Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2023

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. My best advice is to stick to the middle ground.

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Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Bankruptcy 296

NZ Entrepreneur

AUGUST 4, 2021

That’s why it’s important for founders to understand that the clearer you can articulate the opportunity and its potential risks – and proposed mitigations – the better equipped investors will be to assess your business as a viable investment. Lead investors and term sheets. Legal documentation.

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Technical Review Software Review Founder Due Diligence 61

The Startup Magazine

SEPTEMBER 15, 2020

Understand VC Term Sheets. A venture capital term sheet is a “non-binding listing of preliminary terms for venture capital financing”. This is the first piece of paper that a founder sees from a venture capital firm when they are communicating their interest in investing in the company.

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Venture Capital Technical Review Software Review Security 144

Rob Go

DECEMBER 14, 2016

This is something that isn’t that obvious to founders, so I thought I’d write a quick post. When a VC invests in a startup, the two parties usually sign a term sheet that lays out the major terms of the investment round. In the M&A process, an LOI feels an awful lot like a term sheet.

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Term Sheet Technical Review Due Diligence Private Equity 28

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

Term-sheets and Valuations: Thinking about Negotiations. Please see later version of this post on May 16, 2010 Entrepreneurs are often not experts in the area of term-sheet negotiations and all of the surrounding issues.   Investors sometimes “present” the terms they’d like and expect the entrepreneurs to react.

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Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

John Borchers, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Decathlon Capital, claims to be the largest revenue-based financing investor in the US. John Borchers defines RBI as, “anchored around a model for providing long-term growth capital to a company that is paid back over time in the form of a modest, fixed percentage of monthly revenue.

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Revenue Term Sheet Founder Technical Review 60

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 24, 2021

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. My best advice is to stick to the middle ground.

Technical Review 379

Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Bankruptcy 379

Hunter Walker

AUGUST 7, 2021

My job as an early stage investor includes translation services, specifically helping startup founders take what they are hearing from potential investors and providing a read on whether that VC is actually ready to make an offer. Even experienced founders get ‘happy ears,’ not just first time founders.

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Term Sheet Due Diligence Reputation Early Stage 151

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2015

Here is a summary of the key terms to expect on the term sheet, or the contract between the founder and investor: Consideration given for the money invested. In very early startups, which have no valuation, the term sheet may specify a convertible note. Terms to prevent equity dilution relative to others.

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Term Sheet Demand Preferred Stock Liquidation Preference 120

www.quora.com

JANUARY 16, 2011

Find Questions, Topics and People Add Question Add Question Venture Capital Venture Capital Term Sheets Startups Term Sheets What are examples of good startup term sheets? Ycombinator open source term sheet is a good start for Seed deals. Brad Feld does the best blog term sheet series.

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Term Sheet Startup Angel Investor Wiki 41

Mucker Lab

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

When meeting with founders, we often find ourselves answering questions about what to expect with our diligence process and timeline between the first conversation and a term sheet. We normally tell founders we can be fast and turn things around in just a few days if needed.

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Seed Stage Term Sheet eCommerce Technical Review 135

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

What Can You Do if a VC Pulls Their Term Sheet? A term sheet is not a legally binding document. So if you’re a VC – you better have a pretty damn good reason for pulling out of deal after offering a term sheet. I was asked to answer this exact question on Quora and I did so some time ago.

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Term Sheet Warrant Founder Entrepreneur 150

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 27, 2012

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. Outline multiple tranches. Anti-dilution protection.

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

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

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 an angel, either. Your best strategy is to bring your own term sheet to the negotiation as a starting point. Outline multiple tranches. Marty Zwilling.

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

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 9, 2018

You race back to the office to tell everybody how well it went and you wait for the follow-up call to have a partners’ meeting or talk about term sheets or at least dip into due diligence. I left the meeting and had to attend a 3-hour board meeting where two founders have been fighting and each want the other one fired.

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Software Review Churn Rate Due Diligence New York 381

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 28, 2012

Another VC called the co-founder & tech head – Parker Harris. The only real benefit of their having this information is in preparation for a term sheet. They can get at the most important information early on by simply asking you : How much of the company do the founders own? Founder friction / departures.

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Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Cap Table 316

View from Seed

MARCH 11, 2020

When a founder is raising money, he/she should expect that any serious investor will conduct some level of due diligence before getting to yes. They tend to have some sort of framework in their mind with a hierarchy of conviction and hierarchy of pain they are willing to put founders through.

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Technical Review Due Diligence Term Sheet Seed Stage 279

Gust

OCTOBER 17, 2011

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. Outline multiple tranches. Anti-dilution protection.

Term Sheet 158

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

Genuine VC

OCTOBER 2, 2012

After completing a long process identifying the right venture firms to pitch, running an exhaustive fundraising process, finding a mutual fit, and successfully negotiating terms… at last, the term sheet is signed. The two- to six- week time between the signing of the term sheet and closing is “venture limbo.”

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Term Sheet Founder Vesting Due Diligence Syndicate 162

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

Paul Graham’s assertion that “any startup founder can tell you the most common question they hear from investors is not about the founders or the product, but “who else is investing?&# Tags: Raising Venture Capital Startup Advice Tech Market Analysis Term Sheets. When I’m in, I’m in.

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Finance Term Sheet Technical Review Warrant 286

VC Cafe

JANUARY 30, 2023

” – Andrew Carnegie As a founder, one of the key tasks in raising capital is to effectively communicate the value of your company to investors. In my experience as a seed venture investor, founders that had a full and tidy data room not only came across as more professional, but actually accelerated the process of DD and legal.

