Startups continue to have an increasingly international presence (or, at the very least, an international plan), and investors continue to scour the globe for investment opportunities. ...more
Last month, a startup’s Series A nearly fell apart when investors and founders realized their different calculation methods produced a $750,000 variance. The culprit was not deception or bad faith, but rather a complex...more
One common problem of early-stage ventures is the difficulty in determining a company valuation when recruiting capital from investors. This problem derives from the tension between entrepreneurs’ desire for a high valuation...more
The convertible debt market has remained remarkably stable over the last 15 months, despite considerable economic uncertainty related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fenwick’s latest Convertible Debt Terms – Survey of Market Trends...more
Letter from the Editors - Words are very powerful and the language we use often frames a discussion. For example, the term “shareholder activist” sounds like a consumer friendly person who has everyone’s best interests at...more
After years of increasing acceptance of and reliance on convertible note financings as a mechanism for funding early-stage companies, we have noted a clear emerging trend away from such transactions (and others like them,...more
Overview - In late 2013, startup accelerator Y Combinator unveiled its Simple Agreement for Future Equity (“SAFE”) investment instrument as an alternative to convertible debt. While SAFE templates appeared in...more