Guides
Process guides
These guides cover the process of raising a round rather than the instruments themselves: who to approach and in what order, what to put in a data room, what investors check and which problems most often slow a deal, and what happens between a signed term sheet and money in the bank. Each one is written for founders raising from pre-seed to Series A, with checklists you can work from. Legal points describe U.S. practice unless a guide says otherwise; for the terms themselves, see the glossary and the term sheet guide.
Process guide Building your investor list
Who invests at each stage, how to judge fit before the first meeting, where to find public information, and how to track and sequence the conversations.
Process guide The data room
A checklist of the documents investors ask for at seed and Series A, how to organize and control access to them, and what to hold back early.
Process guide Due diligence
What investors review at each stage, the problems that most often delay or kill an early round, and a checklist for fixing them before you start raising.
Process guide Closing a round
What happens between a signed term sheet and money in the bank, the documents involved, and the filings and records that follow a close.
Process guide · United States US securities law for founders
Selling a SAFE, a note or shares is a securities offering that needs an exemption. Here are the federal rules founders rely on, the filings they trigger and the mistakes that cause trouble later.