Over the past decade, I’ve worked with hundreds of early-stage entrepreneurs to help them move from concept to scale. In that time, we’ve been legal counsel to startups in various industries from food to fashion and ed tech to e-commerce. I’ve learned a lot about raising capital along the way. My goal here is to share that experience with you in this ultimate guide to the seed round.
If you’re picking up this guide, it’s a really exciting time in the life of your startup. You’ve built something that’s working, and you’re looking to grow it. Most entrepreneurs never even make it to this point. Way to go!
Since your seed round is often the first time your company will take a direct equity investment, it’s important to understand the structure and mechanics of the deal. Investment speak can sometimes feel like a foreign language, which is especially daunting for first-time entrepreneurs. Not to worry. I’ll translate for you, and in the process, I’ll help you move from confusion to clarity.
This guide will walk you through the Series Seed term sheet point-by-point. You can read the whole thing sequentially, or just skip to the section that is relevant to you. My goal is not to be comprehensive here, so this is not legal advice. Rather the goal is to give you the base-level understanding so that you can have an informed conversation with your counsel and investors.
Sincerely,
Kyle Westaway
Managing Partner, Westaway
