INDUSTRY INSIGHTS YOUR PEERS ARE READING
A variety of model startup seed funding docs have been released in the past year or so: TechStars Series AA Preferred , YCombinator Series AA Preferred , and TheFunded Founder Institute’s Plain Preferred. For example, a founder stock purchase agreement is 12+ pages long because founders can, have, and will fail and/or bail on startups (hence the vesting schedule & startup repurchase option). MORE
Most professional investors will expect preferred stock, a board seat, rights to later rounds and perhaps anti-dilution protection. One of the big questions that every entrepreneur struggles with is how much funding they should request from investors in the first round. MORE
What I bought was three shares of Cities Service preferred stock. To “protect” yourself, you might have eschewed stocks and opted instead to buy 31?4 Every year, one of my favorite things to read is the Berkshire Hathaway annual letter. The 2018 version is out and, as always, is a beautiful thing to read if you have any interest in business and economics. MORE
Additionally, you should put whatever agreement you reach to paper, even if you have not yet incorporated or had your legal counsel draw up the founder stock paperwork. You can then work with your law firm to formally draw up founder common stock paperwork either then or subsequently. MORE
In some other cases, all Preferred investors are treated pari passeux , so steps 5/6 and 7/8 below would be combined into one.). 5) Senior Preferred Stock and warrants. 6) Any preference multiple on (5). 7) Junior Preferred Stock and warrants. MORE
In the context of a seed financing, the debt typically automatically converts into shares of preferred stock upon the closing of a Series A round of financing.” In layman’s terms, investors will give money to a startup but instead of getting money back, they get preferred stock in return. ii) why are convertible notes issued instead of shares of common or preferred stock? MORE
The board is set up to consist of 3 directors: 1 director elected by the common (founders); 1 directors elected by the preferred (investors); 1 “independent&# director (i.e., 2) Series Seed Stock Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement. Tags: Preferred Stock documents lawyer seed funding MORE
Most sophisticated investors will take either a promissory note or preferred stock, both of which come before founder or management stock in a sale or liquidation. Further, preferred stock holders can be recipient of accrued dividends in a sale or liquidation. MORE
For example, if an investor owns 20% of the equity of a startup on a fully-diluted basis following the closing of a Series A round, it will have the right to purchase 20% of the shares of the preferred stock issued in the subsequent Series B round. Introduction. MORE
A cap table is a written record (in Excel, for example) of who owns stock in your company. It lists every owner out by amount owned, type of stock (common or preferred), and date purchased. One rule of simple cap tables is to issue “normal” stock to founders (common stock only) and investors (typically preferred stock, but sometimes common stock to early friends and family). I am a huge fan of simple cap tables. MORE
If there is one piece of advice I would give to the founders of BST, it is to consider selling a part of their personal stock in the company at that stage. If things go well, and your company succeeds beyond your wildest dreams, it will end up being the most expensive house ever (because you could have held your stock and made a lot more on it). 3) Setting a precedent for the price of the Common Stock : This is the biggest issue with founder liquidity. MORE
This typically results when the company has raised a lot of money and the preferred stock liquidation preference would absorb an out sized portion of the exit proceeds. I have posted a few times on management carve out plans (back in February 2011 and November 2011 ; wow, time flies!!). Our portfolio companies routinely adopt carve out plans when the founders/employees equity values are not likely to provide enough incentive to get a company to an exit. MORE
To turn your company’s stock into cash, you engaged a top-notch investment bank (Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs) and/or their Silicon Valley compatriots (Hambrecht & Quist, Montgomery Securities, Robertson Stephens). None of this was law, and nothing in writing required this; this was just how these firms did business to protect their large institutional customers who would buy the stock. Founders can now outvote the preferred stock holders (the investors). MORE
The question is whether they need to issue common or preferred stock. The answer depends on how and what rights are defined in the preferred stock. This is an extremely valuable preference that can best be shown by example. MORE
The deal documents called the preferred stock “Series Seed&# shares but after opening up the documents I quickly realized the deal terms were NOT the same as those in the well-known Series Seed document set. For example, the well-known Series Seed has a 1x non-participating liquidation preference , while the version I reviewed had a 1x participating preference. Preferred Stock MORE
