VC1.01 covers the following topics: The Business of VC – How Venture Firms Work; Stock and VC Investment Structures; and Key Considerations for Founders & Employees.

guides / Fundraising

Advice for Founders During Uncertain Times

During economic downturns, every company faces a different situation, and what’s right for yours could depend on stage, funding history, cash balance, and space. What to do falls into three buckets: fundraising, operational focus, and reducing burn rate.

guides / Strategy & Operations

Term Sheet Grader

We developed the term-sheet grader, a simple way to compare different term sheets or help characterize whether a term sheet is good or evil.

guides / Fundraising

Part 5: The Final Pieces

In this final part, we close out the remaining terms you are likely to see -Voting Controls, Mandatory conversions, and dividends.

guides / Fundraising

Part 4: Board of Directors

There are many venture backed startups that have a VC representative from every round — seed, A, B, C, D, etc. It is often said that the performance of a company is inversely proportional to the number of VCs on the Board. A better Board would be one that has a mix of VC representatives and industry experts. But how to get there?

guides / Fundraising

Part 3: Anti-Dilution

The standard VC term sheet has the concept of anti-dilution, meaning if the next round is priced lower than the previous round, the VC will be entitled to more shares (retroactively) to make up for this unfortunate circumstance. We don’t like the sound of that at all.

guides / Fundraising

Part 2: Preference / Preferred Stock

A Preference or Preferred Stock is where an investor buys a security that gives them the right to choose whether to get their money back or convert into common stock.

guides / Fundraising

Part 1: Increase to the Option Pool

In a typical term sheet, the investor will specify an option pool — a bucket of stock options for future employees. Having an agreed on pool makes life easier for everyone — you don’t have to get shareholder consent every time you want to make a new hire and the VC doesn’t see their ownership get diluted by every hire either.

guides / Fundraising

How To: Negotiate a Term Sheet

Just got a term sheet from a VC firm? Congratulations — that’s no small feat. Now we’ll help you navigate how to negotiate your term sheet.

guides / Fundraising

Jamie Goldstein

Audio

What should I do if there is another startup solving the same problem as me?

What should I put in direct costs vs. overhead?

How do I build a financial model?

How do I navigate a university spinout?

How do I know what is fair in my term sheet and what isn't?

How do I deal with fraud?

Part 2: How do I develop a winning business model?

How do I share news of delays with customers and prospects?

What do I do if I no longer want to run my company?

What is expected from an R&D focused company who won't have revenue for years?

Part 2: What should I consider when starting a company with a professor?

Why does Pillar offer to buy common stock?

Videos

How much progress are VCs looking for in seed companies?

How do I negotiate a term sheet?

How do I deal with board observers?

What do I do if my relationship with a board member isn't working out?

How do I close a pitch meeting?

How can I really know my VCs intentions?

What should I consider when choosing an investor?

What should I look for in an independent board member?

How do VCs view familial founding teams?

How do I structure my board?

Part 2: What do I do if my relationship with my investor isn't working out?

Part 2: What do I do if two important investors can't agree on anything?

Part 1: How do I tell my personal story so it resonates with investors?

How do the motivations of my investors differ?

Guides

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