Up and Running

JULY 2, 2014

Picking the right attorney in your startup is as important as picking the right business partner. My business partner and I made many mistakes in our first tech startup, and so many of them were the result of choosing a lawyer who was a terrible fit. My business partner and I were elated. We set off to raise our money.

Technical Review 118

Technical Review Angel Investor Due Diligence Dilution 118

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 10, 2016

How complex is the capitalization table? These questions are the key ones in every due diligence effort, always done by accredited investors, but almost never done by key employees and new partners. Early stage burn rates over $50K per month, or a runway of less than six months may indicate an inefficient or desperate startup.

Sweat Equity 120

Sweat Equity Burn Rate Technical Review Intellectual Property 120

Feld Thoughts

JANUARY 27, 2020

Legal Things Every Entrepreneur Should Know. How to Engage an Investment Banker (with help from Golding Partners). We also significantly updated Chapter 2: Preparing for Fundraising and Chapter 19: Legal Things Every Entrepreneur Should Know (with help from Cooley). The new chapters in this edition are 11.

Investment Bankers 108

Investment Bankers Term Sheet Capitalization Table Venture Capital 108

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Entrepreneurs need to find a way to get traction (sales) without funding. If entrepreneurs are only pitching to angel groups, they’re only pitching to 6% of the active angels, and 0.4% However, entrepreneurs still need to approach angel investors offline for larger amounts of capital. What does that mean? Stock Option.

Angel Investor 159

Angel Investor Technical Review Software Review Accredited Investor 159

Pascal's View

JULY 9, 2017

Andrew Krowne and I recently co-wrote an article in Tech Crunch , Why SAFE Notes Are Not Safe for Entrepreneurs. At its core, this issue points to the lack of understanding about the importance of post-money valuation by both entrepreneurs and investors. Many entrepreneurs lose track of what they have been cooking up in the cap table.

Post-Money Valuation 49

Post-Money Valuation Valuation Cap Table Covenant 49

Feld Thoughts

JULY 18, 2011

My partner Jason Mendelson and I are psyched to announce that our book – Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist – has been published and is now available. The book originated in 2005 when Jason and I wrote a long series of posts on this blog about a typical Venture Capital term sheet.

Term Sheet 162

Term Sheet Venture Capital Capitalization Table Finance 162

Early Growth Financial Services

AUGUST 23, 2013

There are a lot of valuation companies out there, so I know many entrepreneurs are tempted to just shop around until they find the lowest price, but this is a mistake. All valuations are not created equally; there are better valuations, better processes, and better valuations business partners for your company.

Valuation 70

Valuation Stock Options Capitalization Table Early Stage 70