View from Seed

DECEMBER 4, 2014

Editor’s note: Understanding how to divide founder equity at a startup can be tricky, even to the point of reaching emotional riffs between founders. I like to say that “there are only co-founders” — it’s extraordinarily rare for a successful business to have just a sole founder.

Equity 315

Equity Founder Sweat Equity Cofounder 315

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 15, 2021

When an entrepreneur first incorporates a business, they may find themselves the proud owner of 10 million shares of common stock, commonly called founder’s shares. Startup owners need to assume a three to five year wait for a liquidity event, such as acquisition or going public, before they can cash out.

Vesting 298

Vesting Dilution Stock Founder Vesting 298

Startup Company Lawyer

MARCH 14, 2010

Founders Institute Plain Preferred Term Sheet (by WSGR – disclaimer, I represent the Founders Institute and was involved in drafting this document). Almost all startup companies don’t declare dividends, so deletion of a dividend preference is irrelevant to an investor. Co-sale rights. Legal fees.

Finance 70

Finance Software Review Term Sheet Liquidation Preference 70

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

When an entrepreneur first incorporates a business, they may find themselves the proud owner of 10 million shares of common stock, commonly called founder’s shares. Startup owners need to assume a three to five year wait for a liquidity event, such as acquisition or going public, before they can cash out.

Stock 240

Stock .Net Vesting Founder Vesting 240

Up and Running

AUGUST 17, 2015

As I read stories of college dropouts who had successfully sold tech companies, or entrepreneurs with innovative ideas who made it big on Shark Tank, it became clear that there was no set path to startup success. C Corp versus LLC, non-competes, liquidation preferences, preferred versus common stock, and so on).

Entrepreneur 60

Entrepreneur Cofounder Angel Investor eCommerce 60

ReadWriteStart

MAY 8, 2012

Approaching investors for the first time is a daunting exercise for any startup. The best way to do that is to leverage the hard-won experience of real-world startup. Turns out that while every startup is unique, they share some common difficulties in trying to find just the right strategies and tactics for funding their companies: 1.

Cofounder 140

Cofounder Startup San Francisco Silicon Valley 140

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. Startup owners need to assume a three to five year wait for a liquidity event, such as acquisition or going public, before they can cash out.

Stock 120

Stock Vesting Common Stock Founder Vesting 120

Startup Company Lawyer

MAY 4, 2009

Adeo Ressi , the founding member of TheFunded , recently announced the establishment of TheFunded Founder Institute. The Founder Institute helps founders launch innovative companies by providing training, services, and company-building assignments, such as incorporating the business, filing provision patents, and setting up books and records.

Founder 28

Founder Warrant San Francisco Intellectual Property 28

ReadWriteStart

JANUARY 28, 2022

With the rise of startups and growing businesses , it has become more critical for investors to have a thorough understanding of equity to be aware of all of the advantages they are receiving from the companies they have invested in. Common stock. The holding of common stock in a company indicates ownership in the corporation.

Valuation 108

Valuation Equity Warrant Common Stock 108

The Startup Lawyer

FEBRUARY 4, 2011

Great news — your startup just got accepted to an incubator! But before your startup signs up and cashes that $[XX,000] check, your startup’s co-founders should sit down and evaluate the incubator’s offer. Pre-money valuations startups receive from incubators are typically low…really low.

Incubator 105

Incubator Pre-Money Valuation Option Pool Advisory Board 105

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. Of course, initially these founder’s shares were worth essentially nothing, but it doesn’t take much of an imagination to grasp the possibilities.

Stock 129

Stock Vesting Preferred Stock Cofounder 129

Gust

DECEMBER 8, 2011

In Part I , I gave a quick summary of the who, when and why of forming and documenting a new startup company. This week we’ll delve into what , exactly, is necessary or desirable to lay a solid legal foundation for a startup to build upon. Make escrow arrangements for restricted stock (i.e., Newco, Inc.”)

Intellectual Property 139

Intellectual Property Non-disclosure Agreement Delaware Stock 139

Scott Edward Walker

APRIL 9, 2012

Venture capital funds, seed funds, super angels, angel groups, incubators, and “friends and family” are all playing the seed financing game and investing early in startups in an attempt to land the next Facebook. and (iii) what securities laws do founders need to worry about in connection with the issuance of convertible notes?

