In the world of early stage investing, there exists a range of structures from the most founder friendly to the most investor friendly. The most investor-friendly structure involves some type of a priced round in which...more
Startups have been raising money using the Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) since it was first introduced by Y Combinator in 2013. The advent of the SAFE has fundamentally changed the speed and simplicity of...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
In our current economic environment, you would have to be hiding in a cave not to see, hear and feel valuations sliding downwards across the eco-system. It started in January 2022 when large-cap, mid-cap and then smaller-cap...more
Raising money for a company is challenging. It can be even more challenging if you haven’t been through the process before and don’t know what decisions you need to make. In this article, we will lay out ten different...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
On August 18, 2017, China’s State Council issued guidelines clarifying rules passed a year ago by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) limiting outbound investments as cover-up to move money out of China....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
Starting a company has never been easier. Technology solutions for payroll, accounting, cloud computing and payment systems have made it much cheaper to take care of the back end. ...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
New SAFE cross-border security rules will ease restrictions on offshore bond offerings and other offshore financings by Chinese companies. Introduction – On May 19, 2014, China’s State Administration of Foreign...more