Startup Company Lawyer

MARCH 14, 2010

After the recent announcement of the Series Seed Financing documents by Marc Andreesen, Brad Feld points out that there are now four sets of “open source&# equity seed financing documents: TechStars Model Seed Funding Documents (by Cooley). Y Combinator Series AA Equity Financing Documents (by WSGR). under $500K).

Finance 70

Finance Software Review Term Sheet Liquidation Preference 70

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2011

I have conversations with entrepreneurs and other VCs on a daily basis about fund raising, the prices of deals, how much companies should raise, etc. These are not scientific, just anecdotal and just trying to provide some transparency for entrepreneurs on what I’ve seen the market. And of course there are always outliers.

Pre-Money Valuation 336

Pre-Money Valuation Valuation Silicon Valley Stock 336

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

At an accelerator … Me: Raising convertible notes as a seed round is one of the biggest disservices our industry has done to entrepreneurs since 2001-2003 when there were “full ratchets” and “multiple liquidation preferences” – the most hostile terms anybody found in term sheets 10 years ago.

Venture Capital 417

Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet 417

Berkonomics

AUGUST 3, 2023

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). And even with the significant cost of credit card debt, many entrepreneurs aggressively use existing cards to finance a startup.

Private Equity 118

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 118

Lightspeed Venture Partners

OCTOBER 7, 2012

This does neither, so I’m out” Cuban said, “I see you guys not as entrepreneurs but as wantrepreneurs” I agree with him. In this way, they remind me of the Lifter Hamper entrepreneur. That’s why most entrepreneurs do not make a specific ask on valuation, but wait to hear offers from investors.

Technical Review 110

Technical Review Technical Cofounder Valuation Pre-Money Valuation 110

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2012

Entrepreneurs sometimes assume an initial agreement with an Angel is a commitment, so they start spending before any money is received. It’s true that Angel investors typically do not present entrepreneurs with overly complicated deal structures, especially when compared to venture capitalists. Anti-dilution protection.

Term Sheet 223

Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Due Diligence Post-Money Valuation 223

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

Entrepreneurs sometimes assume an initial agreement with an angel is a commitment, so they start spending before any money is received. It’s true that angel investors typically do not present entrepreneurs with overly complicated deal structures, especially when compared to venture capitalists. Anti-dilution protection. Marty Zwilling.

Term Sheet 227

Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Due Diligence Post-Money Valuation 227

Gust

SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

Me: Raising convertible notes as a seed round is one of the biggest disservices our industry has done to entrepreneurs since 2001-2003 when there were “full ratchets” and “multiple liquidation preferences” – the most hostile terms anybody found in term sheets 10 years ago. It’s like we need a finance 101 course for entrepreneurs.

Liquidation Preference 153

Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet Stock 153

For Entrepreneurs

APRIL 7, 2011

Note: The concepts in this post will likely be obvious to experienced CEOs and entrepreneurs. Despite that, our experience indicates that entrepreneurs frequently make costly, avoidable mistakes [.].

Finance 167

Finance Startup Cost Entrepreneur 167

Gust

OCTOBER 17, 2011

Entrepreneurs sometimes assume an initial agreement with an angel is a commitment, so they start spending before any money is received. It’s true that angel investors typically do not present entrepreneurs with overly complicated deal structures, especially when compared to venture capitalists. Anti-dilution protection.

Term Sheet 158

Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Due Diligence Post-Money Valuation 158

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

.” There are a lot of data points that one can observer to get a sense of the venture capital markets – both LP fundings into venture and VC financings of startups. They point to some widely known facts: financings & valuations are up massively over the past 7 years and non-VC money has entered the system.

LP 150

LP Valuation Burn Rate Pre-Money Valuation 150

The Equity Kicker

JANUARY 22, 2014

In my experience this is one of the hardest points for many entrepreneurs to grasp. Investors who paid up for your financing are not happy. You fall into the spiral of death: head of sales gets replaced (at least once), CEO gets replaced (at least once), a down-round financing happens (if lucky).

Venture Capital 102

Venture Capital Down Round Valuation Lean 102

Berkonomics

JUNE 8, 2017

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder can self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). And even with the significant cost of credit card debt, many entrepreneurs aggressively use existing cards to finance a startup.

Private Equity 106

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 106

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010

These days that’s not the case and it’s a great outcome for entrepreneurs and for innovation. A: Only because it’s a nicer branding for entrepreneurs. I totally agree and have been arguing this to entrepreneurs for years. I always counsel young entrepreneurs to start on the local train.

Liquidity Event 308

Liquidity Event Silicon Valley Seed Stage Finance 308

Feld Thoughts

APRIL 21, 2016

Bill Gurley wrote an incredible post yesterday titled On the Road to Recap: Why the unicorn financing market just became dangerous … for all involved. Also, they have a strong belief that any sign of weakness (such as a down round) will have a catastrophic impact on their culture, hiring process, and ability to retain employees.