The majority of financings was structured as preferred stock (69%), as opposed to convertible note financings (31%), and the vast majority of those (83%) had their conversion price capped. The median amount raised in preferred stock financings was $1.1 MORE
Finally, unless the startup is raising at least approximately $750,000, it generally is not in the company’s interest to issue shares of preferred stock. What about issuing shares of common stock? MORE
I’ll never forget that great sense of excitement I felt when I incorporated my first business, and realized that I was now the proud owner of 10 million shares of common stock. Unfortunately, in my years since as a small business advisor, I have seen too many founders squander this asset through a lack of understanding of some basic legal and operational issues, or by handing out nominally “free” stock to the wrong people at the wrong time. MORE
For this article, let’s assume this equity is the Series A Preferred Stock purchased by a venture capital fund. compensate the angel for the early risk), the convertible promissory note will have an automatic conversion discount feature by which the angel investor will exchange the convertible debt for shares of the Series A Preferred Stock at a discount to the price per share paid by the venture capital fund at a Qualified Financing. MORE
File founder stock election so no taxes are due until exit. Even though the initial stock has no value or market, it is imperative that you document the division of ownership immediately between co-founders commensurate with their investment, contribution, and role. You may start as an LLC but find that a potentially high-value investor insists on having preferred stock, which is only available with a C-Corp. MORE
For a traditional VC financing round structured as a sale of preferred stock, the best resources I can recommend are the Term Sheet Series by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson and Startup Company Lawyer by Yokum Taku. A term sheet for a convertible note deal may run two or three pages, versus 8-10 pages for a typical Series A Preferred Stock financing. (I’ve MORE
Some of the posts that got my attention this week… 5 Ways To Raise Funds for Your Startup – Mashable brings a good reminder on the ways to raise funding: friends/family/fools, incubators, convertible debt, preferred stock and VC. MORE
Today, we’re tackling participating versus non-participating preferred stock, a fundamental economic term in VC deals that goes to the heart of the business agreement between investors and management in connection with a sale of the company. This post by Ian Engstrand first appeared on Founders Workbench. From time to time on Founders Workbench we give a brief primer on common terms and issues in venture financings. MORE
ii) why are convertible notes issued instead of shares of common or preferred stock? In the context of a seed financing, the debt typically automatically converts into shares of preferred stock upon the closing of a Series A round of financing. MORE
Mandatory Conversion : The Notes and any accrued interest will be converted into the Company’s next issued series of preferred stock resulting in new money of not less than $1,000,000 (an “ Eligible Financing ”) at a discount to the per-share price of such preferred shares of 25% (the “ Conversion Price ” ). per share for 2,000,000 shares of newly issued Series A Preferred Stock. MORE
You should still work with your board about what format they prefer.). Examples of housekeeping include the following list, though not every item will appear every time: Finance: Cash out date, burn rate, 409A valuation, cap table, common/preferred stock dashboard. MORE
If you are certain that you are building a large national corporation with more than 100 investors, and multiple classes of stock, then you might as well start with a Delaware or Nevada C-Corp. MORE
The board is set up to consist of 3 directors: 1 director elected by the common (founders); 1 directors elected by the preferred (investors); 1 “independent&# director (i.e., 2) Series Seed Stock Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement. Tags: Preferred Stock documents lawyer seed funding MORE
For most startup employee’s startup stock options are now a bad deal. Why Startups Offer Stock Options. In tech startups stock options were here almost from the beginning, first offered to the founders in 1957 at Fairchild Semiconductor , the first chip startup in Silicon Valley. MORE
For later investments, the price is equity, with a percentage of the owner stock to be assigned to the investor. Type of stock assigned to the investor. Investors typically demand preferred stock, to give themselves certain voting and liquidation privileges over later shareholders. MORE
The model includes a simple waterfall analysis using both participating and non-participating preferred (see line 44 and then columns M and O). The larger the preferred stock liquidation preference the larger the impact of participating preferred. Columns I and J are important as they show the % of preferred stock ownership compared only to preferred stock outstanding. MORE
Additionally, you should put whatever agreement you reach to paper , even if you have not yet incorporated or had your legal counsel draw up the founder stock paperwork. You can then work with your law firm to formally draw up founder common stock paperwork either then or subsequently. MORE
