VW Blog Funding & Capital Raising

A client, who had already raised some money and thus had a few people on his cap table, came in recently with a term sheet whereby the prospective investor had requested “anti-dilution” protection. If you’re not familiar with anti-dilution, it […]

Vesting is the process whereby a recipient of equity earns the equity, or the right to purchase it in the case of options, over time. As I mentioned in my last post, the typical schedule is 4 years with a 1-year cliff. […]

One of the biggest mistakes that startups make is failing to place vesting conditions on founders’ equity. Here’s an example: Two founders, Adam and Blake, are working on their startup, and everything is butterflies and rainbows. They have a great […]

A common mistake that I see aspiring entrepreneurs make all too often is failing to find anyone who will challenge their idea. I addressed this in my review of Silicon Valley S3, Ep7. Affirmation from loved ones is often a […]

Back in the day, like, the early aughts, it was widely believed that you needed a 20 to 40-page business plan and 40-80 hours to create it. The business plan was a written record and forecast of your idea, replete […]

If a blockchain technology company is considering conducting an initial coin offering (“ICO”) or token sale, the question the company needs to answer is whether it needs to register the token sale with the SEC? The answer depends on whether […]

Clients regularly ask a variation of the above question, replacing advisor with CTO, COO, sales manager, front-end engineer, etc. It’s a great question. And one with varying answers and consequences depending on a company’s lifecycle stage. As a founder, one must understand that a company who has completed a late-stage financing round (Series A, Series B, etc.) can’t dispense equity like a fledgling startup can. Why not?

In December of 2015, we released a three-year audit of early stage venture deals facilitated by VW and felt that the data was an indicator of early-stage financing trends and the good health of the venture industry in DFW. We’ve just […]

One of the biggest frustrations we hear from our clients about the capital raise process is that VCs are non-responsive or unwilling to make a firm investment decision. To help with this, I reached out to several VCs whom we see on a regular basis to ask for their input.

Not taking securities laws into account prior to the start of your offering can create a dark cloud over your otherwise bright, sun-shiny raise.