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While term sheets are typically labeled as "nonbinding," most do in fact adhere legal obligations to your company. This blog post explores certain specific terms in term sheets that will create legally binding obligations.

In August 2020, the SEC adopted amendments to the definition of “accredited investor” that will expand participation in certain securities offerings including those conducted under Rules 506(b) and 506(c) of Regulation D, Regulation Crowdfunding, and Regulation A.

Many entrepreneurs consider growing their business in hot startup markets on the east and west coasts for easy access to investors and other experts in the startup community—specifically in tech hubs like Silicon Valley, New York and Boston. However, in today’s connected world, does location still matter?

A trend in 2017 was the general increase in corporate venture capital, which grew to more than $37.4 billion, with a substantial increase in the total number of deals from the previous year. However, the corporate VC often comes with a catch. 

In 2017, VC investing focused on certain hot sectors. Artificial intelligence was all the rage with more than $5 billion invested. Cybersecurity also continued to be a popular area with a 40% increase from the prior year to more than $3.6 billion invested. Fintech, as a broad category, saw increasing investment with $6.5 billion invested and genomics funding grew by 142% last year to $2.5 billion. Here are key takeaways from our recent QuickLaunch University webinar on the hot sectors VC investors are watching in 2018.

During our January QuickLaunch University webinar, we were joined by three leading venture capital investors to discuss trends and themes in VC funding and what to expect in 2018. The panel discussion included insight on industries to watch, early-stage investing and corporate VCs.

Initial coin offerings or similar types of sales of virtual-based coins and tokens, are quickly becoming an important fundraising tool for many early-stage companies. Last month, our QuickLaunch University webinar series focused on initial coin offerings and recent developments for startups. Here are five key takeaways.

WilmerHale Partners Jason Kropp and Jeff Stein discussed how early-stage companies should prepare for the fundraising process. They were joined by Jere Doyle, managing director at Sigma Prime Ventures and investor and advisor to dozens of technology startups. Here are several important areas of focus for startups thinking about raising a seed round.

When you need cash to fuel your startup, it’s tempting to "think local." The people with the strongest ties to you—relatives, friends, college roommates, running buddies and co-workers—are the ones who believe in you. You’d probably turn first to them for financial support. Capital fronted by these folks might be the quickest, easiest cash you’ll ever collect—but you could end up paying a crippling price for it.

Fewer companies are successfully raising Series A rounds, but those that do are raising more money. If you are planning to raise money in 2017, here are a few things you should start doing now to improve your chances of success.

You’ve just received your first venture capital term sheet. Congratulations—you’ve earned it. Now what does it all mean? “Pre-money valuation,” “liquidation preference,” “pro-rata participation rights”? A seasoned venture capitalist (in this post, a VC or investor) has seen and invoked these concepts hundreds, if not thousands, of times. You? Maybe not so much.

While there are several types of instruments and investment documents in the fundraising stage, and more options coming to light regularly, it can become a challenge to determine which one is right for you and your startup. In the third and final part of this three-part blog series, we look at a new seed-stage investing tool, Simple Agreement for Future Equity (Safe).

It is typical that founders often start seeing more expenses once they hit the fundraising stage. There is an increasing number of types of instruments and investment documents, making it challenging to determine which one is the best option. In the second part of this three-part blog series, we look at Series Seed.

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. But founders may start seeing more expenses when they hit the fundraising process, some of which come from legal fees. Fortunately for entrepreneurs, several lawyers and investors have tried to cut down these expenses by providing standard documents for seed-stage investing. Unfortunately for entrepreneurs, as more and more new types of instruments and investment documents are introduced, it becomes difficult to distinguish between them or even understand which one is the best option. In the first part of this three-part blog series, we look at convertible debt.

This is the third and final portion of our three-part blog post series exploring Regulation Crowdfunding and its provisions. The final rules are expected to become effective on May 16, 2016. The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), as directed by Congress under the JOBS Act of 2012, recently adopted final rules to permit equity “crowdfunding,” characterized by the SEC as “a relatively new and evolving method of using the Internet to raise capital to support a wide range of ideas and ventures.” “Regulation Crowdfunding,” as the final rules have become known, were published in the Federal Register on November 16, 2015.