View from Seed

OCTOBER 21, 2014

As the seed-stage startup fundraise process has received more transparency in recent years, ranging from published advice on how to raise seed capital to increased availability through AngelList, Funders Club, and various accelerator programs, I’ve noticed another trend emerging. Lower-Than-Market Value.

Valuation 336

Valuation Founder Seed Stage Angel Investor 336

Gust

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011

Given that convertible debt financing has become the de facto standard for small (<$1MM), early stage deals in recent years, I thought I would write a primer on the elements of a term sheet and definitive documents for entrepreneurs looking at the earliest stage financing rounds.

Finance 178

Finance Term Sheet Preferred Stock Bridge Financing 178

Gust

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

The new form of convertible security or “convertible equity” is essentially a convertible note containing most of the usual terms — except it’s been stripped of the features that would make it a loan. Advising investors, I would advocate for traditional convertible notes (with a valuation cap) over this new structure.

Finance 134

Finance Convertible Security Equity Seed Stage 134

Gust

OCTOBER 5, 2011

Last week , we gave some attention to the “why” behind convertible note financing for early stage startups. Let’s dive in, taking it from the top: Type of Security : Convertible Promissory Notes, bearing interest at a simple interest rate of 8%. In fact, there is a recent variation on this theme.

Finance 79

Finance Preferred Stock Term Sheet Early Stage 79

Scott Edward Walker

SEPTEMBER 21, 2011

I’ve been helping entrepreneurs raise capital as a securities lawyer for 17+ years, and there are certain fundamental mistakes that I’ve seen entrepreneurs repeatedly make. Accordingly, I thought it would be helpful to share three basic tips for entrepreneurs in connection with raising capital. This is how the game is played.

Preferred Stock 45

Preferred Stock Angel Investor Entrepreneur Common Stock 45

VC Cafe

JULY 5, 2010

A s venture funds struggle to raise money in Israel, seed capital, one of the earliest and riskiest stages of investment, is becoming harder and harder to secure. based Angel capital with early stage technology companies in Israel, and do so in a way that substantially mitigates the risk of seed stage investing.

Technical Review 106

Technical Review Software Review Seed Stage 106

techcrunch.com

FEBRUARY 19, 2010

Not a big shock, but things don’t look pretty, especially in the venture capital world. According to VCs, there’s been a 65% decrease in up-rounds (where a company gets a bigger valuation) in the last six months and more than 60% of those polled expect a longer wait for an exit. A lot of the stats weren’t surprising.

Venture Capital 62

Venture Capital Technical Review Sweat Equity Valuation 62