It's a Thursday rant! Startup Founders, it's REALLY important to have a good lawyer in your court. When I say good, I don't mean your chacha's (uncle) cousin's sister. That is NOT a good lawyer (I mean maybe, but probably not). It means someone who is familiar with startup transactions, has worked on SHAs and SSAs, is familiar with terms that are standard across documents and knows EXACTLY what really matters for Founders. Especially when you're negotiating at Early Stage (Seed-Series A), you must understand. The SHA will evolve. It will change. Unless you never raise another round post Seed, you're going to have another 4-5 SHAs in your life. Worrying about the exact scenario of an IPO or which Statutory Auditor to pick is nitpicking and will drag your transaction on for months. Founders, PLEASE. Venture Deals, spectacular book, you MUST read it. Familiarize yourself with the terms that matter. Have those discussions with me, I'm happy to work on those so that we're both happy. I've seen folks delete the Representations and Warranties section. I've seen folks question the entire concept of Founder Vesting. At SEED!! I have written an entire guide on term sheets. Link in comments. If you know what you need to negotiate on, SHA/SSA negotiations can be done in a week. If you don't, can take two months. That's another two months before Capital is in your bank. Before you can use it to grow. Hours and hours of Founder time spent in the most mind numbing back and forth instead of building. Firms/folks I recommend. Shivaarti Bajaj & Varun Bajaj. Akshit Goyal. Mohit Goel. Siddharth Chandrashekhar. ^Views are personal #venturecapital #rant #law #funding #fundraising
Absolutely. Another issue worth highlighting to Founders, and more often to CXOs, is that your legal counsel, whether in-house or external, is not your enemy. We understand that sometimes our asks might require the founders to initiate difficult conversations with existing stakeholders, but the sooner those niggles are ironed out, the better. Pushing the important conversation for later will only worsen it for all parties involved, especially if these are internal decisions being made right before raising funds.
100% facts! Founders, legal & compliance aren’t just “paperwork”-they’re make-or-break for your startup’s future. Too many early-stage teams get stuck in endless back-and-forth because they don’t know what truly matters in SHAs & SSAs. That’s why we’re bringing legal & compliance support into Vertx- so founders can focus on building while we simplify the fundraising chaos. No more unnecessary delays, no more blind spots. Get funded, stay compliant, and scale faster.
I think I would hire Doglapan lawyer.. oooppppsss I mean Mr.Asheer Grocer's lawyer.. but won't He be expensive 🙄.. Mr.Avik Ashar 😁....
As a VC lawyer turned founder, couldn’t agree more Avik. I feel grateful to have worked with amazing mentors and would like to share some learnings: 1. Whenever drafting an SSA/SHA, it is best to draft a neutral agreement to avoid multiple negotiation calls and delays (yes, industry standard practice exists) 2. As founders, know that certain rights are pertinent to an early stage investor which are not worth fighting for (seed/Series-A) i.e, vesting, transfer restrictions, liq pref. 3. Overlooking or under-estimating warranties schedule. Make sure there’s a split b/w fundamental, business and tax warranties. Draw carve outs wherever necessary. 4. It’s crucial that your lawyer is thorough with your business, share all information with them no matter how small or irrelevant you may think it is. 5. Procedural aspects of exit rights at seed series stage doesn’t matter- it’s not worth fighting over. 6. Make sure to have prudent and practical timelines for (notices, cp/cs, etc) Also, have worked with Akshit Goyal in the past and can vouch for him!
Great example, makes sense
Venture Deals best recommendation
Remember me too, bro :) Haha 😎
Bang on, Avik. It is critical to have a lawyer who is familiar with startup transaction. The SHA is the company’s governing document, so we ensure founders not only protect their interests and understand what they’re signing up for but also don’t waste time negotiating market-standard terms (as you mentioned) like reps & warranties, vesting, etc.
Can’t stress this enough. Nothing is a standard template in market. You make your own standard :) Get a lawyer folks.
Principal @ Riverwalk Holdings | Family Office Gateway to Indian Alternatives | TiE CM
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