Marketing 70

Marketing Down Round Startup IRR 70

Growthink Blog

MAY 23, 2011

The typical wisdom regarding the appropriate financing course for a new company goes as follows: 1. An entrepreneur starts a company in classic " bootstrap " fashion - with a combination of sweat equity and their own financial resources. All live happily ever after. It all sounds wonderful and it is.

Angel Investor 112

Angel Investor Venture Capital Sweat Equity Cram Down 112

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 8, 2016

We entrepreneurs have been spinning that line for decades in every boom cycle. If you can get a round done at the price you expect – well done. Don’t assume that you can “just do a down round” if necessary. Down rounds are corrosive. The best deals will continue to get financed.

Burn Rate 150

Burn Rate Cap Table Balance Sheet Dilution 150

www.mattbartus.com

DECEMBER 9, 2012

I just worked on a financing for a company that received a term sheet from a group of VCs at a $7 million pre-money valuation. My question is, can you elaborate on the benefits you see for the entrepreneur in trying to sell this to the investors? Why else might this be useful? Hi Matt, Interesting technique and makes sense.

Warrant 40

Warrant Valuation Pre-Money Valuation Term Sheet 40

Berkonomics

JANUARY 20, 2010

Some businesses require very little capital and the founder is able to self-finance the enterprise and retain 100% of its ownership and control from ignition through liquidity event (startup through sale). And even with the significant cost of credit card debt, many entrepreneurs aggressively use existing cards to finance a startup.

Private Equity 69

Private Equity Valuation Cap Table Accredited Investor 69

David Teten

AUGUST 7, 2019

Likely signs of a Momentum investment: the round is oversubscribed and the entrepreneur has more negotiating leverage than VCs during the closing process. . You could argue that when they were [raising] oversubscribed [VC rounds], Facebook, Google, Amazon, etc., were clearly Momentum, but [in hindsight] they were also Value.”

Venture Capital 60

Venture Capital Valuation Stock NDA 60

abovethecrowd.com

APRIL 20, 2016

Why the Unicorn Financing Market Just Became Dangerous…For All Involved. Many modern entrepreneurs have limited exposure to the notion of failure or layoffs because it has been so long since these things were common in the industry. By the first quarter of 2016, the late-stage financing market had changed materially.

IPO 40

IPO Term Sheet Silicon Valley Valuation 40

Genuine VC

FEBRUARY 9, 2011

And there are many reasons why a not-as-blue-chip investor would be in a company with real promise: prior relationships he has with the entrepreneur, specific domain expertise/understanding of a sector, capital requirements for the business, or other dynamics around the round (price, hustle).

Startup 146

Startup Burn Rate Technical Review Down Round 146

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

I’d like to explain as best I can my opinion on what is going on because most of what I hear from entrepreneurs is not only wrong but is reminiscent of what I heard in 1997-2000. ” “This will be great for VCs and bad for entrepreneurs.” What is the True Sentiment of VCs? ” “Sure, prices are dropping.

Valuation 150

Valuation Down Round Startup Later Stage 150

NZ Entrepreneur

JULY 30, 2020

One common challenge arises when founders are presenting their opportunity to multiple investors or are considering alternative financing strategies. a down round or the company falls over), the investors have some special protection of their investment. There are a lot of ways that trust can be eroded during a negotiation.

Term Sheet 67

Term Sheet Due Diligence Valuation Down Round 67

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

That wasn't a bubble bursting issue--that was a poor financing strategy issue of people getting caught with their pants down, hands in the cookie jar, and all the metaphors you can think of at once. If you're doing seed deals, how often does a down round in a seed deal even happen? Down from what?

Later Stage 99

Later Stage Down Round Pre-Money Valuation Early Stage 99

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 5, 2016

But there are two major trends worth understanding that most VCs know by now and I suspect most entrepreneurs do not. That is simply because we see 20–25 deals / year across our funds (new and follow-ons) and entrepreneurs usually see 1 deal every 2 years. VC Infighting. I’ve seen this a bunch in the past 12 months. Choose wisely.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Silicon Valley Burn Rate LP 150

www.quora.com

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

The barrier between entrepreneur and money (incubators, angels, etc.) Connections seems to make the most sense with serial entrepreneurs (or someone who had prior success). Many startups these days are first-time entrepreneurs. The risk to the entrepreneur is that he loses several tens of millions of dollars in opportunity cost.

Equity 40

Equity Employee Founder Cofounder 40

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 18, 2015

Or the influx of massive new amounts of entrepreneurs and wantrepreneurs seeking fortune and fame? ” In just two years the median round sizes for deals with mutual funds has more than tripled and the same phenomenon holds for hedge funds. This must be a boon for entrepreneurs of fast-growing tech firms – right?

IPO 150

IPO Venture Capital LP SEC 150