Templates and resources
The documents you will be asked for.
Free to download and yours to edit. Nothing here is legal advice.
Seed. The first round where numbers get examined. Expect questions about retention, unit economics and the cap table, and expect a data room rather than a deck and a phone call.
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20 resources
Setting up the company
- Intellectual property assignmentThe most common fatal finding in diligence is that the company does not own its own product. Who has to sign, what it must cover, and the agency clause to read twice.PDF · Sign in to download · Idea, Prototype, Pre-seed, Seed
- Shareholders agreement checklistReserved matters, pre-emption, drag and tag, liquidation preference and leaver terms. What the document has to cover, so you brief a lawyer in one meeting instead of three.DOCX · Sign in to download · Pre-seed, Seed
- Customer terms and privacy policyTwo documents that must exist the day somebody other than you can sign up, and the parts that have to be true rather than only written.DOCX · Sign in to download · Prototype, Pre-seed, Seed
- Cap table starterFounders, an option pool and convertibles, with the fully diluted maths laid out. The number an investor will assume you mean.XLSX · Sign in to download · Pre-seed, Seed
Equity and people
- Offer letter with an equity promiseHow to word a grant you cannot make yet. Writing a percentage with nothing else is the promise that becomes a dispute.PDF · Sign in to download · Idea, Prototype, Pre-seed, Seed
- Equity incentive planThe master document that creates the option pool and the rules every grant runs on. How to size it from the hiring plan rather than from a convention.PDF · Sign in to download · Pre-seed, Seed
- Stock option grant paperworkGrant agreement, notice of grant and exercise notice, plus which option type each person can receive and why it depends on status rather than seniority.PDF · Sign in to download · Pre-seed, Seed, Series A
- Option grant registerOne row per grant, with the valuation it was priced against and the date. A register rebuilt from emails eighteen months later is how share counts stop matching the cap table.XLSX · Sign in to download · Pre-seed, Seed, Series A, Series B+
- Employment paperwork checklistWhat every employee and every contractor must have signed, and the status question that is assessed on how the work actually happens rather than on what the contract calls it.DOCX · Sign in to download · Seed, Series A
Raising
- Pitch deck outlineTen to twelve slides in the order investors expect them, and a note on which number gets quoted in the partner meeting you are not in.DOCX · Sign in to download · Pre-seed, Seed, Series A
- Financial modelThree to five years driven off one assumptions sheet, with a downside case. Nobody believes month 47. They believe you understand what drives month 6.XLSX · Sign in to download · Seed, Series A, Series B+
- SAFEs and convertible notesRaising without setting a valuation, and the terms that decide what you actually gave away. Model the stack before you sign the next one.PDF · Sign in to download · Pre-seed, Seed
- Raise trackerEvery firm, the intro path and where each conversation stands. Built before you contact anybody, and run in parallel batches rather than in the order people reply.XLSX · Sign in to download · Pre-seed, Seed, Series A
- Data room checklistEvery document an investor asks for, the stage it should open at, and why they want it. The spine of a data room you can build before anybody requests anything.XLSX · Sign in to download · Every stage
- Diligence request trackerOne row per request, not one per investor. Records what was withheld and why, because a request you declined is a conversation you will have again.XLSX · Sign in to download · Seed, Series A, Series B+
- Investor rights agreementWhat an investor gets besides shares. Three or four clauses decide how much friction you take on, and information rights need a threshold.PDF · Sign in to download · Seed, Series A
- Term sheetMostly non-binding, and it decides almost everything. The four terms to read first, and the one binding clause that can actually hurt you.PDF · Sign in to download · Seed, Series A, Series B+
Running the company
- Metrics one-pagerThe numbers investors ask for, with a column for the definition you are using. Net revenue retention computed two ways is two different companies.XLSX · Sign in to download · Every stage
- Monthly investor updateThe ask first, the numbers in a table, and a section for what did not go well. Investors who hear only good news stop believing the good news.DOCX · Sign in to download · Every stage
- Board minutes and resolutionsWhat every set contains, which decisions must be minuted, and why you record the decision rather than the discussion.DOCX · Sign in to download · Seed, Series A, Series B+