Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 26, 2020

Officially, the investment banks mission is to raise money for companies by issuing and selling securities in the capital markets, and providing advice on transactions such as mergers and acquisitions. For these fees, they will develop a business plan, solicit investors, and negotiate term sheets to a closing.

Silicon Valley 362

Silicon Valley Private Equity Initial Public Offering Term Sheet 362

Diego Basch

FEBRUARY 28, 2012

I read this story yesterday about a failed startup acquisition. Acquisition talks go well. Startup day-to-day is disrupted during the lengthy acquisition process. For whatever reason, acquisition falls through. We could have insisted on a term sheet, even though term sheets are non-binding.

Term Sheet 56

Term Sheet Redemption Acquisition Reputation 56

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 17, 2015

For the elite startups and entrepreneurs who manage to attract the investor they dream of, and survive the term sheet negotiation, there is still one more hurdle before the money is in the bank. This is the mysterious and dreaded due diligence process, which can kill the whole deal.

Technical Review 120

Technical Review Due Diligence Startup Term Sheet 120

Scott Edward Walker

JULY 7, 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. Moreover, there are significant restrictions under applicable State law regarding redemptions if the company does not have the legally-available capital.

Term Sheet 49

Term Sheet Redemption Venture Capital Preferred Stock 49

View from Seed

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

As seed funds have raised larger and larger funds, more have developed the muscle around issuing term sheets and “leading”. The question then becomes whether these lead investors remain impactful after the deal closes or shifts into a mode of monitoring progress and hunting for the next deal. .

North America 120

North America Seed Stage Early Stage Lead Investor 120

ReadWriteStart

JUNE 1, 2020

It is essential to understand the funding structure stated in your term sheet and the advantages and disadvantages it may have for your business. These phases are focused on inorganic growth, mergers, buyouts, acquisitions, and exit preparation for the business. Stages of Funding.

Startup 150

Startup Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Seed Stage 150

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

The value ascribed by subsequent investors (in a secondary); buyers (acquisition); or the public markets (IPO). Womble Bond Dickinson has released a white paper on Performance Aligned Stock and a term sheet on ImpactTerms.org. . (If Yes, typically preferred equity. 15-20% sold per round. Volatile, uncapped. Emily Campbell, Esq.

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

Austin Startup

NOVEMBER 12, 2017

A frequent metaphor I use in customer acquisition, fundraising, or any kind of deal making is that you as the founder and promoter should present the finished meal on the dining table and not drag your counterparts into the kitchen. In that case, you are not making a specific offer; you are soliciting a terms sheet.

Term Sheet 48

Term Sheet Technical Review Due Diligence Merger 48

Scott Edward Walker

AUGUST 25, 2011

For example, as a corporate associate at a large New York law firm, I was representing Sony in connection with its acquisition of CBS Records. All solid corporate lawyers understand this simple point. Cravath, the lawyers for CBS Records, actually negotiated in the letter of intent that they would control the drafting (i.e.,

Technical Review 63

Technical Review Term Sheet Los Angeles Entrepreneur 63

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2012

“it’s smart to use an impending investment valuation to drive a higher acquisition valuation” I would like to amend her statement slightly to read, “it’s smart to use an impending investment valuation to drive an higher acquisition.” Just checked their balance sheet. Christin goes on.

Valuation 316

Valuation Balance Sheet Dilution Term Sheet 316

Feld Thoughts

FEBRUARY 25, 2016

If you’ve never experienced a retrade, or don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s the situation when you have a firm deal agreed upon or a term sheet signed and are proceeding to closing a deal, when the investor (or acquirer) decides to change the terms of the deal.

Term Sheet 70

Term Sheet Reputation Valuation Acquisition 70

The Startup Toolkit

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

You’re facing two term sheets and have boiled them down to the most relevant facts, listed below. The financials immediately jump out when we talk about term sheets: what’s the valuation? Next, we check that we’re safe from any particularly onerous terms like participation preferred.

Term Sheet 31

Term Sheet Dilution Participating Preferred B2C 31

K9 Ventures

APRIL 27, 2011

On future occasions, whenever I expressed an interest to invest, the founders came back and told me that they had an acquisition offer on the table! The day before we were supposed to sign the term sheet for the investment, Like.com sued Ugmode (the parent company of Modista.com) for patent infringement.

