Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

I wrote this because over the last decade I’ve seen a destructive cycle where otherwise interesting companies have been screwed by raising too much money at too high of prices and gotten caught in a trap when the markets correct and they got ahead of themselves. Again, prices are expressed as pre-money valuations.

Pre-Money Valuation 336

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Silicon Valley Stock 336

Gust

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Entrepreneurs and investors who have spent any time dealing with convertible debt seed financing transactions are likely to have encountered the subject of valuation caps. MySpace was incubated by a small team of employees within Intermix in 2003 (Chris DeWolfe, Tom Anderson and four others). Intermix and its advisors weren’t fools.

Valuation 98

Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Merger Vesting 98

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

As in, “your money into my company will convert at a 15-20% discount to the next round of capital I raise with a maximum price of $8 million pre-money valuation (or whatever the cap was).” I thought we got rid of that s**t in 2003? What happens in a sale or acqui-hire? What happens at maturity?

Ratchet 354

Ratchet Liquidation Preference Equity Stock 354