A Guide To Angel Investing Documents: Preferred Stock Deals
The Seraf Compass
MAY 22, 2024
This article is intended to provide a quick overview of the principal documents in a fundraising where the investors are purchasing stock.
A Guide to Angel Investing Documents: Convertible Debt Deals
The Seraf Compass
MAY 8, 2024
This article is intended to provide a quick overview and explanation of the principal documents in a fundraising where the investors are purchasing convertible debt. Unlike a stock transaction, these convertible debt deals do not alter the capitalization of the company by adding new stockholders until the debt is converted into equity.
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Why Docracy is the Most Revolutionary Company of Our Time
This is going to be BIG.
SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
Note: I led First Round's investment in Docracy in 2011, but I do not have any financial ties to the company and will not benefit or suffer, other than emotionally, based on the outcome of that investment. Anyone who has ever e-mailed various versions of Word documents to a lawyer or counterparty has experienced the pain.
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A Founder's Guide: Essential Management Advice for Startups
Tomasz Tunguz
MARCH 4, 2025
Document thoroughly : Use video, Loom, or detailed documentation to transfer knowledge effectively. Scaling Management Invest in managers : Great companies invest disproportionately in developing their managers. Balance autonomy and alignment : Give teams freedom within clear strategic boundaries.
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Klarity lands $18M to read scores of documents so you don’t have to
TechCrunch
JANUARY 24, 2022
Reviewing repetitive documents is, well, repetitive, but Klarity believes people don’t have to do all of that and is building an artificial intelligence tool, targeting finance and accounting departments, that turns documents into structured data. Document automation is not a new concept. Image Credits: Klarity.
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How to Avoid the Closing Package from Hell
The Seraf Compass
DECEMBER 17, 2020
The deal lead and founders worked hard together to line up investors, negotiate terms, work through deal documents and disclosure schedules, and track down every last detail of cap tables. As usual it took longer than expected, everyone is exhausted and the company needs the money urgently to make long-postponed investments in growth.
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The Changing Venture Landscape
Both Sides of the Table
SEPTEMBER 10, 2021
On the one hand, you’re over paying for every investment and valuations aren’t rational. What used to be an “A” round in 2011 is now routinely called a Seed round and this has been so engrained that founders would rather take less money than to have to put the words “A round” in their legal documents. of the fund.
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Getting serious about Series B: 3 documents that will help founders control the narrative
TechCrunch
SEPTEMBER 15, 2022
I have spent most of the last two years investing at Series B and helping portfolio companies prepare for this first “growth-y” round. You want to proactively manage the order in which people access information and focus their attention on a few key documents that they can return to when they fall down a rabbit hole.
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BE 2.0: Focus on Responsibility, Not Tasks – The Mindset Shift That Changes Everything
Paul G. Silva
APRIL 1, 2025
He realized his responsibility wasn’t “keep developing the product” but “build a successful business ready for investment.” Within a few months, he secured investment that extended his runway by 18 months. ” This shift changed everything.
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Investing in Rewind
Andreessen Horowitz
NOVEMBER 1, 2022
We can communicate and collaborate in real-time—and around the world—across text, voice, video, and documents. We can share massive files with a URL and access an unquantifiable amount of … The post Investing in Rewind appeared first on Andreessen Horowitz. Today’s digital workplace moves faster than at any point in history.
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Simon Says: Have “The Talk” with your parents
Entrepreneurs' Organization
AUGUST 25, 2021
You also need to know who are the executors, trustees, and beneficiaries of all your parents’ legal documents. Financial arrangements, including but not limited to: bank accounts, investment portfolio information, properties, LLCs or partnerships, safe deposits boxes. a broker/dealer (Member SIPC) and registered investment advisor.
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How to Make Sense of the PPP Loan Program for VC-Backed Startups
Both Sides of the Table
APRIL 6, 2020
So to be clear, if a company owns 8% of your company but has negative blocking rights as outlined above in the NVCA guidelines, you are ineligible for the program unless you modify your legal governing documents. How do I amend my legal documents so that the Affiliate Rule doesn’t stop me from applying for a loan? don’t apply.
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Good To Go: When You Have Enough to Move Forward
The Seraf Compass
JULY 13, 2022
There are a million reasons not to invest in any given startup. The diligence process tends to document all of the warts in one place. So why do people invest in startups? Even in the best case, there will be unanswered questions, missing pieces, missing team members, projected losses and uncertainty all around.
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The Pros and Cons of Rando Rich People Investing in Your Startup
This is going to be BIG.
JANUARY 18, 2024
These are people that didn’t make their money through a tech startup or startup investing. Not only will it cost you multiples more than average in legal fees to get this deal done, but you might wind up with some gnarly documents with terms that prevent other investors from wanting to come in. I’m not talking about active angels.
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The Uber that Never Was
This is going to be BIG.
MAY 13, 2019
Instead, we got one of the most lucrative startup investments of all time from a company built off of a legion of drivers unable to make a living wage after expenses, without benefits, and not even classified as employees even when they work for the company for full time hours.
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Is Going for Rapid Growth Always Good? Aren’t Startups So Much More?
