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. Using our hypothetical numbers, assuming the notes have an 18-month term, the return would be $15,000 ( 15% ) – again nothing to write home about.

Finance 79

Finance Pre-Money Valuation Term Sheet Liquidity Event 79

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

Gust

SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

To begin with, it is important to understand some basic facts about the world of entrepreneurial finance: There are many more entrepreneurs than there are investors, with the result that only one company out of every 400 that seeks venture funding actually receives it.

Angel Groups 159

Angel Groups Elevator Pitch Software Review Deal Flow 159

ithacaVC

JANUARY 14, 2014

I was giving some advice the other day on how to approach Series B investors in terms of valuation. Company X raised its Series A at a pre-money valuation of $5mm and it raised $4mm dollars. So the post-money valuation after the Series A was $9mm. Here is the hypo (all $$ amounts changed): 1.

Pre-Money Valuation 58

Pre-Money Valuation Post-Money Valuation Valuation Term Sheet 58

The Startup Lawyer

FEBRUARY 4, 2011

The following are some issues to consider and actions to take before accepting an incubator’s offer: (1) Calculate Valuation and Determine Value. Pre-money valuations startups receive from incubators are typically low…really low. 2) Scrutinize the Investment Structure. Conclusion.

Incubator 105

Incubator Pre-Money Valuation Option Pool Advisory Board 105

Feld Thoughts

JULY 14, 2015

A company raises $1m of seed money from angels in a convertible note with a $6m cap. Assuming equity is raised at or above that cap, the total dilution, before the new money, is 16.6% (equivalent to an equity financing of $1m at a $6m post money valuation. So they recapitalize the company.

Recapitalization 70

Recapitalization Pre-Money Valuation Post-Money Valuation Angel Investor 70

www.mattbartus.com

DECEMBER 9, 2012

Let’s say you receive a term sheet for a $1 million investment at a $3 million fully diluted pre-money valuation, and you’re kind of disappointed. One possibility is to negotiate a higher valuation and offer warrants (i.e., Post-Money. Option Pool. Why else might this be useful?

Warrant 40

Warrant Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Term Sheet 40

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

Was Paul Graham right in his “high resolution” financing post? Some thoughts on raising angel money. 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?

Ratchet 354

Ratchet Liquidation Preference Equity Stock 354

venturehacks.com

OCTOBER 21, 2010

If you don’t keep your eyes on the option pool while you’re negotiating valuation, your investors will have you playing (and losing) a game that we like to call: Option Pool Shuffle You have successfully negotiated a $2M investment on a $8M pre-money valuation by pitting the famous Blue Shirt Capital against Herd Mentality Management.

Option Pool 68

Option Pool Pre-Money Valuation Dilution Warrant 68

Seeing Both Sides

JULY 15, 2009

VCs have an unfair advantage when it comes to financings. A typical start-up company will do 2-4 venture capital financings before a successful exit (or, conversely, an ignomious ending). In contrast, the typical venture capitalist, either individually or across their partnership, will do 5-10 financings in any given year.

Pre-Money Valuation 49

Pre-Money Valuation Option Pool Stock Options Post-Money Valuation 49

www.currentlyobsessed.com

MAY 28, 2010

Instead of “We are worth about $5m because we have done XYZ and we need to raise $1m, so let’s sell 20%&# it’s better to think about valuation as an output variable, like “Let’s raise $2mm and sell 33%, our (pre-money) valuation is therefore $4mm.&# Read Terms that Hurt (Venture Hacks).

Valuation 42

Valuation Channel Pre-Money Valuation Term Sheet 42

Professor VC

FEBRUARY 12, 2015

Former students who are readers of this blog may recall the Amazon IPO case from Entrepreneurial Finance class. It''s previous financing round was a little over a year prior to the IPO and was a $8M raise at a $60M pre-money valuation led by John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins. or a market cap of $800M.

Las Vegas 28

Las Vegas IPO Pre-Money Valuation Valuation 28

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2012

But Paul Graham really did have a point in his “ high resolution fundraising ” post – that there is a problem – particularly in angel financing – with herding cats. We plan to raise at a $5 million pre-money valuation. million pre-money. You can do it with equity & a price.

Pre-Money Valuation 294

Pre-Money Valuation Finance Liquidation Preference Warrant 294

Pascal's View

AUGUST 21, 2011

In April 2011, just prior to the Linked In, Pandora, and RenRen IPO’s, Fred Wilson reaffirmed his belief on his blog that we were not in a bubble in this sector: “I n all the posts over the past year or so outlining my thoughts on the financing and valuation environment in the internet sector, I’ve avoided using the word Bubble.

Valuation 50

Valuation Social Media Media IPO 50