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Technical Review Due Diligence Cap Table Startup 104

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 29, 2010

We received so much positive feedback from our This Week in Venture Capital show walking through valuation calculations & term sheets that we decided to do a Q&A show this week to address topics that entrepreneurs want to learn about. Q: “If you have a term sheet on the table how should you leverage with other VCs?&#

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Venture Capital Term Sheet Valuation Stock Options 282

View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

A few weeks ago, we hosted a small dinner for a number of portfolio company founders, LP’s, and friends of the firm. It’s by far the longest time I’ve spent working on any one thing, and I feel very blessed to have been able to work with my partners, colleagues, founders, and collaborators. This one is controversial.

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IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 205

The Startup Lawyer

APRIL 2, 2014

My firm and Tech Wildcatters are co-hosting a live mock Series A term sheet negotiation on April 25th from 1-3pm. Brad Hunstable, founder and CEO of Ustream, will play the role of the startup founder and a “TBD” VC will […]. Startup Lawyer'

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Term Sheet Dallas Cofounder Texas 71

Scott Edward Walker

SEPTEMBER 14, 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. The Investors’ Right to Walk VC Term Sheets Are Non-Binding. VC Term Sheets Are Conditional.

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Term Sheet Due Diligence Liquidation Preference Redemption 76

View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

A few weeks ago, we hosted a small dinner for a number of portfolio company founders, LP’s, and friends of the firm. It’s by far the longest time I’ve spent working on any one thing, and I feel very blessed to have been able to work with my partners, colleagues, founders, and collaborators. This one is controversial.

IRR 156

IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 156

Early Growth Financial Services

MARCH 13, 2014

getting the first term sheet can be a critical milestone in nurturing a successful business. Things to keep in mind: Anticipate investors’ concerns and information requirements; Be aware of the pitfalls; remember that all agreements are Conditional, with the terms subject to change. What is a term sheet?

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Term Sheet Equity Valuation Founder 55

Agile VC

MAY 26, 2011

This also appears as a guest post at Fortune’s Term Sheet. Many assume it was a cakewalk, based on the success LinkedIn has enjoyed over time and the current stature of our founder/CEO Reid Hoffman (now Chairman). Yes… he was a very successful PayPal exec and previously co-founder & VP Product of SocialNet.

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Term Sheet Silicon Valley Technical Review Social Network 178

Hunter Walker

APRIL 20, 2014

’ It’s a chance for our talented founders to celebrate what they’ve accomplished thus far, passionately tell their story and identify the next group of investors to bring on board. And your term sheet waits at the bottom. Do I Believe There’s a Market Here?

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Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2014

I first met Andrew Stalbow , the founder & CEO of Seriously in August of 2013. and Petri was co-founder and head of creative at Remedy Entertainment that launched the hit PC games Max Payne and Alan Wake. By September 26th we had submitted a term sheet which was signed on October 4th and financing was closed in less than 30 days.

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Technical Review North America Los Angeles Cofounder 373

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 12, 2020

During the course of a fundraise, founders are likely to encounter a few questions from VC’s that seem awkward or even a bit unfair. These are questions that usually don’t have anything to do with the business itself, but center around the dynamics of the round or maybe the motivations of the founders.

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Term Sheet Burn Rate Founder Partner 364

ReadWriteStart

MARCH 31, 2020

According to Ben Narasin , “in 2020, investors will require firmer governance and oversight structures to safeguard against negative impact and ensure these protections are mandated in their term sheets.”. One of the fundamental conditions for picking a startup is that they have a stellar management team.

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Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Startup Term Sheet 175

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

From RBI, Flexible VCs borrow the ability to reap meaningful returns without demanding founders build for an exit. Every Flexible VC structure allows founders to access immediate risk capital while preserving exit, growth trajectory, and ownership optionality. . Flexible VC 102: Variations.

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Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

View from Seed

AUGUST 17, 2021

A few weeks ago, we hosted a small dinner for a number of portfolio company founders, LP’s, and friends of the firm. It’s by far the longest time I’ve spent working on any one thing, and I feel very blessed to have been able to work with my partners, colleagues, founders, and collaborators. This one is controversial.

IRR 136

IRR Dilution Founder Portfolio 136

This is going to be BIG.

OCTOBER 24, 2021

Well, the very next company they saw in that space got a term sheet from the firm that missed out. For years, he went on to advise other founders about how to generate VC interest, which really could have amounted to, “Be a warm body with a pulse in a sector that firm got shut out of a deal in.” Founders get “happy ears”.

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Founder Term Sheet Early Stage Business Model 127

Austin Startup

JULY 22, 2021

Any software, hardware, or CPG startup in Texas with a female founder or co-founder can apply to participate. We’ve helped winners connect with customers, mentors, and secure millions of dollars in capital from partners like Google Black Founders Fund, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Fund, Backstage Capital, and many other VC investors.

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San Antonio Dallas Houston Founder 107

Hunter Walker

OCTOBER 31, 2020

Whatever it is, it helps diligence opportunities, win deals or service the portfolio in ways that make the founders and GPs feel good. You have access and relationships with a pool of talent that will produce founders. Maybe it’s statistical analysis, growth marketing, or deck making. The cultural group or demographic you’re a part of.

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North Carolina Hiring Angel Investor Technical Review 90