David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

From RBI, Flexible VCs borrow the ability to reap meaningful returns without demanding founders build for an exit. Every Flexible VC structure allows founders to access immediate risk capital while preserving exit, growth trajectory, and ownership optionality. . Flexible VC 102: Variations.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 23, 2021

The classic scenario is when a VC has a signed term sheet to lead a round, but has left room open for another meaningful investor. Especially in the age of zoom pitching, founders can create a fairly wide top of the funnel, and talk to a large number of investors to find a good match for their round.

Syndicate 207

Syndicate Syndication Term Sheet Cofounder 207

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 12, 2020

During the course of a fundraise, founders are likely to encounter a few questions from VC’s that seem awkward or even a bit unfair. These are questions that usually don’t have anything to do with the business itself, but center around the dynamics of the round or maybe the motivations of the founders.

Term Sheet 364

Term Sheet Burn Rate Founder Partner 364

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 28, 2015

This article highlights their advice on issues ranging from financing to patent trolls: While startups may believe lawyers are too costly, working with one early on avoids potentially serious problems later. ” The Cost of Financing. In a Series A financing, companies must pay the investors’ lawyers as well as their own.

Convertible Security 100

Convertible Security IP Technical Review Software Review 100

www.seriesseed.com

DECEMBER 9, 2012

Series Seed Financing Documents Blog. Series Seed Financing Documents. Series Seed Term Sheet (v 2.0). Series Seed Term Sheet. Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Series Seed Financing Documents : 1 Reblog. SeriesSeed.com. Blog Archives.   Series Seed COI (v 2.0).

Finance 40

Finance Term Sheet Vesting LLC 40

Gust

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

It should therefore come as no surprise that an asymmetry of information exists, mostly gleaned from experience, between founders and investors in a venture financing deal. A term sheet for a convertible note deal may run two or three pages, versus 8-10 pages for a typical Series A Preferred Stock financing.

Finance 178

Finance Term Sheet Preferred Stock Bridge Financing 178

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 13, 2018

This is part of a series of advice for founders who need to raise money from venture capitalists. Somehow many first-time founders equate “sales” with something that is beneath them. I always tell founders … “An investors job is to deploy capital and make a return. This is where most founders err.

Term Sheet 332

Term Sheet Due Diligence Campaign Sales 332

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

At an accelerator … Me: Raising convertible notes as a seed round is one of the biggest disservices our industry has done to entrepreneurs since 2001-2003 when there were “full ratchets” and “multiple liquidation preferences” – the most hostile terms anybody found in term sheets 10 years ago.

Venture Capital 417

Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet 417

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 21, 2018

He was in a later-stage financing round and was talking with many investors. I told him, “I know we don’t yet have a term sheet so you feel you need to listen to everybody’s request. But imagine you were expecting two term sheets imminently. How would you act then? How was I sure that would happen?

Term Sheet 217

Term Sheet Later Stage Demand Email 217

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. I’ll continue with more specific terms and wrap up next week with some thoughts about recent changes and trends for the future. First, a word about the maturity date.

Finance 107

Finance Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Early Stage 107

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. The above definition of accredited investors is being currently reviewed by the SEC in terms of current financial thresholds of income and net worth. Convertible Debt Financing. Pros and Cons of Convertible Debt.

Finance 93

Finance Accredited Investor Angel Investor Seed Capital 93

Startup Company Lawyer

AUGUST 31, 2012

One major concern about convertible debt is that it eventually needs to be repaid if another round of financing doesn’t occur. ” If the company didn’t raise a round of financing, the convertible debt would convert into the last round of financing (i.e. Form of Convertible Security Term Sheet.

Convertible Security 73

Convertible Security Equity Security Preferred Stock 73

Gust

OCTOBER 21, 2011

Readers joining this series in progress may find it helpful to download the sample term sheet from my firm’s website and review the earlier posts covering the basics. In Parts II and III, we looked at commonly used mandatory and voluntary conversion language in convertible notes. Most would agree this is not a fair outcome.

