"how to maximize your potential to attract us capital" by john bautista

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Private and Confidential Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP John V. Bautista (Silicon Valley) and Ben Cichostepski (Paris) May 4, 2015 How to maximize your potential to attract US capital

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Page 1: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

Private and ConfidentialOrrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

John V. Bautista (Silicon Valley) and Ben Cichostepski (Paris)

May 4, 2015

How to maximize your potential to attract US capital

Page 2: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

Prototyping Product or Service

Building Team

Seeking Capital

Working with Advisors

Where are you now?

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Page 3: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

Delaware

• Going global quickly

• Investors will be US or French investors who can invest in Delaware companies

• Advantages: Access to more capital ($)

Ease of Company sale

Avoid Cost and Time needed for Flip

Set up SAS as wholly-owned subsidiary for French employees

Required for YC, not required for 500 Startups or others

Easy to set up: Clerky.com

• Disadvantages: May close the door to certain investors

Setting up the Company - Delaware or French SAS?

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Page 4: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

French SAS

• Initial focus is European market (customers and employees)

• Smaller capital requirements

• Seeking local investors, government grants and loans

• Expand in US by setting up a wholly-owned Delaware subsidiary to employee US sales and marketing

Setting up the Company - Delaware or French SAS?

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Page 5: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

• Incorporate Delaware company – French citizens can be directors and officers

• “Flip” is the exchange (contribution) of French shares for Delaware shares

» Ownership ratios don’t change but usually we do a stock split (Usually 10 million shares for 1,000 shares,)

» Ordinary Shares become Common Stock, usually subject to vesting

» Preferred Shares become Series A Preferred Stock with standard preferred rights

» Set up Preferred Stock Financing Documents (IRA, Voting and ROFR/Cosale)

» French subsidiary remains a wholly-owned or controlled company

» Set up US Option plan for employees globally with subplan for French employees

» Intellectual Property

– French employees assign IP to French company

– US employees assign IP to Delaware company

Flip Process

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Page 6: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

• Exchange Agreement – for stockholders who will not incur tax now

» Individual founders or their holding companies - Case by case analysis Tax filing necessary for founders’ holdings.

» French VC’s who are structured as investment funds (FCPI, FPCI)

» Most other US and international VC’s

• Deferred Exchange Agreement – for stockholders who would incur tax, but sale is deferred until (i) stockholder elects to Flip, (ii) IPO or (iii) Company sale.

– Founder retirement accounts (PEA’s)

– French VC’s who are not FCPI or FPCI or which have investment restrictions

• Term Sheet – Important that all constituents agree before implementing

Flip Process

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Page 7: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

• Convertible Notes

• SAFEs and KISSs

• Series Seed Preferred Stock

• Crowfunding (Kickstarter and AngelList)

Financing Trends

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Page 8: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

• Historically the most common way to raise seed capital

• Converts automatically at Preferred financing at fixed valuation cap, discount or both

• Rolling closings at any time, amount and valuation

• Limitations:

» Term usually does not exceed 1 year (Lender laws)

» Repayment risk on maturity date

» Interest rate

» Phantom liquidation preference

» Debt on balance sheet

Financing Trends – Convertible Notes

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Page 9: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

• Co-Authored with Y Combinator and Launched in March 2014 (500 Startups created the KISS)

• Over $200M raised to date for YC companies, some $5M per company, and average is $1M per company

• Converts automatically at Preferred Stock financing at fixed valuation cap, discount or both

• Rolling closings at any time, amount and valuation

• No matury date(a SAFE is equity) and no phantom liquidation preference

• Investors have pro rata rights equal to Series A investors (regardless of investment size)

• See sample term sheet

Financing Trends – SAFEs(Simple Agreement for Equity)

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Page 10: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

• Pro Rata or Participation Rights in Series A financing

• Most Favored Nations (MFN) provisions

• Information Rights

• Issuance of Common Stock (Sweetener) for Advisors

Financing Trends – Side Letters

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Page 11: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

• Usually requires a Lead Investor

• Limitations:

» Costly Negotiation of Preferred terms, including board composition,, price per share, size of employee stock pool, founder vesting, and other standard investor rights

» Conversion of existing convertible securities

» More investor due diligence

» Less flexibility on different prices per share/valuations

» Higher legal transaction costs

» Sets precedent for future Preferred terms

Financing Trends – Seed Preferred

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Page 12: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

• Partner with incubators: The Family, YC, 500 Startups

• Practice your 30 second pitch for networking with Angels: Angels “flock” together

• Angels are usually people you know

• Ron Conway (SV Angel) – Super Angel

• AngelList and Kickstarter

• Minimize number of investors

• All investors need to be accredited - $200k in income in last 3 years ($300k with spouse) or $1M in assets (excluding house)

• Usually $500k - $1M and avoid more than 15% dilution

Process to Raising Seed Capital

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Page 13: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

– Leverage your peers and publically available info

– Meet VC’s at networking events

– Sector and stage fit with VC’s

– Find your best intro (such as successful entrepreneur who has made money for the VC or who is Founder of successful portfolio company)

– Maintain momentum – keep investor updated with good news throughout process

Process to Raising Venture Capital –Engaging Investors

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Page 14: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

Inbound Introductions (mostly via email)

• Business plans are increasing by ~50% year-over-year.

