Posted by Bill Payne on March 26th, 2013
A couple of years ago, Paul Graham (Y Combinator) tweeted “Convertible notes have won. Every investment so far in this YC batch (and there have been a lot) has been done on a convertible note.”
The truth is convertible debt has not won. Many sophisticated angel investors and angel groups refuse to invest in convertible debt in seed/startup deals. Why?
Posted by Antone Johnson on October 15th, 2012
An impromptu Twitter debate arose among Fred Wilson, Dave McClure, Mark Suster, Chris Dixon and others about convertible debt, priced equity rounds, and the nuances of early stage financing. It was such a good discussion that Fred asked that someone Storify it. I’ve done that here and expanded it with some additional references, background info and light commentary.
http://storify.com/antonejohnson/convertible-debt-priced-equity-rounds-and-timing
Posted by David S. Rose on September 6th, 2012
Let’s start by understanding that because we are talking about something called “Convertible Debt”, it means that whatever it is will start out as one thing, and potentially convert (or “change”) into something else. In this case, what the investor receives in exchange for his or her cash starts out as debt, and potentially converts into equity.
Debt is a
Posted by Antone Johnson on September 5th, 2012
How to finance a new seed-stage startup? Equity? Convertible debt? Convertible equity?
As of August 2010, Paul Graham famously proclaimed, “Convertible notes have won. Every investment so far in this YC batch (and there have been a lot) has been done on a convertible note.” Yet in my little corner of Wonksville, Founder Institute CEO Adeo Ressi and Yoichiro “Yokum”
Posted by Antone Johnson on October 12th, 2011
Last week, we took the plunge and began dissecting an example term sheet for a convertible debt financing round piece by piece. I’ll continue with more specific terms and wrap up next week with some thoughts about recent changes and trends for the future. Readers may find it helpful to download the sample term sheet from my firm’s website and
Posted by Antone Johnson on October 5th, 2011
Last week, we gave some attention to the “why” behind convertible note financing for early stage startups. In this installment, I’ll dig into the “how” by dissecting an example term sheet based on a real deal. For those playing at home, you may find it helpful to download the sample term sheet from my firm’s website and follow along with
Posted by Antone Johnson on September 29th, 2011
The most successful serial entrepreneurs in the world may found three or four, perhaps even eight or ten venture-backed startups over the course of their careers. By contrast, venture capitalists and angel investors typically make scores or even hundreds of investments over the course of their careers. It should therefore come as no surprise that an asymmetry of information exists,
