Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2015

Most entrepreneurs looking for an investor can tell you how much money they need, but few have given much thought to what they are willing to give up for it. Here is a summary of the key terms to expect on the term sheet, or the contract between the founder and investor: Consideration given for the money invested.

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Term Sheet Demand Preferred Stock Liquidation Preference 120

www.quora.com

JANUARY 16, 2011

Find Questions, Topics and People Add Question Add Question Venture Capital Venture Capital Term Sheets Startups Term Sheets What are examples of good startup term sheets? Ycombinator open source term sheet is a good start for Seed deals. Brad Feld does the best blog term sheet series.

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Term Sheet Startup Angel Investor Wiki 41

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2012

Remember a term sheet agreement is not a deal until the check clears. Entrepreneurs sometimes assume an initial agreement with an Angel is a commitment, so they start spending before any money is received. However, there is no set pattern of terms an entrepreneur might be able to anticipate from either.

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

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

by Alejandro Cremades , cofounder of Panthera Advisors and author of “ The Art of Startup Fundraising: Pitching Investors, Negotiating the Deal, and Everything Else Entrepreneurs Need to Know “ Why should entrepreneurs intentionally be generous when negotiating with investors? They believe it builds loyalty and trust.

Technical Cofounder 127

Technical Cofounder Entrepreneur Cofounder Post-Money Valuation 127

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

What Can You Do if a VC Pulls Their Term Sheet? A term sheet is not a legally binding document. Of course you should eventually warn other entrepreneurs you know 1-1 in private. So if you’re a VC – you better have a pretty damn good reason for pulling out of deal after offering a term sheet.

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Term Sheet Warrant Founder Entrepreneur 150

YoungUpstarts

FEBRUARY 6, 2017

The fundraising stage is vital for any entrepreneur, but you can’t wing it through your meetings and expect to be taken seriously. As an entrepreneur, your goal when raising financing is to get several term sheets — the documents describing the terms and conditions of financing. Find the right VC.

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Venture Capital Term Sheet Technical Review Due Diligence 100

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

Remember a term sheet agreement is not a deal until the check clears. Entrepreneurs sometimes assume an initial agreement with an angel is a commitment, so they start spending before any money is received. However, there is no set pattern of terms an entrepreneur might be able to anticipate from an angel, either.

Term Sheet 227

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

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 22, 2010

Back in 1999 when I first raised venture capital I had zero knowledge of what a fair term sheet looked like or how to value my company. Due to competitive markets we ended up with a pretty good term sheet until we needed to raise money in April 2001 and then we got completely screwed.

Valuation 405

Valuation Liquidation Preference Pre-Money Valuation Term Sheet 405

Genuine VC

APRIL 29, 2013

all talk about the best way for entrepreneurs to optimize their fundraising process with the end-goal of receiving a term sheet. It’s often spoken as if the second that magical term sheet document is in hand, the process is over. Agreement of key terms between entrepreneur + VC firm.

Term Sheet 150

Term Sheet Valuation Partner Conversion 150

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

I have often been asked about Startup Funding by entrepreneurs. Here is Startup Funding, a Comprehensive Guide for Entrepreneurs. It is essential to understand the funding structure stated in your term sheet and the advantages and disadvantages it may have for your business. Pre-Requisites of Funding. Process-of-Funding.

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Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 18, 2021

If your startup is great enough to get a term sheet from angel investors or a venture capitalist, the next step for the investor is to complete the dreaded due diligence process. Some startups do nothing to prepare for the due diligence process, assuming the people and business plan documents will speak for themselves.

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Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Angel Investor 380

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 17, 2009

This is part of my new series on what makes an entrepreneur successful. I originally posted it on VentureHacks , one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs. Ability to Pivot – I don’t like to invest in people that I’ve never met before who come through my office wanting to have a term sheet within 30 days.

