TL;DR: When an investor or acquirer’s legal team runs due diligence, they aren’t just scanning for red flags, they are pricing risk into every clause that creates uncertainty, liability, or operational restriction. Five specific clause types account for a disproportionate share of the valuation haircuts, deal delays, and collapsed term sheets founders encounter: broken assignability, […]
Category Archives: Funding & Investment
23
Feb
Feb
TL;DR: A SAFE and a convertible note both let an early-stage company raise money without setting a valuation today, but they are structurally different instruments. A SAFE is not debt: no interest, no maturity date, no repayment obligation. A convertible note is a debt instrument: it accrues interest and carries a maturity date that forces […]
04
Apr
Apr
TL;DR: A SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) is a financing instrument, created by Y Combinator in 2013, that gives an investor the right to equity in the future when a triggering event occurs, typically a priced funding round, without setting a valuation today. It is not debt: no interest, no maturity date, no repayment […]
26
Jan
Jan
TL;DR: An investor agreement is a legal document that records the terms on which an investor puts money into a company: how much, at what valuation or conversion terms, what rights the investor gets, and what protections apply to both sides. In India in 2026 it most commonly takes one of four forms: a SAFE […]