A C-corporation is more complex and expensive, and is recommended only if you expect to pitch to professional investors who demand preferred stock, or to more than 100 potential shareholders. Aspiring entrepreneurs often ask me what to do first when starting a business. MORE
The option price should be set by appraisal under IRS rule 409a, and certainly should be low enough to recognize that common stock options are not worth as much as preferred stock, given the many preferences of the latter. MORE
Here are the issues I have addressed to date: common mistakes dealing with VC’s valuation liquidation preferences stock options exploding term sheets and no-shop provisions anti-dilution provisions dividends Board control protective provisions drag-along provisions pay-to-play and pull-up provisions In today’s post, I examine conversion rights of investors. As many of you know, VC investors are typically issued shares of preferred stock, not common stock. MORE
Convertible debt with a price cap seems to be the preferred structure for early-stage financings. A logical alternative to convertible debt is a priced Series A preferred stock financing. Mark Suster does a good job analyzing whether convertible debt is preferable to equity , and concludes that convertible debt is better. Convertible debt with a price cap preserves the investor’s “equity&# ownership, but gives the investor extra liquidation preference. MORE
Other folks, such as Mark Suster, have also written about whether convertible debt is preferable to equity. Fred Wilson has been openly critical of convertible debt , and prefers priced equity rounds. Manu Kumar has also indicated that he prefers priced equity rounds to convertible debt. ” As a result, Ted introduced the Series Seed preferred stock documents as an alternative to convertible debt for early stage investments. MORE
Experienced entrepreneurs understand investor expectations of Board representation, preferred stock, and payments based on interim milestones. MORE
Fred Wilson , Paul Graham and Seth Levine all agree that as an entrepreneur one would prefer uncapped convertible debt to equity, but investors typically won’t go for it. Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement Series Seed Form SPA. B ack in March, Andreessen Horowitz and Fenwick & West, LLP published a series of documents that would help structure early stage investments in startups. MORE
A variety of model startup seed funding docs have been released in the past year or so: TechStars Series AA Preferred , YCombinator Series AA Preferred , and TheFunded Founder Institute’s Plain Preferred. For example, a founder stock purchase agreement is 12+ pages long because founders can, have, and will fail and/or bail on startups (hence the vesting schedule & startup repurchase option). MORE
When an entrepreneur first incorporates his or her business, he or she may find him or herself the proud owner of 10 million shares of common stock, commonly called founder’s shares. Make sure the government waits for a stock sale to collect taxes. This is called stock dilution control. MORE
If there is one piece of advice I would give to the founders of BST, it is to consider selling a part of their personal stock in the company at that stage. If things go well, and your company succeeds beyond your wildest dreams, it will end up being the most expensive house ever (because you could have held your stock and made a lot more on it). 3) Setting a precedent for the price of the Common Stock : This is the biggest issue with founder liquidity. MORE
Here are the issues I have addressed to date: common mistakes dealing with VC’s valuation liquidation preferences stock options exploding term sheets and no-shop provisions anti-dilution provisions dividends Board control protective provisions drag-along provisions pay-to-play and pull-up provisions conversion rights In today’s post, I examine the redemption rights of investors. MORE
In most equity financing rounds, an investor will ask for (and get) a term called a liquidation preference. A liquidation preference is the amount that must be paid to a preferred stock holder before any sale proceeds may be paid to the holders of common stock (i.e., The amount of the liquidation preference is usually expressed as a multiple, with the most common liquidation preference being “1X non-participating.” Preferred Stock MORE
Preferred Stock Related Topics 
Growthink Blog
JANUARY 24, 2011
The question is whether they need to issue common or preferred stock. The answer depends on how and what rights are defined in the preferred stock. This is an extremely valuable preference that can best be shown by example.
Early Growth Financial Services
FEBRUARY 3, 2015
Today, we’re tackling participating versus non-participating preferred stock, a fundamental economic term in VC deals that goes to the heart of the business agreement between investors and management in connection with a sale of the company. This post by Ian Engstrand first appeared on Founders Workbench. From time to time on Founders Workbench we give a brief primer on common terms and issues in venture financings.
Startup Professionals Musings
SEPTEMBER 26, 2015
For later investments, the price is equity, with a percentage of the owner stock to be assigned to the investor. Type of stock assigned to the investor. Investors typically demand preferred stock, to give themselves certain voting and liquidation privileges over later shareholders.
