Startup Lawyer
@mgorb79
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I’m Mike Gorback 👋 Startup Lawyer and Partner @klgates (ex-@hansonbridgett, ex-@wilsonsonsini). Angel Investor. Tweets do not = legal advice. 😁 DMs open.
Palo Alto, CA
Joined October 2013
Welcome to my new followers and all of you reaching out in my DMs! I tweet about SAFEs, SAFEs, SAFEs, other startup law stuff (incorporation, founder issues, equity and cap tables, M&A, technology agreements, etc), SAFEs, and the occasional SAFE. I love working with awesome.
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RT @PeterJ_Walker: Whether you like them or not, SAFEs continue to eat share in early-stage startup fundraising. Each year, more rounds ar….
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Excellent.
I've been talking a lot about the proposed reforms of Delaware corporate law, but it occurred to me today that a lot of people may not realize why Delaware law is even an issue anyone cares about outside of Delaware. I thought I'd write a few posts about the basics of this. 1/.
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This is correct.
Another reason a VC won't sign your NDA is because it would put an absurd legal weight on them. A VC reviews hundreds of pitches for companies that are similar to yours. That's the definition of their jobs. Signing a NDA with every company they meet would put an absurd legal.
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RT @PeterJ_Walker: How would you define a pre-seed round? . We do it by cash raised because that's the best metric we have (total dollars r….
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Solid advice here re SAFE stacking.
I am a VC and have made over 300 pre-seed investments. Stacking SAFES at different Cap rates can be a successful fundraising strategy for pre-seed, but there are a few things for founders to pay attention to. Here are the best and worst practices IMO. 🧵.
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RT @PeterJ_Walker: For anyone who is fundraising for a startup instead of Super Bowl watching - some fresh data from Q4 2024. Top two rows….
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RT @PeterJ_Walker: What percent of startups get from Seed to Series A?. Typical rate from 2017-2020: 30-35% in 2 years. For startups that….
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This. 👇.
Here’s a pro tip: If you’re about to break up with your cofounder, pause your fundraise. Not disclosing this to potential investors is both material and dishonest. This behavior will 100% come back to bite you.
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RT @StephNass: Seed stage is not an opinion. You should have an MVP with actual users. There should be revenue, say $20k+ per month. The….
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RT @ItsMattsLaw: You: living your life. Me: frantically watching the CTA die and come back to life every few days.
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For those keeping score in the CTA saga, first, the CTA required that most businesses (with limited exceptions) formed prior to Jan. 1, 2024 file a Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) report by Dec. 31. THEN, a federal district court in Texas enjoined enforcement of the
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RT @PeterJ_Walker: No one is catching Silicon Valley - and that's okay. Looked at all priced round venture fundraising by US Carta startup….
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In 20+ years working with startups and founders, I’ve never had to deal with as many founder disputes/breakups in a six month period as I have in the last six months. I could write a book. Is it something in the air? Election angst? Anybody else seeing this??
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RT @PeterJ_Walker: The current state of Series A. It's not all AI! But it is a lot of AI. Current funding trend points to about flat from….
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This right here. 👇.
When raising pre-seed, be as "vanilla" as possible: . - No weird corporate structure.- No 10-year company history.- No complex IP ownership.- No exotic terms or instruments. Make your case easy to read. VCs don't have the time nor the desire to understand why you're special.
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Founders: I continue to see folks offering advisors way too much equity. I know that 2-3% may not *seem* like much in the early days, but trust me, it adds up quick. And when the expectation is literally 1-2 hours per week, as it often is with advisors, there is no justification.
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Had an amazing time hosting 50+ founders in our SF office at @KLGates tonight. Thank you @dyakobovitch and @cellwood for organizing such a great event!.
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Best part about working with Australian lawyers and VCs: they always seem to drop into the conversation where they’re surfing later. 🤙.
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