Preferred Stock 87

Preferred Stock Finance Common Stock Liquidation Preference 87

Austin Startup

JULY 22, 2021

On October 4th, five technology startup finalists will pitch to a panel of advisors and judges made up of successful investors, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders. Any software, hardware, or CPG startup in Texas with a female founder or co-founder can apply to participate. Startups, submit your application now!

San Antonio 107

San Antonio Dallas Houston Founder 107

Eric Friedman

JUNE 27, 2016

Big strategic advisors are the folks that add credibility to your co. from a 10 year old co. Here are the questions I like to see founders ask potential advisors; 1. I try to recommend people bring on advisors that can 10X a business. Think former CEO of the biggest player in your space, former lead exec. strike price.

Equity 98

Equity Vesting Cap Table Common Stock 98

blog.simeonov.com

FEBRUARY 22, 2010

I have been thinking a lot recently about how to apply agile development principles to investing and key aspects of startup development such as team building. The first post is about agile startup fundraising. The follow-on post is about agile startup team building. All founders have the same agreement. Urban legends.

Founder 44

Founder Vesting Agile Startup 44

Up and Running

NOVEMBER 23, 2010

I ‘m very impressed by Rand Fishkin’s A Cautionary Tale from the Startup World posted on his blog over the weekend. But, tragically, 3 years after their apex, this firm sold for less than their annual revenue, laid off nearly the entire staff, and left common stock shareholders, my friends included, with nothing.

Common Stock 63

Common Stock Stock Options Stock Cofounder 63

Agile VC

APRIL 17, 2011

AGILEVC My idle thoughts on tech startups. Kayak was started here in my backyard of Boston… co-founder & CTO Paul English and the product/engineering team is based here in Concord MA. Co-founder & CEO Steve Hafner and the business team are based in Norwalk, CT. How to Evaluate Firms for a Seed VC.

Pre-Money Valuation 113

Pre-Money Valuation Liquidation Preference Dividend Common Stock 113

venturehacks.com

OCTOBER 21, 2010

Venture Hacks Good advice for startups. This reverse dilution benefits all classes of stock proportionally even though the common stock holders paid for all of the initial dilution in the first place! What do you mean by “convert into common shares&# ? Do you mean the shares go to the founders?

Option Pool 68

Option Pool Pre-Money Valuation Dilution Warrant 68

Scott Edward Walker

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

Question My co-founders and I are working on a cool new site, and we’ll be ready to launch in a few weeks. Otherwise, if one of the founders quits after a few months, he would take all of his shares with him. In short, this is a nightmare scenario – particularly if there is bad blood with the other co-founders.

Vesting 89

Vesting Software Review IP Intellectual Property 89

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 14, 2010

Liquidation preference is the amount of money that an investor gets paid before the common stock (e.g. management, founders, angel investors) get any money. Tags: Entrepreneur Advice Raising Venture Capital Start-up Advice Startup Advice. But pass they will. Brain damage. Reputation.

Venture Capital 289

Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Common Stock Dividend 289

venturehacks.com

MARCH 21, 2008

Venture Hacks Good advice for startups. Advisor compensation Whether you’re hiring a normal advisor or super advisor: Advisory shares are usually issued as common stock options. Advisory shares are normal common stock. We’re founders (Epinions), investors (Twitter), students (life), and advisors (billions).

Advisory Board 44

Advisory Board Cap Table Vesting Equity 44

thestartuplawyer.com

FEBRUARY 24, 2010

Contact The Startup Lawyer: Home Page About Contact FAQs Glossary Ryan Roberts Law: Home Page Social Networks: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Flickr Delicious Digg Last.FM He obviously never launched a startup and got shafted by a co-founder. He obviously never launched a startup and got shafted by a co-founder.

Cofounder 40

Cofounder Founder Preferred Stock Startup 40

This is going to be BIG.

AUGUST 4, 2024

I’m writing to share why I think a Kamala Harris presidency would be far better for the long-term success of the American technology industry and the startup world than the alternative—but before I make this political omelet, I need to break a few eggshells.

United States 167

United States Cofounder Myanmar Silicon Valley 167