Scott Edward Walker
APRIL 9, 2012
ii) why are convertible notes issued instead of shares of common or preferred stock? In the context of a seed financing, the debt typically automatically converts into shares of preferred stock upon the closing of a Series A round of financing.
VC Cafe
JUNE 11, 2011
Some of the posts that got my attention this week… 5 Ways To Raise Funds for Your Startup – Mashable brings a good reminder on the ways to raise funding: friends/family/fools, incubators, convertible debt, preferred stock and VC.
The Startup Lawyer
JANUARY 10, 2012
In most equity financing rounds, an investor will ask for (and get) a term called a liquidation preference. A liquidation preference is the amount that must be paid to a preferred stock holder before any sale proceeds may be paid to the holders of common stock (i.e., The amount of the liquidation preference is usually expressed as a multiple, with the most common liquidation preference being “1X non-participating.” Preferred Stock
K9 Ventures
NOVEMBER 21, 2011
If there is one piece of advice I would give to the founders of BST, it is to consider selling a part of their personal stock in the company at that stage. If things go well, and your company succeeds beyond your wildest dreams, it will end up being the most expensive house ever (because you could have held your stock and made a lot more on it). 3) Setting a precedent for the price of the Common Stock : This is the biggest issue with founder liquidity.
VC Cafe
OCTOBER 23, 2010
Fred Wilson , Paul Graham and Seth Levine all agree that as an entrepreneur one would prefer uncapped convertible debt to equity, but investors typically won’t go for it. Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement Series Seed Form SPA. B ack in March, Andreessen Horowitz and Fenwick & West, LLP published a series of documents that would help structure early stage investments in startups.
The Startup Lawyer
JULY 13, 2011
The deal documents called the preferred stock “Series Seed&# shares but after opening up the documents I quickly realized the deal terms were NOT the same as those in the well-known Series Seed document set. For example, the well-known Series Seed has a 1x non-participating liquidation preference , while the version I reviewed had a 1x participating preference. Preferred Stock
The Startup Lawyer
MARCH 1, 2010
The board is set up to consist of 3 directors: 1 director elected by the common (founders); 1 directors elected by the preferred (investors); 1 “independent&# director (i.e., 2) Series Seed Stock Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement. Tags: Preferred Stock documents lawyer seed funding
Scott Edward Walker
SEPTEMBER 21, 2011
Finally, unless the startup is raising at least approximately $750,000, it generally is not in the company’s interest to issue shares of preferred stock. What about issuing shares of common stock?
Scott Edward Walker
JULY 7, 2011
Here are the issues I have addressed to date: common mistakes dealing with VC’s valuation liquidation preferences stock options exploding term sheets and no-shop provisions anti-dilution provisions dividends Board control protective provisions drag-along provisions pay-to-play and pull-up provisions conversion rights In today’s post, I examine the redemption rights of investors.
The Startup Lawyer
MARCH 1, 2010
The board is set up to consist of 3 directors: 1 director elected by the common (founders); 1 directors elected by the preferred (investors); 1 “independent&# director (i.e., 2) Series Seed Stock Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement. Tags: Preferred Stock documents lawyer seed funding
The Startup Lawyer
MARCH 11, 2010
A variety of model startup seed funding docs have been released in the past year or so: TechStars Series AA Preferred , YCombinator Series AA Preferred , and TheFunded Founder Institute’s Plain Preferred. For example, a founder stock purchase agreement is 12+ pages long because founders can, have, and will fail and/or bail on startups (hence the vesting schedule & startup repurchase option).
The Startup Lawyer
MARCH 11, 2010
A variety of model startup seed funding docs have been released in the past year or so: TechStars Series AA Preferred , YCombinator Series AA Preferred , and TheFunded Founder Institute’s Plain Preferred. For example, a founder stock purchase agreement is 12+ pages long because founders can, have, and will fail and/or bail on startups (hence the vesting schedule & startup repurchase option).
