Researching Investors Before the First Meeting
The best first meetings feel like a conversation between two people who already understand each other. That rarely happens by luck. A couple of hours of focused …
Category
Fundraising
Pitch decks, term sheets, SAFEs and valuations, explained from both the founder and investor side.
Investor Information Rights and Monthly Reporting
When you close a round, you usually promise investors certain information: financial statements, budgets and sometimes the right to look at your books. Those …
Running a Fundraise Alongside a Product Launch
A product launch and a fundraise both want all of your attention. Run them at the same time and you can turn launch momentum into investor interest, or you can …
SAFE Stacking: The Risks of Raising Several SAFEs
Raising one SAFE is quick. Raising a second, then a third, then a "small top-up" from a friendly angel feels just as quick each time. The trouble is that every …
Fundraising in a Slow Market: Adjusting Your Plan
Some years investors write checks quickly. Other years, meetings stretch out, decisions take longer and fewer rounds close. When the market slows, the founders …
Dividends on Preferred Stock Explained
Most founders skim past the dividend clause in a term sheet because nobody expects a young startup to pay dividends. That is usually true, but the wording still …
Founder Loans to the Company Explained
Plenty of companies are kept alive in their first year by the founder's own savings. Sometimes that money goes in as equity, but often it goes in as a loan, …