WilmerHale Launch
«
  • Explore Toggle
    Toggle
    • Formation Toggle
    • Financing Toggle
    • IP Toggle
    • Expansion Toggle
    • Exit Toggle
    Toggle
    • Company Structure, Formation & Corporate Basics

      Learn about incorporating your business, non-competes, licensing your IP and decision-making processes

    • Founders

      Explore topics related to allocating equity, vesting terms, tax implications, IP ownership, compensation and employment agreements

    • The Team - Employees & Consultants

      Dive into employee compensation, hiring foreign employees and hiring before securing funding

    • Board of Directors & Advisors

      Find out about board membership and roles, and advisory board setup and compensation

    • Equity Incentives

      Understand vesting restrictions and terms, options and restricted stock, and tax differences between ISOs and NSOs

    Toggle
    • Raising Capital & Securing Funding

      Position your company for success with information on how to raise capital and secure funding from banks, VCs, friends and family

    • Types of Investors

      Learn about the differences between bank loans, foreign investors, crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, angels and VCs

    • Financing Terms & Structures

      Explore information related convertible debt, preferred stock term sheets and valuation caps on convertible notes

    Toggle
    • General

      Expand your understanding of IP ownership, terms of service and privacy policies, open source software and more

    • Patents

      Dig deep into information related to if and when to file, to the difference between provisional and utility patents

    • Trademarks

      Explore the best way to obtain a trademark and the difference between a domain name and a trademark

    • Trade Secrets

      Uncover little-known information related to NDAs and patent filings

    • Copyrights

      Read about copyright protection and how to register a copyright

    • Licensing

      Get up to speed on how to grant exclusivity to a reseller, OEM or distributer, license agreement terms, and licensing IP from a university or hospital

    Toggle
    • General Topics

      Time to grow? Learn about taking funds from a strategic investor and international expansion

    Toggle
    • Sale

      Explore how to prepare for due diligence, guidance on selling your business and hiring an investment banker

    • IPO

      Time to take your company public? Prepare your company properly

  • Meet Toggle
    Toggle
    • View All Team Members
  • Build Toggle
    Toggle
    • Startup Dictionary
    • Knowledge Navigator
    • Document Generator
    • Equity Calculator
    • Q&A Forum
  • Research Toggle
    Toggle
    • News & Publications
    • Events
    • Blog
    • Videos
  • Connect
Back To Videos

QuickLaunch University: What an investor looks for in a startup

It depends on the investor, stage and industry of the company, but it is usually a mix of team,product, market, idea and the founder's understanding of the business.


Not sure where to start?

Let our Knowledge Navigator direct you to content specific to where you are on your journey.

Get Started!

Rss Feed
  • TechCrunch Startups
  • VentureBeat
9.4.2025
Stripe enlists a who’s who, including Anthropic, OpenAI, and Paradigm, to build a new blockchain 
9.4.2025
AI logistics startup Augment, from Deliverr’s founder, raises massive $85M Series A 
9.4.2025
Sequoia’s Roelof Botha joins TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 for a 20th anniversary conversation on the future of venture 
8.29.2025
Software commands 40% of cybersecurity budgets as gen AI attacks execute in milliseconds 
8.29.2025
How Sakana AI’s new evolutionary algorithm builds powerful AI models without expensive retraining 
8.29.2025
How Intuit killed the chatbot crutch – and built an agentic AI playbook you can copy 

Connect With Us
The WilmerHale Difference

WilmerHale lawyers legal representation across a comprehensive range of practice areas that are critical to the success of emerging companies. We have helped thousands of entrepreneurs successfully launch their companies; raise billions in , venture and strategic financing; and guide their companies to market leadership through IPOs and M&A transactions. 

Visit WilmerHale.com

Request QuickLaunch Info


ASK A QUESTION

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR EMAIL

  • LinkedIn
  • X x-red-icon
  • RSS

© 2015-2025, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP

Attorney Advertising

  • Sitemap
  • Disclaimer
  • Media
  • Cookie Settings
  • Powered ByWilmerHale Launch

Loading...