The passing of the JOBS Act created much fanfare, especially given the relaxation of the securities laws with respect to the use of "general solicitations." Notwithstanding the excitement from the blogosphere, the revised rules also come with some hidden costs that make using a “general solicitation” in fundraising less attractive.
Between January and November 2013, more than $531 billion was raised to launch new startup ventures in the United States. But, how much startup funding really comes from VC’s and angel investors? Very little in comparison to the amount of money that most founders invest in their own business.
We recently represented Andreessen Horowitz as lead investor in a $25 Million Series B financing for Coinbase. This represents the largest investment to date in a Bitcoin company and is also significant in that Andreessen Horowitz is among a handful of the most elite VCs in the market.
Lawyers will tell you it’s important to incorporate your company as soon as you possibly can to avoid personal liability and to settle all outstanding matters among the founders. That’s good advice, but the place to start is with a Term Sheet for the incorporation.
The market for initial public offerings continues to heat up. Once your company has selected the managing underwriters for the offering and wants to begin the IPO process in earnest, an organizational meeting with management, the underwriters, counsel and possibly the auditors will be scheduled.
In a prior Founder Tip of the Week we discussed how the Internal Revenue Code (the “Tax Code”) characterizes unvested founder stock as not being purchased until it has vested, and that this characterization can have adverse tax consequences for the founder because the Tax Code treats as taxable income the excess, if any, of the fair market value of stock at the time it vests over the purchase price of the stock (the “spread”).
Founders and executives of mature private companies often underestimate the complexity and lead time of the initial public offering process. The right timing is crucial for a successful IPO so it is critical to be ready to go when the company’s results and capital market windows align.
On September 23, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules permitting general solicitation and advertising of private securities offerings pursuant to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (JOBS Act) went into effect.
Perkins Coie’s startupPerColator is kicking off a series to help founders contemplating an initial public offering, or an “IPO,” prepare for this extensive and often complex milestone in the life of their company. An IPO, is the result of a great deal of effort, coordination of resources and resolution of myriad legal and business issues. Below are a few tips on how to start preparing your company today.
Coming up with the right valuation for your company in the beginning can be very tricky. Simply put, valuation is the value of your company. In the early stages of formation the value of your company is most likely close to zero.