Both Sides of the Table
SEPTEMBER 22, 2012
LPs (the people who invest in VC funds) want to know what “hot” deals you’re in. In a pool of 25-30 investments in a VC fund the goal is to have 2-3 huge outliers. Our partners have invested in more than dozen companies that became worth more than a billion dollars and that has disproportionately drive returns.
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Why you should never have a data room — the most counter-intuitive fund-raising advice you’ll ever…
Both Sides of the Table
MAY 19, 2018
Or if you’re a VC raising from LPs you have to list all of your deals, your investment value, your carrying value, your multiples, your IRRs, TVPIs, DPIs, etc along with net cashflows plus your previous LPAs. These collective sets of documents form the basis of what somebody looking at investing would call “financial due diligence.”
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Investing in Ideogram
Andreessen Horowitz
FEBRUARY 28, 2024
Each of the many documents, presentations, missives, notes, and posts we do in the course of our days would likely be more effective — and certainly more enjoyable to receive — if they were aesthetically interesting. Unfortunately, not all of us either have the time or acumen to engage deeply in creative work.
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Important Updates for Startups on the PPP and the CARES Act
Dream It
APRIL 7, 2020
For VC-backed companies, where the investments are more likely to be minority stakes, then you look at the investor’s blocking rights (e.g. Circumstance one: go through your documents and take out statements like, “fund x can block, lead investor can block” and go to majority vote. That will help focus the amendments you’re proposing.
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Ben Franklin Technology Partners Sparks Innovation with Six Strategic Investments!
Ben Franklin Technology Partners
DECEMBER 12, 2023
In a recent board meeting, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central and Northern PA (Ben Franklin CNP) proudly unveiled its latest investments in six exceptional tech enterprises situated in central and northern Pennsylvania, totaling $725,000. The post Ben Franklin Technology Partners Sparks Innovation with Six Strategic Investments!
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Net Health Acquires Tissue Analytics
Dream It
MAY 14, 2020
Silversmith invested additional equity to support the acquisition of Tissue Analytics. Clinicians will be able to capture and seamlessly upload wound images and other documentation, including automated measurements, to the WoundExpert platform. "In About Tissue Analytics Tissue Analytics, Inc. Tissue Analytics, Inc.
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I Know Everybody Told You to Send Your Fund-Raising Decks as a Link.
Both Sides of the Table
MAY 14, 2018
Here’s Why You Should Just Send the Deck I know you have your document sending tool to send your fund-raising deck to VCs and track who read your deck, which pages they read and how much time they spend on each page. Because I invest in “ lines, not dots ” it’s actually the delta that I’m investing in.
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Why You Shouldn’t Be Fooled by Your Own Expertise
Both Sides of the Table
MAY 21, 2017
Since I had built 2 document management companies I knew all the reasons why building a document management company would “never work.” Aaron was very impressive and had I not had so much “experience” in documents perhaps I would have backed him but my narrative fallacy got in the way.
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The Corrosive Downside of Acquihires
Both Sides of the Table
MAY 13, 2013
If you give $2 million for 20% of a company ($8 million pre + $2 million investment = $10 million post-money valuation) that has no product and no customers and it turns around 3 months later and sells for $5 million it would hardly be fair for investor to get $1 million back (20% of the proceeds). Acquihires and Venture Capital.
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The Truth About Convertible Debt at Startups and The Hidden Terms You Didn’t Understand
Both Sides of the Table
SEPTEMBER 5, 2012
If I could persuade you that they’re already in these documents would you consider abandoning this structure? Those terms you fought so hard to get out of “clean term sheets” by using TheFunded, VentureHacks and the like are in your current documents. That’s right. Investors call Bull Cap. Enter “the cap.”
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Investing in Prepared
Andreessen Horowitz
NOVEMBER 1, 2023
That’s why we are so proud to invest in Prepared. It also provides real-time translation in more than 140 languages and AI transcription of calls so that operators can seamlessly communicate with the caller while documenting the most important information.
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Columbus-based Tribevest bags $3M for its collaborative investing platform
TechCrunch
JANUARY 25, 2022
The brothers had dreams of finding their own financial freedom through investing in real estate, but didn’t have enough individual capital to go into business alone. “On It also offers tools including a business ledger for groups to track their investment performance. .
D’Amelio family launches VC fund 444 Capital to invest up to $25M in high-growth startups
TechCrunch
MARCH 4, 2022
The D’Amelio family, including TikTok stars and digital creators Charli D’Amelio and sister Dixie , are formalizing their investments in startups with the launch of a new VC fund, 444 Capital. But many of Tandem’s LPs have returned to invest in 444 Capital. Image Credits: Step.
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20 Years of Investing in Startups
Paul G. Silva
JUNE 14, 2023
From 2003-2022 the River Valley Investors operated as a traditional angel group, investing in nearly 100 startups. For posterity, here are some of the more recent investments… 2022 Hubly Surgical Hubly Surgical has an advanced drill, complete with auto-stop and visual feedback, to make medical drilling safe across underserved settings.