Finance 79

Finance Pre-Money Valuation Term Sheet Liquidity Event 79

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2015

I am reminded of this problem every time my firm does a financing where a note went before us but more specifically I was reminded by this great post by Brad Feld to talk about the pre-money vs. post-money conversion issue. So how DOES a VC think about financings at early stages? It’s very simple. Those are the big three.

Pre-Money Valuation 150

Pre-Money Valuation Option Pool Post-Money Valuation Dilution 150

Gust

OCTOBER 5, 2011

Last week , we gave some attention to the “why” behind convertible note financing for early stage startups. In this installment, I’ll dig into the “how” by dissecting an example term sheet based on a real deal. As with so many subjects in law and finance, mastering the jargon is half the battle.

Finance 79

Finance Preferred Stock Term Sheet Early Stage 79

View from Seed

JANUARY 30, 2020

But assuming success, a moment will come when a founder will have multiple funding options. Partnering with an investor and/or board member is very long term commitment, and I’m always surprised by how little diligence founders do prior to signing up for what could be a 10+ year collaboration. Raising money is super hard.

Due Diligence 195

Due Diligence Partner Term Sheet Finance 195

Gust

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

How to finance a new seed-stage startup? ” Ressi in particular seems to be passionate about removing the “debt” component from convertible debt seed financing transactions. .” I won’t rehash all of the customary convertible note financing deal terms and points of negotiation here. (For

Finance 134

Finance Convertible Security Equity Seed Stage 134

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

Genuine VC

JANUARY 15, 2015

Of key importance, which we emphasize with our NextView portfolio companies when they’re out raising their Series A, is to run the conversations in parallel rather than serially. But reality doesn’t always play out as neatly. The post The “Come-from-Behind” Lead Investor appeared first on GenuineVC.'

Lead Investor 100

Lead Investor Term Sheet Venture Capital Portfolio 100

K9 Ventures

APRIL 14, 2020

My inclination was that “this is a team of scrappy founders, and I like how they think.”. Several months ago I was having a conversation with my friend and former co-worker @ HiHello, Leith Abdulla , about how I am frustrated with Slack and want a tool that removes the friction for communication with the remote team.

Cofounder 127

Cofounder Venture Capital Guerilla India 127

Gust

SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

Me: Raising convertible notes as a seed round is one of the biggest disservices our industry has done to entrepreneurs since 2001-2003 when there were “full ratchets” and “multiple liquidation preferences” – the most hostile terms anybody found in term sheets 10 years ago. These are all real conversations. Objectively.

Liquidation Preference 153

Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet Stock 153

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 14, 2010

I was recently speaking with some founders about their fund raising process. They had received a term sheet from a VC and were wondering whether to work with this firm. But what about once you have a term sheet? I’ve had to have hard conversations with entrepreneurs when things aren’t going well.

Term Sheet 298

Term Sheet Venture Capital Stealth Cofounder 298

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 23, 2017

I’ve never met a founder who wasn’t acutely aware of his or her ticking time bomb and the sense that failure and humiliation is a real possibility. Very, very few founders have an easy time despite what you read in the press. Strangely, most founders I know don’t have this conversation with the inside investors early.

Burn Rate 238

Burn Rate Term Sheet CTO Hire Fractional CTO 238

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 10, 2018

And for a founder it’s maddening because you feel like until you find that anchor you’re spinning plates. I remind founders that the no’s come early because it’s super easy to qualify out a deal that you know is unlikely due to stage, focus, geography, competitive deal you’ve done or even just the fact that you’re too busy right now.

Term Sheet 232

Term Sheet France Technical Review Restful 232

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

Was Paul Graham right in his “high resolution” financing post? I can’t say it much simpler than this: “What if I took some of the worst, most egregious terms in a standard term sheet and made them the defacto standard in most convertible debt deals? Let me explain it more clearly in equity terms.

Ratchet 354

Ratchet Liquidation Preference Equity Stock 354

Startup Lessons Learned

MAY 31, 2019

The reality today is that capital is more available than ever and entrepreneurs have become more sophisticated, so founders are looking for more than just cash from their venture backers. I’ve seen many founders not fully grasp how the venture capital business works and what incentives investors have.