ReadWriteStart
APRIL 7, 2011
The majority of financings was structured as preferred stock (69%), as opposed to convertible note financings (31%), and the vast majority of those (83%) had their conversion price capped. The median amount raised in preferred stock financings was $1.1
Scott Edward Walker
JUNE 9, 2019
For example, if an investor owns 20% of the equity of a startup on a fully-diluted basis following the closing of a Series A round, it will have the right to purchase 20% of the shares of the preferred stock issued in the subsequent Series B round. Introduction.
Gust
JUNE 7, 2014
In some other cases, all Preferred investors are treated pari passeux , so steps 5/6 and 7/8 below would be combined into one.). 5) Senior Preferred Stock and warrants. 6) Any preference multiple on (5). 7) Junior Preferred Stock and warrants.
ithacaVC
APRIL 25, 2014
The model includes a simple waterfall analysis using both participating and non-participating preferred (see line 44 and then columns M and O). The larger the preferred stock liquidation preference the larger the impact of participating preferred. Columns I and J are important as they show the % of preferred stock ownership compared only to preferred stock outstanding.
Startup Professionals Musings
JANUARY 29, 2018
I’ll never forget that great sense of excitement I felt when I incorporated my first business, and realized that I was now the proud owner of 10 million shares of common stock. Unfortunately, in my years since as a small business advisor, I have seen too many founders squander this asset through a lack of understanding of some basic legal and operational issues, or by handing out nominally “free” stock to the wrong people at the wrong time.
Startup Professionals Musings
FEBRUARY 8, 2019
File founder stock election so no taxes are due until exit. Even though the initial stock has no value or market, it is imperative that you document the division of ownership immediately between co-founders commensurate with their investment, contribution, and role. You may start as an LLC but find that a potentially high-value investor insists on having preferred stock, which is only available with a C-Corp.
Berkonomics
MARCH 8, 2018
The option price should be set by appraisal under IRS rule 409a, and certainly should be low enough to recognize that common stock options are not worth as much as preferred stock, given the many preferences of the latter.
Steve Blank
APRIL 10, 2019
For most startup employee’s startup stock options are now a bad deal. Why Startups Offer Stock Options. In tech startups stock options were here almost from the beginning, first offered to the founders in 1957 at Fairchild Semiconductor , the first chip startup in Silicon Valley.
Startup Professionals Musings
MAY 18, 2015
When an entrepreneur first incorporates his or her business, he or she may find him or herself the proud owner of 10 million shares of common stock, commonly called founder’s shares. Make sure the government waits for a stock sale to collect taxes. This is called stock dilution control.
Startup Professionals Musings
MARCH 7, 2015
Most professional investors will expect preferred stock, a board seat, rights to later rounds and perhaps anti-dilution protection. One of the big questions that every entrepreneur struggles with is how much funding they should request from investors in the first round.
Business Plan Blog
APRIL 10, 2012
In the context of a seed financing, the debt typically automatically converts into shares of preferred stock upon the closing of a Series A round of financing.” In layman’s terms, investors will give money to a startup but instead of getting money back, they get preferred stock in return. ii) why are convertible notes issued instead of shares of common or preferred stock?
View from Seed
OCTOBER 15, 2014
You should still work with your board about what format they prefer.). Examples of housekeeping include the following list, though not every item will appear every time: Finance: Cash out date, burn rate, 409A valuation, cap table, common/preferred stock dashboard.
View from Seed
DECEMBER 4, 2014
Additionally, you should put whatever agreement you reach to paper , even if you have not yet incorporated or had your legal counsel draw up the founder stock paperwork. You can then work with your law firm to formally draw up founder common stock paperwork either then or subsequently.
ithacaVC
JUNE 29, 2018
This typically results when the company has raised a lot of money and the preferred stock liquidation preference would absorb an out sized portion of the exit proceeds. I have posted a few times on management carve out plans (back in February 2011 and November 2011 ; wow, time flies!!). Our portfolio companies routinely adopt carve out plans when the founders/employees equity values are not likely to provide enough incentive to get a company to an exit.
The Startup Lawyer
JUNE 22, 2010
For this article, let’s assume this equity is the Series A Preferred Stock purchased by a venture capital fund. compensate the angel for the early risk), the convertible promissory note will have an automatic conversion discount feature by which the angel investor will exchange the convertible debt for shares of the Series A Preferred Stock at a discount to the price per share paid by the venture capital fund at a Qualified Financing.
