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Fundraising, decoded.

Insights on seed-stage fundraising, VC meetings, and startup evaluation.

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Legal Due Diligence Checklist for Startups (2026)
David Rakusan ·

Legal Due Diligence Checklist for Startups (2026)

Legal due diligence is where investors confirm your startup actually owns its equity, its IP, and its contracts. Most founders meet it as a surprise when the term sheet is already signed and a missing contractor assignment stalls the round. This checklist walks through all nine workstreams counsel reviews, from Delaware incorporation and the 83(b) 30-day clock to 409A valuations and the IP assignments that kill the most deals, plus a pre-fundraise readiness routine and a quick-reference table.
legal due diligence startup legal checklist IP assignment 83(b) election 409A valuation cap table Delaware C corp fundraising seed round CIIA contractor agreements investor due diligence
Due Diligence for Angel Investors: What to Check Before You Write the Check
David Rakusan ·

Due Diligence for Angel Investors: What to Check Before You Write the Check

Angel due diligence is the work that tells you whether a startup is real before you wire money. The largest study of angel returns found investors who spent more than 20 hours on diligence earned 5.9 times their money, versus 1.1 times for those who spent less. Here is what to check before you write the check: founders, market, traction, terms, and references, and how an individual angel's process differs from an institutional fund's.
angel investing due diligence angel investor checklist startup investing seed stage, early-stage investing investor diligence cap table startup traction founder evaluation angel returns venture capital
Cap Table Management for Startups (Without Hiring a Lawyer)
David Rakusan ·

Cap Table Management for Startups (Without Hiring a Lawyer)

A clean cap table is a proof artifact. Investors read it during diligence to decide whether the founder ran a real ownership process. This guide walks through what belongs on a cap table, the math behind dilution, the four mistakes that cost founders the most equity, vesting and 83(b) basics, when to move off a spreadsheet to software, and the 10-item pre-fundraise checklist that closes rounds faster.
cap table cap table management startup equity founder dilution option pool 4-year vesting 83(b) election SAFE stacking Carta Pulley fundraising mechanics
Pre-Money vs Post-Money Valuation: What Founders Actually Sign in 2026
David Rakusan ·

Pre-Money vs Post-Money Valuation: What Founders Actually Sign in 2026

Pre-money is what the company is worth before new capital lands. Post-money is what it is worth after. The difference decides how much of your company you keep. This guide walks through the math, the SAFE switch that quietly transferred dilution risk from investors to founders, and what investors actually see when they read your cap table at the seed stage.
pre-money valuation post-money valuation SAFE notes cap table founder dilution seed round startup valuation fundraising mechanics convertible securities 2026 seed market
Convertible Note vs SAFE: What Founders Actually Sign in 2026
David Rakusan ·

Convertible Note vs SAFE: What Founders Actually Sign in 2026

In the United States, the SAFE has won pre-seed: 90 percent of deals on Carta in Q1 2025 used one. The convertible note still has five specific situations where it is the right instrument, including bridge rounds, European deals where SEIS or EIS relief is on the table, and conservative angels who want a maturity date. This guide walks through what each instrument actually encodes and gives founders a five-question decision framework.
SAFE convertible note pre-seed funding cap table QSBS SEIS EIS convertible loan note YC SAFE bridge round startup financing fundraising mechanics Section 1202
Due Diligence Checklist for Seed Stage Startups: The 2026 Standard
David Rakusan ·

Due Diligence Checklist for Seed Stage Startups: The 2026 Standard

The complete due diligence checklist a seed stage founder needs in 2026. Written by a founder with 7 years on the investor side, this guide breaks the seed checklist into seven proof areas, shows which items get reviewed pre-term-sheet versus post, and identifies the red flags that kill deals in the first hour of review. Backed by data from Carta, Cooley, DocSend, Kruze, and Y Combinator.
due diligence checklist seed stage fundraising startup data room VC due diligence seed round preparation fundraising checklist investor due diligence startup legal documents cap table SAFE notes founder guide seed stage proof
Startup Valuation at Seed Stage: How Investors Actually Decide What You Are Worth
David Rakusan ·

Startup Valuation at Seed Stage: How Investors Actually Decide What You Are Worth

The median seed pre-money valuation hit $16M in Q3 2025, up 14% year over year (Carta). The median post-money rose to $24M in Q4 2025. Behind those numbers sits a process most founders misread. Investors do not calculate valuation. They work backward from fund math and forward from proof. This guide explains the four valuation methods you will encounter, why decks lose pricing power, and how founders close at the top of their range.
seed valuation startup valuation venture capital pre-money valuation post-money valuation berkus method scorecard method seed funding dilution cap table fundraising 2026 founder ownership