What is the best way to raise money from angel investors?
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What is the best way to raise money from angel investors?
I am the co-founder of a tech product and me and my co-founder want to go and try to raise money from investors. We have a bit of traction but are unsure on what the best way to do this is.
Hello! My name is Dolan and thank you for trusting contractscounsel.com for your answers.
Do you have partners in this business? How much equity do you intend or want to give away?
It is only me and my co-founder and we have bootstrapped since we started. We split equity 50/50 right now and we haven't thought about how much we would want to give away.
We would likely want to give away as little as possible at this point.
Don't even know how we would assign a valuation to what we are doing either...
Do you have a financial goal in mind?
Do you mean how much money we want to raise?
We're looking to raise about 200k if we can.
But not really set in stone - but that would be our goal and would give us a year of runway.
Ok! Did you need to tell me anything else? If not, I can start with answering your question.
I've read about Y Combinator's SAFE notes and have also seen KISS notes. Not sure if those apply. I've also read about convertible notes.
Other than that, we are a bit clueless on where to start...so yeah, you can go ahead.
Ok! I just need a little time to draft up a high-quality answer. I'll be with you as soon as possible. It won't be terribly long, ok?
Sounds good.
One moment...
Congrats on this! Raising $200K from angel investors doesn’t have to be super complicated. Here’s the gist:
So what you have to do first is focus on networking. Go to startup events, pitch nights, or even connect on LinkedIn. A lot of angel investors are out there looking for solid startups—relationships are key. Next, it's all about the pitch. Show off your traction, explain the problem you’re solving, and how the $200K will help you grow. Keep it clear and confident because investors love a focused plan. I recommend having a "pitch deck." Every founder I've worked with has one as it helps summarize precisely what the problem is, the problem the company is solving, who is involved, and how they are solving the problem.
Specifically, check out platforms like AngelList or Gust. They’re great for connecting directly with angel investors who are actively searching for deals.
As far as the specific kind of investment, SAFE notes are basically "convertible notes." These are very founder-friendly because they allow you to take money without having to give away equity until you have some later, larger investment in the future. KISS notes are a bit different in that they can be based on equity or debt, but they are a little more flexible because they can be equity OR debt or some combination thereof. Does that help clarify things? I want to make sure I didn’t leave anything out.
Regarding SAFE notes, how do they work exactly? How can we take money without giving away equity?
Sure thing! SAFE stands for Simple Agreement for Future Equity. What happens is the investors give you money now and the investor gets equity in the future; not right now.
For example, they may give you $200K, but then the agreement might state that if you get an investment of $1MM or more at a later date, whatever the value is of the company is at that time will allow that money invested to convert into equity. So they would have no real equity until and unless you get a future, larger investment.
I see.
How much equity would they get if we raised $1M in the future?
So this depends on a variety of factors. For instance, you must have a valuation of your company at the time of investment and basically an estimated, future value of your company (called a "post-money valuation") to help determine what the value of your company MIGHT be at the time you get a larger investment. For many SAFEs, there is a safeguard that says that the investor will get whatever gives them more shares. For instance, if your company is worth LESS than what the estimated post-money valuation is at the time of the larger investment, then many clauses state that the investor will still be able to get shares based on the larger estimated post-money valuation.
So you set a theoretical valuation now and then the valuation of the shares will be determined at the next fundraise?
Do you draft SAFE notes for clients?
I think there is a template I can get online but I'm not sure of the terms.
And would want to make sure we filled it out the right way.
To your first question, yes! Valuations are all just estimates so to figure out how much you should get now, consider having a "pre-money valuation" and then you can agree with the investor on a "post-money valuation" to help figure out how much they should invest now and estimate how many shares they will get in the future.
To your second question, yes, I can draft SAFE note templates. I've worked with them many times and I can answer questions on any SAFE note agreements you may have.
Having a pre-made template is good, but please be careful. This is your business. It matters too much!
How much would you charge to help us fill it out or create a SAFE from scratch?
To draft from scratch, it'd be approximately $***.
OK. If we want to move forward with this, how can we hire you?
Could you send an invoice, etc.?
Sure thing! So we can do this in a few ways: 1. You can post a job on the contractscounsel.com website or 2. You can request me directly and I can set up the job. I recommend that you let me set up the job. I can set up the job, then the system emails you with the terms, pricing, etc. for you to review before you accept.
Once you accept, the system will ask for basic information from you and we can exchange payment and documents all through the site. Super easy!
Ok awesome. Go ahead and set up the project and we'll try to make payment ASAP.
For sure!
I want to ensure you feel completely satisfied with our conversation.
Were there any details I missed?
Did you have any concerns about this issue that still need to be addressed?
I'm happy to help.
No all good - just go ahead and set up the project and we can get started. Thank you!
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