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. The check won’t clear in time to save you.

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Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Angel Investor Post-Money Valuation 227

This is going to be BIG.

MAY 27, 2014

Last week, for just the second time ever, I passed on an investment opportunity because of the terms of the deal--both the price and the legal structure of the agreement. The Term Sheet. They got that way due in large part to a very public founder friendly stance. Perhaps we all should. I certainly have. Rules like respect.

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Term Sheet Founder Cofounder Venture Capital 160

Feld Thoughts

NOVEMBER 7, 2011

For some time Jason and I have felt that VC’s have had an unfair advantage when it comes to understanding term sheets. So a few years back we wrote a whole series of blog posts (the Term Sheet series ) which became the basis for the book Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist.

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Term Sheet Entrepreneur Naming 133

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.

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Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Angel Investor 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 Entrepreneur 162

YFS Magazine

OCTOBER 8, 2016

It can be tempting to skip the term sheet and simply have your lawyer prepare the investment documents.

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Term Sheet Startup Venture Capital Finance 112

Ben's Blog

JUNE 22, 2019

a16z Managing Parter Scott Kupor’s new book, Secrets of Sand Hill Road , is a guide to engaging with and understanding VC that covers everything from terminology and term sheets to the fundraising process, governance, and more. In this video, …

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Term Sheet Government Video Management 42

Mucker Lab

JUNE 23, 2014

There is no word more sacred and yet over-used than “term sheet” in the entrepreneurial circle. The pursuit of the mythical VC term sheet has blinded entrepreneurs from the real goal of building a business: revenue, customers, users, engagement and retention. It’s validation. Continue at Techcrunch. Venture Creation'

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Term Sheet Entrepreneur Equity Retention 60

Berkonomics

MAY 15, 2014

A good example was during the negotiation of a term sheet. These usually involve a handful of angel investors, and a few entrepreneurs, who all want to build the very best term sheet for their exciting nascent enterprise. It was not until the later 1980s that the preferred share structure became popular.

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Term Sheet Angel Investor Angel Groups Deal Structure 91

Feld Thoughts

DECEMBER 28, 2010

On the heels of all the noise around Groupon’s $ 100m financing at a $7.5b (billion) post valuation, I thought I’d put out a call for “old VC term sheets – prior to 1990.&#. The basis for the book comes from the Term Sheet series that Jason and I wrote on this blog in 2005.

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Term Sheet Search Finance Valuation 116

ithacaVC

DECEMBER 9, 2013

We (Cayuga Venture Fund) just signed up a term sheet with a new company (Company X). Rather I want to briefly comment on the process leading up to the term sheet and next steps. We presented our first draft of the term sheet to Company X about a week ago. First, the process: 1. It is now mid December.

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Term Sheet Cap Table IP Cofounder 58

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. The event will take place at Tech Wildcatters at 2700 Fairmount St in Dallas Texas. Brad Hunstable, founder and CEO of Ustream, will play the role of the startup founder and a “TBD” VC will […].

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Term Sheet Cofounder Dallas Startup 71

The Startup Lawyer

JANUARY 10, 2011

There’s a lot of advice about (1) how to attract VCs, and (2) how to negotiate a venture capital term sheet. Both sets of advice tend to ignore the gap between an investor’s expression of investment interest and your startup’s receipt of the term sheet.

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Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Liquidation Preference Option Pool 64

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 Cofounder 76

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 Valuation Equity Founder 55

The Next Web

FEBRUARY 15, 2015

If you haven’t read the first part on equity term sheets, I strongly recommend doing so before moving on. For a general introduction to term sheets and the trade-off between high valuation and complex investment structure, please refer to the introductory post to the guide.

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Term Sheet Equity Liquidation Preference Valuation 60

Hunter Walker

APRIL 20, 2014

And your term sheet waits at the bottom. Still lots of hard work and good fortune to close the deal, but your term sheet is right on the other side.' Now I want to spend a few paragraphs on framing the pitch — I call it The Belief Funnel. Do I Believe There’s a Market Here?

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The Next Web

FEBRUARY 7, 2015

In the introductory post to my term sheet guide, we covered a general introduction to term sheets and the trade-off between high valuation and complex investment structure, as well as focused on the basics of a convertible loan. Andrej Kiska is an Associate at Credo Ventures.

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Term Sheet Equity Valuation Entrepreneur 60

Feld Thoughts

FEBRUARY 14, 2010

Over the years my partner Jason Mendelson and I have heard from numerous people that they’ve been exposed to our Venture Capital Term Sheet Series as reference material in a college course. Tags: Term Sheet Venture Capital. So – I’m writing with a simple request. I promise we won’t send Jack Bauer your way.

