Silicon Valley Bank 2017 fundraising and startup outlook

One of the reasons we bank with Silicon Valley Bank is their consistent outreach to entrepreneurs here in Silicon Valley. I see SVB guys like Liam Fairbairn everywhere!

Today I drove down to Palo Alto from our office in San Francisco to hear a presentation on "2017 Fundraising & Startup Outlook - Navigating the Market."

The event featured Lior Zorea and James Jensen, Partners at Perkins Coie. Lior did a majority of the presentation. The room was overflowing with entrepreneurs. Pretty cool to see.

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The session addressed what entrepreneurs should know about the current landscape of seed and venture financing. It also provided insights into how to navigate through the complex and challenging process of fund raising. Like their previous events, it was an interactive discussion format.

Silicon Valley Bank 2017 Fundraising and Startup Outlook - My Takeaways

• 0.25 - 0.5% equity for advisors in pre Series A round.
• Convertible notes usually $100K - $1.5M. Consider equity round if raising more than that.
• $50-$75K legal fees typically for Series A.
• Vet your investors.
• SAFE's as common as convertible notes now (in the Valley).
• Safe's stripped away the debt and interest provisions from a convertible note.
• SAFE's most friendly to founders.
• Seed stage still very active.
• Series A deals still in a crunch.

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  Packed house at SVB