Don'T Accept Your First Offer
TheFunded.com Advice
Posted by Mr. Smith on 2008-04-28
This advice is applicable in most negotiations, but it is particularly important to heed in venture capital: don't accept your first offer.
Venture capitalists are betting that they can pressure you to take the terms that they offer, and there are countless stories told by venture capitalists about how they duped CEOs with below-market valuations, excessive control provisions, and aggressive economic terms. I have heard venture capitalists laugh out loud when mentioning a company name and sat on a call where a VC actually whispered the pre-money valuation that was below $1 MM, referring to it as "unbelievable."
Practically speaking, why would any venture capitalist make you a good offer in the first pass of terms? If anything, they will make the lowest reasonable offer and then aggressively pressure you to take it with only minor changes. The good news is that, once a venture capitalist has decided to invest, you now have the negotiating leverage.
Members, read on for some very specific advice…
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