Class Overview

The closing of the first Institutional Venture Capital investment in a start-up company is a seminal event on the lifetime of the company. The investment which is most often structured as an issuance and sale by the company of Series A Preferred Stock involves significant economic and corporate governance issues. Founders are usually presented for the first time with terms and issues they haven’t faced before, like valuation, liquidation preference, independent board and others. Each such investment is memorialized by several agreements that have far reaching consequences and present a precedent for future funding rounds. The presentation by Alex Kaplun attempts to demystify such transaction by translating the words into the economic and financial terms in a manner that would allow you to understand your perspective when negotiating the future of your company.