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. The assistant tried to end the meeting twice but was shoooshed away. What do I do now?

Software Review 381

Software Review Churn Rate Due Diligence New York 381

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012

Was Paul Graham right in his “high resolution” financing post? I can’t say it much simpler than this: “What if I took some of the worst, most egregious terms in a standard term sheet and made them the defacto standard in most convertible debt deals? Let me explain it more clearly in equity terms.

Ratchet 354

Ratchet Liquidation Preference Equity Stock 354

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2014

By September 26th we had submitted a term sheet which was signed on October 4th and financing was closed in less than 30 days. Massive success after just one week of launching that has continued into the third week (this week) with their first property.

Technical Review 373

Technical Review North America Los Angeles Cofounder 373

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.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Liquidation Preference 68

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 10, 2018

What you don’t know is that MANY of these financings have been a months’ long series of no’s, compromises, hard terms, heartaches, arguments, self doubt, followed by a “yes” that saves the day. When you finally get a term sheet you get three. Fund raising seems so easy for everybody else and you’re doing something wrong.

Term Sheet 232

Term Sheet France Technical Review Restful 232

SoCal CTO

JULY 13, 2010

How-to learn about angel/vc term sheets - Gabriel Weinberg , June 28, 2010 I think every startup entrepreneur (and angel investor) should have a good understanding of financing term sheets. Will you negotiate million dollars rounds of financing with cool VCs? Yes, even bootstrappers. People you don’t know.

Cofounder 175

Cofounder Technical Cofounder Term Sheet Startup 175

Gust

DECEMBER 27, 2012

While yCombinator and TechStars are the two best known, there dozens of others, local, national and international, many specializing in specific areas (including fashion, food, finance, gaming, etc.) This person will be critical in rounding up other investors, drafting a term sheet, and generally getting the deal done.

Software Review 164

Software Review Term Sheet Technical Review Angel Investor 164

VC Cafe

AUGUST 11, 2022

A couple of weeks ago I was did a fireside chat with Alon Grinshpoon, founder and CEO of Echo3D , a CDN and CMS for 3D content in the cloud and a Remagine Ventures portfolio company, as part of an entrepreneurial finance MBA class in Tel Aviv University. We were discussing both sides of the table and the relationship between founders and VCs.

Founder 187

Founder Term Sheet Cofounder Venture Capital 187

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 17, 2012

The very first time I ever negotiated a term sheet (and then legal docs for closing the round) I found the experience very frustrating. He marks up the term sheet. Seems like the term sheet will be done in a day or so. And it obviously doesn’t just apply to a VC financing. Nor did their lawyer.

Term Sheet 301

Term Sheet Ireland Cofounder Finance 301

www.founderinstitute.com

MARCH 2, 2010

He has been actively involved in merger, acquisition and disposition transactions with a combined value of over $1 billion, and financing/investment transactions and securities offerings worth over $600 million. Chris Dixon posted about an ideal term sheet for first round funding, which started an blogosphere discussion about terms.

Term Sheet 40

Term Sheet Liquidation Preference Vesting San Diego 40

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. Anti-dilution protection. Marty Zwilling.

Term Sheet 227

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

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 23, 2017

It’s why raising a round of capital often feels like a hollow victory because it almost feels like a temporary reprieve from the Grim Reaper and in a way every new round just sets the bar higher to clear for the next round of financing or the hope of reaching profitability. You’re not done until you’re done. That’s fantasy land.

Burn Rate 238

Burn Rate Term Sheet CTO Hire Fractional CTO 238

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. Anti-dilution protection.

Term Sheet 223

Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Due Diligence Angel Investor 223

Startup Company Lawyer

MARCH 14, 2010

After the recent announcement of the Series Seed Financing documents by Marc Andreesen, Brad Feld points out that there are now four sets of “open source&# equity seed financing documents: TechStars Model Seed Funding Documents (by Cooley). Y Combinator Series AA Equity Financing Documents (by WSGR). under $500K).

Finance 70

Finance Software Review Term Sheet Liquidation Preference 70

www.seriesseed.com

MARCH 2, 2010

SeriesSeed.com Series Seed Financing Documents Blog Home Documents Blog Archives Subscribe 09/02/2010 Version 2.0   That’s because there are not that many issues to negotiate in a simple equity financing. 2) Redline - Series Seed Term Sheet (1 v. Series Seed Term Sheet (v 2.0) Then you win.”

Finance 58

Finance Term Sheet Equity Aggregator 58

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.

Term Sheet 41

Term Sheet Startup Angel Investor Wiki 41

ReadWriteStart

SEPTEMBER 2, 2011

While certainly not every business needs to raise venture financing, it is the path for many high-growth technology startups. Tip 4: Really Understand Key Terms. Once you get the term sheet make sure you know how to read it. Once you have a term sheet you are happy with, don't over negotiate.

Cap Table 125

Cap Table Term Sheet Liquidation Preference Technical Review 125

YoungUpstarts

FEBRUARY 6, 2017

As an entrepreneur, your goal when raising financing is to get several term sheets — the documents describing the terms and conditions of financing. One of the worst positions you can be in during a financing is to have investors interested, but be too far short of your goal. Close the deal.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Term Sheet Technical Review Due Diligence 100

Steve Blank

APRIL 1, 2020

Some VC’s are walking away from signed term sheets. As part of these operating changes, make sure your heads of HR and finance recognize that they have entirely new jobs. The CEO should dial through as many of the largest existing customers to get a firsthand understanding of the magnitude of any revenue shortfall.