Startup Professionals Musings
AUGUST 1, 2016
Experienced entrepreneurs understand investor expectations of Board representation, preferred stock, and payments based on interim milestones.
Scott Edward Walker
JUNE 9, 2011
Here are the issues I have addressed to date: common mistakes dealing with VC’s valuation liquidation preferences stock options exploding term sheets and no-shop provisions anti-dilution provisions dividends Board control protective provisions drag-along provisions pay-to-play and pull-up provisions In today’s post, I examine conversion rights of investors. As many of you know, VC investors are typically issued shares of preferred stock, not common stock.
Startup Company Lawyer
JANUARY 9, 2011
Convertible debt with a price cap seems to be the preferred structure for early-stage financings. A logical alternative to convertible debt is a priced Series A preferred stock financing. Mark Suster does a good job analyzing whether convertible debt is preferable to equity , and concludes that convertible debt is better. Convertible debt with a price cap preserves the investor’s “equity&# ownership, but gives the investor extra liquidation preference.
Startup Professionals Musings
NOVEMBER 30, 2015
A C-corporation is more complex and expensive, and is recommended only if you expect to pitch to professional investors who demand preferred stock, or to more than 100 potential shareholders. Aspiring entrepreneurs often ask me what to do first when starting a business.
Feld Thoughts
FEBRUARY 23, 2019
What I bought was three shares of Cities Service preferred stock. To “protect” yourself, you might have eschewed stocks and opted instead to buy 31?4 Every year, one of my favorite things to read is the Berkshire Hathaway annual letter. The 2018 version is out and, as always, is a beautiful thing to read if you have any interest in business and economics.
Berkonomics
OCTOBER 1, 2015
Most sophisticated investors will take either a promissory note or preferred stock, both of which come before founder or management stock in a sale or liquidation. Further, preferred stock holders can be recipient of accrued dividends in a sale or liquidation.
Gust
SEPTEMBER 29, 2011
For a traditional VC financing round structured as a sale of preferred stock, the best resources I can recommend are the Term Sheet Series by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson and Startup Company Lawyer by Yokum Taku. A term sheet for a convertible note deal may run two or three pages, versus 8-10 pages for a typical Series A Preferred Stock financing. (I’ve
Steve Blank
OCTOBER 24, 2017
To turn your company’s stock into cash, you engaged a top-notch investment bank (Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs) and/or their Silicon Valley compatriots (Hambrecht & Quist, Montgomery Securities, Robertson Stephens). None of this was law, and nothing in writing required this; this was just how these firms did business to protect their large institutional customers who would buy the stock. Founders can now outvote the preferred stock holders (the investors).
Startup Professionals Musings
MARCH 11, 2013
If you are certain that you are building a large national corporation with more than 100 investors, and multiple classes of stock, then you might as well start with a Delaware or Nevada C-Corp.
Gust
OCTOBER 5, 2011
Mandatory Conversion : The Notes and any accrued interest will be converted into the Company’s next issued series of preferred stock resulting in new money of not less than $1,000,000 (an “ Eligible Financing ”) at a discount to the per-share price of such preferred shares of 25% (the “ Conversion Price ” ). per share for 2,000,000 shares of newly issued Series A Preferred Stock.
Startup Company Lawyer
AUGUST 31, 2012
Other folks, such as Mark Suster, have also written about whether convertible debt is preferable to equity. Fred Wilson has been openly critical of convertible debt , and prefers priced equity rounds. Manu Kumar has also indicated that he prefers priced equity rounds to convertible debt. ” As a result, Ted introduced the Series Seed preferred stock documents as an alternative to convertible debt for early stage investments.
ithacaVC
APRIL 5, 2011
A cap table is a written record (in Excel, for example) of who owns stock in your company. It lists every owner out by amount owned, type of stock (common or preferred), and date purchased. One rule of simple cap tables is to issue “normal” stock to founders (common stock only) and investors (typically preferred stock, but sometimes common stock to early friends and family). I am a huge fan of simple cap tables.
Agile VC
DECEMBER 4, 2014
Additionally, you should put whatever agreement you reach to paper, even if you have not yet incorporated or had your legal counsel draw up the founder stock paperwork. You can then work with your law firm to formally draw up founder common stock paperwork either then or subsequently.
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