Growth Financial Services

FEBRUARY 3, 2015

From time to time on Founders Workbench we give a brief primer on common terms and issues in venture financings. This post by Ian Engstrand first appeared on Founders Workbench. management). Participating versus non-participating: what’s the difference?

Preferred Stock 28

Preferred Stock Stock Finance Participating Preferred 28

Scott Edward Walker

JUNE 9, 2019

Over the past few weeks, two of my clients have received financing term sheets in which the investors requested super pro rata rights. Accordingly, I thought it would be helpful for founders to discuss these rights and to point out the problems they create for startups. Introduction. Pro Rata Rights.

Preferred Stock 56

Preferred Stock Term Sheet Dilution Stock 56

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 28, 2022

With the rise of startups and growing businesses , it has become more critical for investors to have a thorough understanding of equity to be aware of all of the advantages they are receiving from the companies they have invested in. What is Company Equity? Types of equity. Common stock. Preferred shares.

Valuation 108

Valuation Equity Warrant Common Stock 108

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

This time by the efforts of Adeo Ressi to introduce a new kind of structure called “ convertible equity.” My initial reaction to Adeo when we spoke was that while it may have solved some issues (debt versus equity) it didn’t solve the ones that I’ve been warning entrepreneurs about most loudly.

Ratchet 354

Ratchet Liquidation Preference Equity Stock 354

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2012

As the company grows and the second or third group of investors comes in, the terms of each subsequent financing grow in size, scope, and the number of lawyers’ fingerprints on them. Define equity type. The first capital a young company receives usually takes the form of common stock, the same class of shares the founders hold.

Term Sheet 223

Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Due Diligence Post-Money Valuation 223

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

Startups and angels: Along the way to success. The investors and the entrepreneurs are – or should be – aware that the price of the company’s equity is set by the market – in simplest terms, what an informed buyer is willing to pay. By Tim Keane, Angel Investor, Golden Angels Investors, LLC.   First , dividends.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

As the company grows and the second or third group of investors comes in, the terms of each subsequent financing grow in size, scope, and the number of lawyers’ fingerprints on them. Define equity type. The first capital a young company receives usually takes the form of common stock, the same class of shares the founders hold.

Term Sheet 227

Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Due Diligence Post-Money Valuation 227

Up and Running

AUGUST 17, 2015

Additionally, I had already studied Economics and Finance during undergrad, making the academic part of an MBA seem a little redundant. C Corp versus LLC, non-competes, liquidation preferences, preferred versus common stock, and so on). It helps mitigate startup risk. Is business school really necessary?

Entrepreneur 60

Entrepreneur Cofounder Angel Investor eCommerce 60

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2010

Liquidation preference is the amount of money that an investor gets paid before the common stock (e.g. It also gets the new investor concerned that management (common stock holders) will not be incentivized because they realize that the investors will take most of the money unless there is a big upside scenario.

Venture Capital 289

Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Common Stock Dividend 289

The Startup Lawyer

FEBRUARY 4, 2011

Great news — your startup just got accepted to an incubator! But before your startup signs up and cashes that $[XX,000] check, your startup’s co-founders should sit down and evaluate the incubator’s offer. Pre-money valuations startups receive from incubators are typically low…really low.

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Incubator Pre-Money Valuation Option Pool Advisory Board 105

Startup Company Lawyer

MAY 4, 2009

The driving beliefs behind the Institute are that (1) great founders are often overlooked by the current entrepreneurial ecosystem, and that (2) innovative startups have a dramatic positive effect on the global economy. Description: What are the typical stages of the funding life cycle for different types of startup businesses?

Founder 28

Founder Warrant San Francisco Intellectual Property 28

ReadWriteStart

MAY 8, 2012

Approaching investors for the first time is a daunting exercise for any startup. The best way to do that is to leverage the hard-won experience of real-world startup. Turns out that while every startup is unique, they share some common difficulties in trying to find just the right strategies and tactics for funding their companies: 1.

Cofounder 140

Cofounder Startup San Francisco Silicon Valley 140

The Next Web

JUNE 15, 2012

From Silicon Valley to Peoria, Illinois, cash-strapped startups look for inventive way to finance their business – often handing out equity to employees, consultants, vendors, and other service providers. Pitfalls in sharing equity. While equity can be a great tool for compensating early on, the drawbacks are significant.

Equity 116

Equity Stock Options Vesting Stock 116

K9 Ventures

NOVEMBER 21, 2011

Let’s say you’re the founder (I use a solo-founder in my example to keep things simple, but this could just as well apply to a founding team) of a startup called Blood, Sweat and Tears, Inc. They want to keep the founders “all-in” in the startup, because they feel that otherwise the founders won’t be motivated enough.

Founder 87

Founder Common Stock Preferred Stock Stock 87

Gust

DECEMBER 8, 2011

In Part I , I gave a quick summary of the who, when and why of forming and documenting a new startup company. This week we’ll delve into what , exactly, is necessary or desirable to lay a solid legal foundation for a startup to build upon. Make escrow arrangements for restricted stock (i.e., Newco, Inc.”) Newco, Inc.”)

Intellectual Property 139

Intellectual Property Non-disclosure Agreement Delaware Stock 139