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Term Sheet Venture Capital Partner Email 99

The Startup Lawyer

AUGUST 24, 2010

Just like the preferred equity financing process, the convertible debt financing process can start with a term sheet, rather than a full set of financing documents. Here are terms that are typically found in a convertible note term sheet: Amount of the Offering : How much capital can the startup raise via the convertible debt offering?

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Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Liquidity Event Warrant 62

Early Growth Financial Services

DECEMBER 4, 2014

But do you know what to do once you’re asked to sign a term sheet? And a good lawyer can be a real advocate for you: by keeping negotiations on track, explaining terms, and making sure any deal you sign doesn’t have problematic (and costly) clauses that could leave you at risk. You came, you pitched, you conquered.

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Term Sheet Liquidation Preference Vesting Option Pool 51

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 11, 2021

Angel and venture capital money always comes with ownership and management implications, starting with the obvious ones outlined in the term sheet for the deal. Every funding term sheet is followed by a set of milestone commitments, which should not be considered optional suggestions.

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Startup Term Sheet Bootstrapping Entrepreneur 435

The Next Web

APRIL 6, 2013

The five suggestions below are designed to help facilitate the investment process which may lead to a more expeditious term sheet and teach entrepreneurs to think more like an investor. In fact, we engaged a leading US investor who gave an initial terms sheet to a very promising startup with a ‘rockstar CEO’, to then retract the $1.5

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Term Sheet Entrepreneur Due Diligence Startup 126

Scott Edward Walker

JUNE 9, 2011

Introduction This post originally appeared as part of the “ Ask the Attorney ” column I am writing for VentureBeat ; it is another installment of my ongoing series regarding venture capital term sheets.

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Term Sheet Venture Capital Conversion Rights Conversion 60

Rob Go

DECEMBER 14, 2016

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. 90%+ of term sheets result in a closed deal that is more or less equivalent to what was discussed. In the M&A process, an LOI feels an awful lot like a term sheet.

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Term Sheet Due Diligence Private Equity Strategic Investors 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 Startup Dividend 68

Diego Basch

FEBRUARY 28, 2012

We could have insisted on a term sheet, even though term sheets are non-binding. I believe the startup should have pushed for the term sheet as soon as possible. Either the acquirer would have said no (end of story right there), or the sheet would have been signed.

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Term Sheet Startup Acquisition Redemption 56

Gust

JULY 25, 2012

Whether we’re founders or investors, we focus on terms and percentages as determining control. Fred Wilson of Union Ventures writes Entrepreneurs Have Control When Things Work, VCs Have Control When They Don’t on his AVC blog. This is one of those ideas that seem completely obvious but only after I’ve heard them.

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Term Sheet Entrepreneur Founder Hiring 105

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.

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Tim Keane

MAY 16, 2010

A philosophy of valuations and term-sheets. Several months ago, I'd posted an article about term-sheets.  A Philosophy of Valuation and  Term Sheet Calcs   the accompanying spreadsheet.  A philosophy of valuations and term-sheets. « Do we really need this help?

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Term Sheet Valuation Startup Angel Investor 60

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 11, 2020

If all this checking sounds a bit paranoid and unnecessary, it may be time to take another look at some questionable investor practices and onerous term sheet requests. To get the terms you want, it’s better to start with your own term sheet. It’s no fun for either side.

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Due Diligence Term Sheet Entrepreneur Venture Capital 312

View from Seed

MAY 17, 2019

There are two distinct chapters to venture fundraising – the first is entrepreneurs pitching their startup to multiple firms to generate interest and ultimately secure a term sheet; then, the period after a term sheet has been signed progressing to close.

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Term Sheet Entrepreneur Startup Reputation 149

Early Growth Financial Services

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

What is a term sheet, and why should you care about it? Questions about term sheets? Ask in comments below, or contact Early Growth Financial Services for help understanding your term sheet, and other financial support. Check out my quick overview.

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Term Sheet Venture Capital Video Equity 41

Feld Thoughts

FEBRUARY 18, 2020

Week 1 – Introduction of key players/Form or join a team Week 2 – Fundraising/Finding the Right VC Week 3 – Capitalization Tables/Convertible Debt Week 4 – Term Sheets: Economics & Control Week 5 – Term Sheets Part Two Week 6 – Negotiations Week 7 – Letter of Intent/Getting Acquired.

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Term Sheet Capitalization Table 170

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 Venture Capital Angel Investor 41

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”. The funding section of the VC term sheet explains the financial guidelines that need to be followed.

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Venture Capital Private Equity Due Diligence Term Sheet 144

Feld Thoughts

JANUARY 27, 2020

Legal Things Every Entrepreneur Should Know. The new chapters in this edition are 11. Venture Debt (with help from SVB), and 17. How to Engage an Investment Banker (with help from Golding Partners).

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Investment Bankers Term Sheet Venture Capital Capitalization Table 105