Lean 108

Lean Venture Capital Conversion IPO 108

David Teten

JULY 20, 2011

Discuss alternative arrangements such as caps, deferral until financing and equity as a form of payment. This is also critical when issuing founder’s stock, restricted stock or options to employees in order to manage the tax consequences. Ten Tips for Entrepreneurs when Working with Lawyers. by Ed Reitler.

Intellectual Property 128

Intellectual Property Entrepreneur Term Sheet Venture Capital 128

Austin Startup

MAY 19, 2018

As Bryan stated below, there are no shortage of “How to pitch” or “How to behave” articles by VCs but really very little advice for VCs by founders. Anyone notice there's a ton of VCs giving founder advice, and almost no founder advice for VCs? Lines Not Dots Raising money from a fund is a process, most founders get that.

Founder 75

Founder Early Stage Software Review Deal Flow 75

ReadWriteStart

MAY 8, 2012

Gina Mancuso , Founder and CEO of LoveThatFit. Now, we’re focusing early conversations intently on our strategy for winning and our progress thus far, which gives investors a clearer picture of who we are and where we’re headed.” Avichal Garg , Co-Founder and CEO of Spool. Justin Beck , Co-Founder and CEO of PerBlue.

Cofounder 140

Cofounder Startup San Francisco Silicon Valley 140

This is going to be BIG.

JANUARY 22, 2018

The responses I got came at a time when I've been having a lot of conversations with female founders as well about their fundraising experiences. At this moment, I'm in the process of backing three companies that have at least one female founder and I just finished a round for a black female founder in December.

Founder 100

Founder Conversion Naming Term Sheet 100

Feld Thoughts

JUNE 2, 2015

Or, if you just want the paragraph, it’s: “If this note converts at a price higher than the cap that you have been given you agree that in the conversion of the note into equity you agree to allow your stock to be converted such that you will receive no more than a 1x non-participating liquidation preference plus any agreed interest.”.

Liquidation Preference 70

Liquidation Preference Cap Table Angel Investor Post-Money Valuation 70

SoCal CTO

JULY 13, 2010

" 8 Questions to Ask When Interviewing at a Startup - Instigator Blog , June 18, 2010 Job interviews are meant to be conversations. One of the highlights of my trip was a startup dinner which included Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, the founders of 37signals. It shows a lack of interest. I’ll have to relocate.

Cofounder 175

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Term Sheet Startup 175

Rob Go

AUGUST 9, 2016

When VC’s evaluate a founder or team, they rely heavily on references in their due diligence. Once you get a term sheet from an investor or have strong indication that a term sheet is coming, start doing more serious diligence. – What was this firm’s process for follow-on financing?

Term Sheet 28

Term Sheet Due Diligence Lead Investor Portfolio 28

Gust

DECEMBER 27, 2012

You should know every metric regarding customer acquisition, conversion and retention. Keep in mind that any cash you put in will remain in the company as Founders’ Equity, and will only come back to you on a successful exit in which your investors make money. [3a. He or she will be your primary champion, and often mentor.

Software Review 164

Software Review Term Sheet Technical Review Angel Investor 164

Scott Edward Walker

JUNE 9, 2011

Introduction This post originally appeared as part of the “ Ask the Attorney ” column I am writing for VentureBeat ; it is another installment of my ongoing series regarding venture capital term sheets. Conversion Rights What Are Conversion Rights? There are two types of conversion rights: optional and mandatory.

Term Sheet 60

Term Sheet Conversion Rights Venture Capital Liquidation Preference 60

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 31, 2011

But I start most conversations with “wantrepreneurs&# by saying, “make sure it’s in your personality type, make sure you have the risk appetite, make sure you can afford to take the risks given your life situations and make sure you know that there is a high possibility your startup won’t be hugely financially rewarding.

Entrepreneur 384

Entrepreneur Startup Salary Egypt 384

Scott Edward Walker

JULY 27, 2011

Indeed, whether a minority common stockholder is a founder, an advisor or even a friends/family investor, such stockholder will usually not be contractually granted any of the rights that are typically granted to preferred stockholders.

Delaware 49

Delaware Liquidation Preference Redemption Los Angeles 49