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Bridge Loans
A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC
AUGUST 8, 2022
If the bridge documents do not specify anything in this situation, the noteholders will only get their money back, plus interest, in a sale. The ideal discount is between 10% and 20% and so the time frame for the various discounts should be set with that in mind. I like somewhere between 2x and 3x depending on the circumstances.
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The Pre-Board Board: How to Create Accountability Before You Give Away a Board Seat
This is going to be BIG.
JULY 25, 2022
The structure of the meeting should follow some kind of document. When you actually start to get some angels or small funds invested in either an angel or pre-seed round, you might choose the most useful person from the previous three to keep going as an advisor or start fresh. How many is too many, for example?
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337 How to Know When to Sell vs. When to Market to Customers
Both Sides of the Table
JULY 9, 2013
I know it sounds trite but believe me when I tell you most people are afraid to ask direct questions like, “who holds the budget to invest in a solution like ours?” So the simplest rule in sales is … ask! ” or “what is your financial approval authority?” It is not unspeakable.
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Why You Don’t Want to Give Financial Information to All of Your Investors
Both Sides of the Table
NOVEMBER 9, 2014
Generally speaking in venture capital financings the legal documents will specify that only “major investors” (a threshold set in the agreement – which can be $500,000 investor or more). We led an investment round in a company a while ago in which we wrote a seven-figure check and have taken a board seat.
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Drone imagery firm DroneBase rebrands to Zeitview, lands $55M investment
TechCrunch
FEBRUARY 7, 2023
According to one source , VC investments in drone companies reached $7 billion in 2021 across 199 deals, up from $2.4 As the report notes, aerial photography plays a “major,” very timely role in documenting the effects of climate change, protecting resources and — optimistically — reducing emissions, among many others.
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The Biggest Reason Most Sales Campaigns Don’t Close
Both Sides of the Table
JUNE 23, 2013
If you’ve done a good job in the sales process you’ve already written out a needs document in which your wrote out what you believe the customer problems are with specific examples. Often the business case is made in an ROI format – a high-level spreadsheet that outlines the return on investment.
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Google’s third bet from its Africa Investment Fund is in logistics company Lori Systems
TechCrunch
AUGUST 16, 2022
This undisclosed investment is Google’s third from the $50 million Africa Investment Fund targeted at the continent’s early- and growth-stage startups, which the company CEO Sundar Pichai announced last October. The fund is part of Google’s plan to invest $1 billion in “tech-led initiatives” over the next five years.
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Lean and Mean: How to Boost Startup Growth on a Shoestring Budget
Entrepreneurs' Organization
JULY 19, 2024
A lean approach eliminates wasted resources by validating your idea before heavy investments. This roadmap, or strategic plan, doesn’t have to be an elaborate or intimidating document that ends up unused. Here’s the core idea: Live Lean: Each dollar conserved is an additional dollar you can invest in your startup’s development.
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Are you heading toward burnout?
Entrepreneurs' Organization
JULY 29, 2020
Take time to journal and document the source of your stress. It’s best to invest time before you reach that breaking point. . Seek to identify any stressors that are causing negative emotions. Write it down. Once you know there is an issue, write down your thoughts. You must seek it out.
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How early should you connect to a VC? Here's some data.
This is going to be BIG.
JUNE 16, 2014
Theoretically, someone could meet you, sign your document, and write you a check for deposit that day, but that''s not how it usually works. I went back across the 21 investments I''ve made both at First Round and at Brooklyn Bridge Ventures --a period that dates back to January 28, 2010, when I closed on Backupify.
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417 Entrepreneur’s Don’t Think Enough. Here’s What You Can Do About It …
Both Sides of the Table
NOVEMBER 20, 2012
This can be your star Chief Architect who loves to code but hates having to handle the admin like testing, documentation, recruiting, etc. and it forced me to spend some serious time thinking about what I really look for when I make investments. Secretly, you love that you know she couldn’t do her job effective without you.
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Smile Identity expands African footprint with acquisition of Appruve to strengthen ID verification services
TechCrunch
APRIL 26, 2023
On the other hand, Appruve, which provides an API that verifies user identity, fraud detection and digital documentation, primarily focuses on new datasets that enable or complement traditional government data such as international passports and national IDs.
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The Constitution for Your New Fund: Strategy, Culture, Decision-Making, Budget, and Data
David Teten VC
FEBRUARY 17, 2025
Partner, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP; Chair, Orricks Private Investment Funds Group.) If you are launching your own investment management firm, we recommend designing a constitution: a set of documents covering the firms goals, legal obligations, and principles for handling disagreement. Hellman, Esq.,
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The 7 options for family offices to invest in technology companies
David Teten VC
MARCH 8, 2022
An ever-growing number of family offices want to invest into private tech companies. Generically, I recommend either invest in funds or build the competency to go direct. But I also invested in a number of VC funds in parallel. Invest in VC funds (or funds of funds) exclusively. But how should they go about it?
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105 What to Make of Amazon’s Work Practices?
Both Sides of the Table
AUGUST 17, 2015
Try working at Goldman Sachs, the exceptionally successful investment bank where its employees regularly work evenings and weekends and travel at a moment’s notice to client meetings in far corners of the country or world. You travel at the pleasure of your boss.
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