As needed, be ready to offer sweetheart terms to the first person to take the plunge. Further, as HubSpot CEO Dharmesh Shah recently tweeted, “Saying you are [x] of [y] is shorthand for describing your startup; it’s not really a long-term strategy.&# No, let me rephrase that-- AngelList is a freakin phenomenon. To wit: 1. MORE >>

As one simple example, we might estimate the cost in terms of the number of man-hours of programming required to write a comparably-functional software program. The level of interest in a deal is the single most important factor influencing valuation (and for that matter, for negotiating everything else on the term sheet). MORE >>

Valuation is an important aspect of VC deal terms, and a major determinant of your ultimate outcome.  “And given our team, progress to date, IP/Patents, benchmarking against our buddy’s recent VC terms and that other startup that is similar and just sold to AOL last week… I guess we’re worth about $5mm today… &#. MORE >>

This places a real constraint on the number of potential partnerships you can chase down at any given time, especially if you’re trying to simultaneously keep the business afloat, hire staff, raise money, and manage all the other critical-path activities that startup founders are responsible for. few tips for startups doing deals: 1. MORE >>

Year in, year out, Thus, VCs and entrepreneurs are not operating on an equal playing field when it comes to negotiating financings and interpreting the impact of the terms involved. First, let me take a step back and define a few terms.  Another term that impacts the price is the size of the option pool.  What is the promote?  MORE >>