Angels Asking For Control

Occassionally, a startup will get a term sheet from an angel with a pre-money valuation less than the investment amount (i.e., the angel wants control of the startup). And “control” isn’t just defined as a majority of the shares of the company — if the angel asks for approval of

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The Convertible Note Discount and Price Cap

If you follow this blog, you know that I think convertible debt is a good structure for a startup’s angel round. The main feature of the convertible note is that the debt investment made by the angel investor will typically later convert into equity. For this article, let’s assume this

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Selling Your Startup with Convertible Debt

I previously mentioned that convertible debt is a good way to raise capital for most startups. The main reason why convertible debt is beneficial for startups is that it delays coming up with a valuation figure at the seed stage–the valuation conundrum is essentially punted to the Series A (or

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Making Dallas the City of Angels

I could use more palm trees here in Dallas and while I’m at it a Togo’s. However, the “City of Angels” reference in this post’s title is about bridging the gap between entrepreneurs and angel investors rather than going “Under the Bridge.” The startup ecosystem in Dallas is discombobulated if

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