An option pool is an amount of a startup’s common stock reserved for future issuances to employees, directors, advisors, and consultants. The option pool is created pursuant to a written plan in order to satisfy Rule 701 which provides a registration exemption from Section 5 the 1933 Securities Act. Via
I’ve always been skeptical of the “you have to be in the Valley” to be a successful startup. Well here’s some potential ammo for those of you being pressured into moving, whether from Dallas to Boston, or Rancho Cucamonga to the Valley: Non-local investments made by venture capital firms based
The liquidation preference is the amount that must be paid to the preferred stock holders before distributions may be made to common stock holders. The liquidation preference is payable on either a liquidation of the company, asset sale, merger, consolidation or any other reorganization resulting in the change of control
I just found out from Altgate.com that Wilson Sonsini has launched a “Term Sheet Generator.” Here is WSGR’s description of the free tool: This tool will generate a venture financing term sheet based on your responses to an online questionnaire. It also has an informational component, with basic tutorials and
Heck no. Your lawyer should not get a contingent finder’s fee for introducing you to investors or potential acquirers. I think taking a finder’s fee would be a greater conflict than sitting on your startup’s board of directors. I’ve always felt introductions, whether to an accountant, potential co-founder, or investor
I blogged about the rumors in the past, but Google made it official yesterday and announced the launch of their own venture capital fund. Reports are that Google will commit about $100MM to the fund. According to their blog post, they plan on investing in other sectors than just Internet
It is bound to happen eventually, right? A venture-backed company will break the drought and find an exit via IPO. Well, OpenTable filed with the SEC and is looking to raise up to $40MM in an initial public offering. If successful, OpenTable will be the first venture-backed IPO in several
TechCrunch just posted some charts regarding the utter lack of venture-backed exits in 2008. In summary, 2008 saw 6 venture-backed IPOs (down 93% ) and 260 merger & acquisition deals (down 27%). And as you might expect, the prospects aren’t that great for 2009. So what does this mean for
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[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBJRH9gJ3QA&hl 285 234]