Entrepreneur 291

Entrepreneur Term Sheet Early Stage Affiliate 291

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2017

Some aspiring entrepreneurs are so desperate for funding, or naïve, that they ignore the obvious signs of scams and rip-offs on the Internet, praying for a windfall. Deposit required to hold your terms. I’d much rather see your entrepreneur resources and energy focused on real opportunities to improve the world we live in.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Non-disclosure Agreement Due Diligence Entrepreneur 120

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2013

Some aspiring entrepreneurs are so desperate for funding, or naïve, that they ignore the obvious signs of scams and rip-offs on the Internet, praying for a windfall. Deposit required to hold your terms. I’d rather see your entrepreneur resources focused on real opportunities to improve the world we live in. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Review 202

Technical Review Non-disclosure Agreement Due Diligence Entrepreneur 202

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels. It’s no fun for either side.

Technical Review 257

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Offshore 257

Feld Thoughts

NOVEMBER 7, 2011

For some time Jason and I have felt that VC’s have had an unfair advantage when it comes to understanding term sheets. So a few years back we wrote a whole series of blog posts (the Term Sheet series ) which became the basis for the book Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist.

Term Sheet 133

Term Sheet Naming Entrepreneur 133

Gust

OCTOBER 17, 2011

Remember a term sheet agreement is not a deal until the check clears. Entrepreneurs sometimes assume an initial agreement with an angel is a commitment, so they start spending before any money is received. However, there is no set pattern of terms an entrepreneur might be able to anticipate from either.

Term Sheet 158

Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Due Diligence Post-Money Valuation 158

Genuine VC

OCTOBER 2, 2012

After completing a long process identifying the right venture firms to pitch, running an exhaustive fundraising process, finding a mutual fit, and successfully negotiating terms… at last, the term sheet is signed. The two- to six- week time between the signing of the term sheet and closing is “venture limbo.”

Term Sheet 162

Term Sheet Founder Vesting Due Diligence Syndicate 162

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 28, 2012

I have seen some entrepreneurs go into first meetings willing to share almost anything about their company. I’ve seen this back fire on entrepreneurs who say things like, “Well, we’re not talking financials with investors yet.”. The only real benefit of their having this information is in preparation for a term sheet.

Technical Review 316

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Cap Table 316

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

We received so much positive feedback from our This Week in Venture Capital show walking through valuation calculations & term sheets that we decided to do a Q&A show this week to address topics that entrepreneurs want to learn about. on the entrepreneur side of the table) when I raised at too high of a price.

Venture Capital 282

Venture Capital Term Sheet Valuation Stock Options 282

NZ Entrepreneur

AUGUST 4, 2021

Lead investors and term sheets. Those investors interested in becoming lead will issue what’s called a term sheet – this details the terms they’re willing to invest on. Unless an interesting proposition comes along, try and stick to the terms on the term sheet. Legal documentation.

Technical Review 61

Technical Review Software Review Founder Due Diligence 61

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

Not that they’re “such a bad idea&# but more that there are inherent problems for entrepreneurs in the process of raising angel money that need to be addressed. This leads to the problem of “herding cats&# for entrepreneurs raising angel money. Here’s where I feel common ground : 1. Violent agreement.

Finance 286

Finance Term Sheet Technical Review Warrant 286

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 20, 2019

Image via Flickr by ivanpw Some aspiring entrepreneurs are so desperate for funding, or naïve, that they ignore the obvious signs of scams and rip-offs on the Internet, praying for a windfall. Deposit required to hold your terms. But people are still begging for more technology or laws, often to protect them from themselves.

Technical Review 228

Technical Review Non-disclosure Agreement Due Diligence Term Sheet 228

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2018

You race back to the office to tell everybody how well it went and you wait for the follow-up call to have a partners’ meeting or talk about term sheets or at least dip into due diligence. This is a very common scenario when entrepreneurs pitch VCs and frankly is a very common scenario when VCs try to raise money from LPs.

Software Review 381

Software Review Churn Rate Due Diligence New York 381

Mucker Lab

JUNE 23, 2014

There is no word more sacred and yet over-used than “term sheet” in the entrepreneurial circle. The pursuit of the mythical VC term sheet has blinded entrepreneurs from the real goal of building a business: revenue, customers, users, engagement and retention. It’s validation. Continue at Techcrunch.