South Korea 334

South Korea Salary Business Model China 334

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Unfortunately in early stage startups the drive for financing hijacks the corporate DNA and becomes the raison d’etre of the company. & Raising Capital Pitch Perfect 4 ways to get automatically rejected by an angel investor Raising Money Using Customer Development Due Diligence Checklist Term Sheet Archives (from Brad [.]

Customer Development 270

Customer Development Developer Customer Silicon Valley 270

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.

Technical Review 175

Technical Review Artificial Inteligence Startup Term Sheet 175

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 12, 2017

However, as a condition of financing they may require annual audited financial statements. For many startups this results in a need to raise additional financing through debt or equity arrangements. Many of these companies are pre-revenue and in the cash burn stage as they try to establish their technology and market.

San Francisco 133

San Francisco Forecast Early Stage Term Sheet 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. Anti-dilution protection.

Term Sheet 158

Term Sheet Pre-Money Valuation Due Diligence Angel Investor 158

K9 Ventures

APRIL 27, 2011

In August/September 2009, the founders and I agreed to work together to raise a round of financing for the company. We pulled together about $600K of commitments and interest, for a $500K-target financing round. The lawsuit completely killed the financing prospects for Ugmode. At this stage, the team had had no prior financing.

Software Review 134

Software Review Technical Review IP Finance 134

This is going to be BIG.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

This is a company that, according to the article, got term sheets from half of the VCs that expressed interest in the company. David's firm most recently participated in the $77 million second round financing of SoFi, a one year old startup focusing on student loans. Not a bad close rate, I'd say--and a pretty great pay day.

Venture Capital 120

Venture Capital Marketing Term Sheet Software Review 120

Genuine VC

APRIL 29, 2013

all talk about the best way for entrepreneurs to optimize their fundraising process with the end-goal of receiving a term sheet. It’s often spoken as if the second that magical term sheet document is in hand, the process is over. Some VCs merely view term sheets as “marketing documents.”

Term Sheet 150

Term Sheet Valuation Partner Conversion 150

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 28, 2015

This article highlights their advice on issues ranging from financing to patent trolls: While startups may believe lawyers are too costly, working with one early on avoids potentially serious problems later. ” The Cost of Financing. In a Series A financing, companies must pay the investors’ lawyers as well as their own.

Convertible Security 100

Convertible Security IP Technical Review Software Review 100

Mucker Lab

AUGUST 27, 2014

Encyclopedic knowledge of term sheets and startup buzzwords can be quickly learned, trained, and packaged. The best entrepreneurs have been coached to run a tight process, to shop their term sheets to a myriad of VCs, all of whom have great reputations and large networks.

Los Angeles 138

Los Angeles Southern California Silicon Valley Technical Review 138

Gust

NOVEMBER 11, 2011

Angel investment events where the group investment is supposed to go to the winner, but the winner ends up hating the term sheet. Usually these term sheets involve convertible notes, which are supposed to convert to equity at the next round of financing, like when the serious venture capitalists do a Series A.

Software Review 79

Software Review Term Sheet Due Diligence Angel Investor 79

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 8, 2012

But Paul Graham really did have a point in his “ high resolution fundraising ” post – that there is a problem – particularly in angel financing – with herding cats. You simply draft up a series seed term sheet. Another easy way to do it is the term sheet create Series Seed A-1 and Series Seed A-2.

Pre-Money Valuation 294

Pre-Money Valuation Finance Liquidation Preference Warrant 294

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.

Term Sheet 28

Term Sheet Technical Review Due Diligence Private Equity 28

Up and Running

JANUARY 26, 2012

Raising finance is a time consuming process and can also be quite stressful (particularly as time progresses). Finally you need to be very clear on the terms of the investment i.e. above and beyond the headline rates. Image via CrunchBase.

Term Sheet 94

Term Sheet Exit Strategy Software Review Early Stage 94

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.&#. My partner Jason Mendelson and I are working on a book titled Venture Financings: How To Look Smarter Than Your Lawyer and VC.

Term Sheet 119

Term Sheet Search Finance Valuation 119

reidhoffman.org

NOVEMBER 12, 2013

You may happen to emphasize the right points that pique an investor’s interest, but you shouldn’t leave your financing up to chance. Second, understand the broader financing climate. There will be one to three issues that are potentially problematic for your financing — address them head on. What will their concerns be?

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Viral Revenue Networking 111

David Teten

AUGUST 19, 2019

Does the traditional VC financing model make sense for all companies? 2018 also had the fewest number of angel-led financing rounds since before 2010. John Borchers, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Decathlon Capital, claims to be the largest revenue-based financing investor in the US. Absolutely not.

Revenue 60

Revenue Term Sheet Founder Technical Review 60

OnlyOnce

OCTOBER 31, 2013

And this is true of any negotiation, not just a term sheet. The biggest warning sign to look for is someone who says things like “you have to agree on this term, because this is how we always do deals.” Always have a BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement – a fancy way of saying Plan B).

Valuation 133

Valuation Term Sheet B2C Security 133

www.seriesseed.com

DECEMBER 9, 2012

Series Seed Financing Documents Blog. Series Seed Financing Documents. Series Seed Term Sheet (v 2.0). Series Seed Term Sheet. Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Series Seed Financing Documents : 1 Reblog. SeriesSeed.com. Blog Archives.   Series Seed COI (v 2.0).

Finance 40

Finance Term Sheet Vesting LLC 40