• ~300 new investment opportunities per month. An active VC firm makes 1 investment per month.

Behind the Scenes – Inbound Introductions

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Page 15: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

What Happens When You Send A Pitch to a VC

Behind the Scenes – What Happens When You Send a Pitch Deck to a VC

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E-Mail toVC

Page 16: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

• Common reasons for passing without a meeting

» Too early: No product or customers

» Market: outside of VC’s sector focus / area of interest

» History: raised a lot of money, went nowhere, needs a recap

• Common reasons for passing after one meeting

» Team: “CEO” is not a CEO, team doesn’t inspire confidence

» Deal terms: unrealistic raise amount/valuation relative to traction

» Competition: company is too far behind a set of well-funded competitors

» Market: Market is too small to build a $100MM company

Behind the Scenes – Why investors pass?

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Page 17: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

• Common reasons for passing in diligence

» Financial: high churn (loss of customers)

inconsistent sales, plan is fiction

» Tech: product instability, technical risk

» Background: management references don’t look good

Behind the Scenes – Why investors pass? (Cont’d)

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Page 18: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

• How to get investors’ attention » Repeat entrepreneur – built successful company before with high quality

team

» Early traction and growth

– $100k/month in revenue for software company

– $200kk/month for a commerce company

– 1M+ users for consumer web business

– Fast growth

» Low Paid-in Capital

– Thoughtful approach to fundraising, not “take all you can get”

– Seed round at normal valuation, views investors as partners

» Big market with few incumbants

Process to Raising Venture Capital – Company Status

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Page 19: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

• Manage timeline to receive term sheets from multiple investors

» Do not disclose identity of investors to each other

» First term sheet creates lots of leverage for future negotiations

• Model Tem Sheet: Decide in advance the terms that are most important to you

» Get quality advice (lawyers, advisors, other founders), and those who know the VC’s you are talking to

» VC’s will first propose terms orally – set their expectations

• Continue focus on building your business

Process to Raising Venture Capital – After Initial Engagement

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Page 20: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

• Not understanding valuation (how it is calculated)

• Getting caught in the weeds (missing the big picture)

• Getting star-struck by a big name, focus on the VC partner who will be your board member

• Not looking down the road (Series A as a precedent for future rounds)

• Not respecting the process (relationship with potential investors)

Process to Raising Venture Capital –Common Mistakes

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Page 21: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

• Pre-Money and Post-Money Valuation

• Control (Board and Stockholder)

• Exit Mechanics

• Founder Restrictions

Process to Raising Venture Capital – Key Terms

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Page 22: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

• Capital Needed - Next 12-18 months or until next major milestone

» Series A are usually $5M in new capital

• Each VC will want at least 20% ownership

• Series A stock pool size ranges from 8-15%

• 15% dilution (on average) associated with earlier Seed investors

• Result = Founders as a group usually own 50% of the company after Series A

Process to Raising Venture Capital – Key Terms - Valuation

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Page 23: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

• At Board level (implemented through Voting Agreement)

» 3 members (2 founders and 1 investor)

» 5 members (2 founders, 2 investors and 1 independent nominated by founders)

» Investor representative will have veto power on certain matters

• At Stockholder level (implemented through Restated Certificate of Incorporation)

» majority or supermajority votes and class votes are better than series votes

» Preferred Stock veto power on Company sale, next round financing, debt

» Pro Rata Rights – right to maintain percentage ownership in next round

Process to Raising Venture Capital – Key Terms - Control

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Page 24: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

• Most sales are merger transactions instead of shares sales

• Drag- Along provisions – to prevent minority stockholders from blocking a Company sale and achieve 95% consent to Company sale

• Preferred Stock liquidation preference – 1X non-participating preferred versus fully participating preferred

Process to Raising Venture Capital – Key Terms – Exit Mechanics

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Page 25: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

The Term Sheet – Exit Mechanics

Liquidation: 1x, non-participating

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Page 26: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

The Term Sheet – Exit Mechanics

Liquidation: 1x, Fully-Participating

26* Additional examples attached.

Page 27: "How to maximize your potential to attract US capital" by John Bautista

• Reverse vesting of Founder shares (push for double trigger acceleration of vesting on termination in connection with Company sale)

• Right of First Refusal and Co-Sale Rights on Founder liquidity with de minimums exceptions (10-15%)

• Secondary transactions where Founders sell shares to investors

• No Founder representations should be made to the VC’s

Process to Raising Venture Capital – Key Terms – Founder Restrictions

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Questions?

John Bautista : [email protected]

Benjamin Cichostepski : [email protected]

Process to Raising Venture Capital

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