Software Review 134

Software Review Technical Review IP Finance 134

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 10, 2013

Officially, the investment banks mission is to raise money for companies by issuing and selling securities in the capital markets, and providing advice on transactions such as mergers and acquisitions. For these fees, they will develop a business plan, solicit investors, and negotiate term sheets to a closing.

IPO 205

IPO Silicon Valley Private Equity Initial Public Offering 205

www.founderinstitute.com

MARCH 2, 2010

August practices in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, commercial transactions, general corporate law and business bankruptcy. Chris Dixon posted about an ideal term sheet for first round funding, which started an blogosphere discussion about terms.

Term Sheet 40

Term Sheet Liquidation Preference Vesting San Diego 40

Feld Thoughts

FEBRUARY 28, 2011

The project started as an extension of our Term Sheet series and Letter of Intent series that we wrote on this blog in 2005 and 2006. It’s evolved into a much broader book covering financings, acquisitions, how VC firms work, and a bunch of other random things we think are important to entrepreneurs.

Term Sheet 134

Term Sheet Acquisition Finance Partner 134

Scott Edward Walker

SEPTEMBER 1, 2019

For the bulk of my career, I have been representing startups and emerging-growth companies in seed financings, venture capital financings, mergers and acquisitions, and other transactions. It’s the same with acquisitions. Most founders get very excited when they receive a term sheet for a financing or an acquisition.

Founder 45

Founder Private Equity New York City Term Sheet 45

Gust

OCTOBER 21, 2011

For convertible notes, the only liquidity event we need be concerned with is an acquisition of the startup in the near future, before the maturity date; otherwise, the notes will convert to equity of one kind or another, and the eventual sale of that equity (in a public offering, acquisition, or private sale) is a different subject for another day.

Finance 79

Finance Pre-Money Valuation Term Sheet Liquidity Event 79

Rob Go

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

As seed funds have raised larger and larger funds, more have developed the muscle around issuing term sheets and “leading”. The question then becomes whether these lead investors remain impactful after the deal closes or shifts into a mode of monitoring progress and hunting for the next deal. .

North America 36

North America Seed Stage Early Stage Lead Investor 36

View from Seed

AUGUST 12, 2015

The game plan is then to show accelerating user growth across a variety of user segments and understandable/declining acquisition costs. In particular, he asked one very clever question of VCs to run a smoother, more effective process, culminating in four term sheets from interested, lead investors.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Marketing Angel Investor Term Sheet 120

View from Seed

AUGUST 12, 2015

The game plan is then to show accelerating user growth across a variety of user segments and understandable/declining acquisition costs. In particular, he asked one very clever question of VCs to run a smoother, more effective process, culminating in four term sheets from interested, lead investors.

Seed Stage 120

Seed Stage Marketing Angel Investor Term Sheet 120

The Startup Toolkit

NOVEMBER 4, 2011

You’re facing two term sheets and have boiled them down to the most relevant facts, listed below. The financials immediately jump out when we talk about term sheets: what’s the valuation? Next, we check that we’re safe from any particularly onerous terms like participation preferred.

Term Sheet 20

Term Sheet Dilution Participating Preferred B2C 20

Haystack

SEPTEMBER 1, 2018

Those founders can often choose from a few term sheets. They can invest in activities that boost customer acquisition and/or engagement. A company is starting to get its sea legs, they’re booking revenues and growing, and they raise a hefty seed round of, say, $3M-ish dollars.

Burn Rate 76

Burn Rate Term Sheet Acquisition Revenue 76

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 22, 2011

Officially, the investment banks mission is to raise money for companies by issuing and selling securities in the capital markets, and providing advice on transactions such as mergers and acquisitions. For these fees, they will develop a business plan, solicit investors, and negotiate term sheets to a closing.

Silicon Valley 211

Silicon Valley Private Equity Initial Public Offering Startup 211

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.

Finance 107

Finance Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Early Stage 107

This is going to be BIG.

