And even though a term sheet might be four to eight pages long and the definitive documents might be 100 pages or more, other than economics, there are really only three things a VC needs in a deal. He attributes this to his first VC mentor, Milt Pappas, and the three terms are the same ones referenced above. Or read blogs. MORE >>

Having re-read it, I believe his real premise instead is, “Fixed-size, multi-investor angel rounds are such a bad idea for startups that one wonders why things were ever done that way.&#. Either would be fine with startups, so long as they can easily change their valuation. Photo credit: D. Story/J. Perhaps it shouldn’t. MORE >>

I’ve started a series on negotiations in startups. The very first time I ever negotiated a term sheet (and then legal docs for closing the round) I found the experience very frustrating. He marks up the term sheet. Seems like the term sheet will be done in a day or so. Startup Advice MORE >>

Remember a term sheet agreement is not a deal until the check clears. However, there is no set pattern of terms an entrepreneur might be able to anticipate from either. Your best strategy is to bring your own term sheet to the negotiation as a starting point. Seat on the board. Define equity type. Marty Zwilling. MORE >>

There’s a lot of advice about (1) how to attract VCs, and (2) how to negotiate a venture capital term sheet. Both sets of advice tend to ignore the gap between an investor’s expression of investment interest and your startup’s receipt of the term sheet. MORE >>