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Term Sheet Retention Equity Security 60

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2010

Back in November I agreed with Nivi over at VentureHacks to do a series on the ten most important attributes of a successful entrepreneur. Unfortunately, I don’t believe it is perfectly correlated with what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. Tags: Entrepreneur Advice Start-up Advice Startup Advice.

Technical Review 284

Technical Review Due Diligence Entrepreneur Early Stage 284

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 11, 2021

As an angel investor to startups, I’m still surprised to find entrepreneurs who expect investors to give them money, and assume no strings attached. If the entrepreneur wants total control of their own venture, with no one looking over their shoulder, they should work within the limits of their own resources, a process called bootstrapping.

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Term Sheet Advisory Board Liquidation Preference Startup 433

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 26, 2020

For these fees, they will develop a business plan, solicit investors, and negotiate term sheets to a closing. There is an upfront or monthly retainer, and maybe a closing fee, of at least several thousand dollars. In addition, they will likely take between 3% and 10% of any capital raised.

Silicon Valley 362

Silicon Valley Private Equity Initial Public Offering Term Sheet 362

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 27, 2016

Struggling entrepreneurs are often so happy to get a funding offer that they neglect the recommended reverse due diligence on the investors. Taking on equity investors to fund your company is much like getting married – it is a long-term relationship that has to work at all levels. It’s no fun for either side.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Offshore 120

Berkonomics

MAY 15, 2014

A good example was during the negotiation of a term sheet. These usually involve a handful of angel investors, and a few entrepreneurs, who all want to build the very best term sheet for their exciting nascent enterprise. It was not until the later 1980s that the preferred share structure became popular.

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Term Sheet Angel Groups Angel Investor Deal Structure 91

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

Though RBI will displace some traditional equity VC, its much bigger impact will be to expand the pool of capital available for early-stage entrepreneurs. . The traditional NVCA term sheet works well for founders who are comfortable substituting VC capital for revenues, running typically at a loss for many years.

Revenue 60

Revenue Term Sheet Founder Technical Review 60

The Next Web

FEBRUARY 15, 2015

If you haven’t read the first part on equity term sheets, I strongly recommend doing so before moving on. For a general introduction to term sheets and the trade-off between high valuation and complex investment structure, please refer to the introductory post to the guide. Entrepreneur Analysis and Opinion'

Term Sheet 60

Term Sheet Equity Liquidation Preference Valuation 60

Scott Edward Walker

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

Introduction This post originally appeared in the “ Ask the Attorney ” column I am writing for VentureBeat ; it is part of my ongoing series regarding venture capital term sheets. The Investors’ Right to Walk VC Term Sheets Are Non-Binding. VC Term Sheets Are Conditional.

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Term Sheet Due Diligence Liquidation Preference Redemption 76

ReadWriteStart

MARCH 31, 2020

According to Ben Narasin , “in 2020, investors will require firmer governance and oversight structures to safeguard against negative impact and ensure these protections are mandated in their term sheets.”. This may probably drive entrepreneurs to alternative funding options, such as equity crowdfunding.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Startup Term Sheet 175

The Next Web

FEBRUARY 7, 2015

In the introductory post to my term sheet guide, we covered a general introduction to term sheets and the trade-off between high valuation and complex investment structure, as well as focused on the basics of a convertible loan. Entrepreneur' Andrej Kiska is an Associate at Credo Ventures.

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Term Sheet Equity Valuation Web 60

Agile VC

MAY 26, 2011

This also appears as a guest post at Fortune’s Term Sheet. I also joke with Reid Hoffman that this was back in the days before he was “Reid” Reid’s an incredible entrepreneur, startup investor, and human being. How To Think About The Future. AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. May 26, 2011.

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Term Sheet Silicon Valley Technical Review Social Network 178

The Next Web

APRIL 6, 2013

One thing I repeatedly see are on the one hand, talented entrepreneurs frustrated by the failed attempts of securing funding for their startups and on the other hand, investors often shaking their heads that entrepreneurs haven’t fully explained their value proposition. Why else would you choose to be an entrepreneur?)

Term Sheet 126

Term Sheet Due Diligence Strategic Investors Valuation 126