DECEMBER 11, 2014

Less than 100 days into joining FRC after winding down my startup, I offered my friend Rob the first term sheet I ever sent out--to lead the seed round of the company I accidentally inspired with a Tweet. We got the round done with some great names around the table--Jason Calacanis, Chris Sacca, and General Catalyst.

Louisville 102

Louisville Term Sheet Kentucky Ukraine 102

Gust

SEPTEMBER 27, 2014

This added exposure can result in indications of interest (investment, acquisition, partnership, etc.) information will end up being disseminated broadly into other sites based on geography, industry, etc. from people and organizations that you didn’t even know existed.

Angel Groups 159

Angel Groups Elevator Pitch Software Review Deal Flow 159

David Teten

SEPTEMBER 6, 2015

We never seek any rights to give Amex preferential treatment at the time of a potential acquisition. There is a possibility that Amex may explore acquisitions within the Amex Ventures portfolio, but those discussions will be on market terms similar to those with other potential acquirers.”.

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Balance Sheet Technical Review Portfolio 60

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

We’re currently evaluating about 20 companies a month and issuing term sheets to 25% of them; those that fit our investment criteria. Pied Piper Inc needs funding to accelerate customer acquisition for its SaaS solution. We’re also regularly following-on for existing portfolio companies.”.

Revenue 60

Revenue Technical Review Software Review Equity 60

BeyondVC

MARCH 8, 2017

With the acquisition of Veracode, CA Technologies gives credence to the basic need of companies to secure their applications before release.”. Most of them also have pretty sizable budgets as well. The byproduct of all of this is saving money but that is not what moves the needle.

Azure 60

Azure Green Cloud Term Sheet 60

Feld Thoughts

OCTOBER 4, 2015

This is natural in this part of the cycle, when prices feel high to investors, there is a lot of competition for deals, and a goal of some investors and acquirers is to get an LOI or term sheet signed with an exclusivity period in order to give them time to make a decision. Understand the history of their deal execution.

Term Sheet 70

Term Sheet Finance Reputation Founder 70

www.mattbartus.com

SEPTEMBER 24, 2011

I have been in post-acquisition disputes where a consultant claimed they were still “consulting” and earning shares even though it seemed clear that the company stopped using the services of the consultant. Term Sheets. Is there a Jewish network in the Silicon Valley startup scene? Categories. Angel Investors.

Equity 40

Equity Vesting Silicon Valley Intellectual Property 40

Feld Thoughts

DECEMBER 29, 2011

It’ll get picked up in the daily VC publications, like Term Sheet and VentureWire. If you have substantive stuff to announce around the financing, say an acquisition, a major strategic partnership, or a new product release, announce it at the same time. For some reason, some companies want to keep their financings quiet.

Finance 133

Finance SEC Term Sheet Acquisition 133

Gust

OCTOBER 5, 2011

In this installment, I’ll dig into the “how” by dissecting an example term sheet based on a real deal. For those playing at home, you may find it helpful to download the sample term sheet from my firm’s website and follow along with the commentary.

Finance 79

Finance Preferred Stock Term Sheet Early Stage 79

BeyondVC

AUGUST 22, 2008

Having been through a number of acquisitions and potential acquisitions through the years, one point I must remind you of is that any deal isn’t over until its over. And yes, once a term sheet is signed and a price and general terms are agreed to, you are in great shape. On the surface, this seems so obvious.

Due Diligence 60

Due Diligence Term Sheet Acquisition IPO 60

Scott Edward Walker

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

The issue for you is that the acquisition agreement may contain a financing condition, which means that if they do not get their financing they may walk away with no recourse. Now don’t miss understand this — the financial buyer is not typically borrowing from the seller; they are borrowing from banks and subordinated lenders.

Private Equity 59

Private Equity New York City Equity Deal Structure 59

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 31, 2010

Officially, the investment banks mission is to raise money for companies by issuing and selling securities in the capital markets, and providing advice on transactions such as mergers and acquisitions. For these fees, they will develop a business plan, solicit investors, and negotiate term sheets to a closing.

Silicon Valley 120

Silicon Valley Private Equity Startup Initial Public Offering 120