Glossary001
SAFE
A Simple Agreement for Future Equity. An investor wires capital today in exchange for the right to shares in the company's next priced round. No interest, no maturity date, no debt.
Read full article on AngelList →Education Center005 · FIELD GUIDE
A field guide for founders
and the capital that backs them.
Two collections. The venture capital glossary — every term a founder needs to read a term sheet without a lawyer at their elbow. And running a startup — the operating realities of building from zero. Curated by Turab, with full reads at AngelList.
022 entries
IndexA → Z
VC Glossary · 12
Running a Startup · 10
Glossary002
Convertible Note
Short-term debt that converts to equity at the next qualifying financing. Carries interest and a maturity date — closer to a loan than a SAFE.
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Cap Table
The ledger of who owns what. Lists every shareholder, option holder, SAFE and note — and the percentage each represents on a fully diluted basis.
Read full article on AngelList →Glossary004
Pre-Money vs Post-Money Valuation
Pre-money is what the company is worth before new capital comes in. Post-money is pre-money plus the new investment. The difference determines exactly how much of the company the new money buys.
Read full article on AngelList →Glossary005
Dilution
Every new share issued shrinks the percentage held by existing owners. Healthy companies dilute over time because the price per share keeps rising.
Read full article on AngelList →Glossary006
Liquidation Preference
The order in which investors get paid in an exit. A 1x non-participating preference means an investor either takes their money back or converts to common — never both.
Read full article on AngelList →Glossary007
Pro Rata Rights
The contractual right to maintain ownership percentage by participating in future rounds. The single most valuable line item an early investor can negotiate.
Read full article on AngelList →Glossary008
Term Sheet
A non-binding outline of the economic and control terms of a financing. The real negotiation happens here — definitive documents just paper what was already agreed.
Read full article on AngelList →Glossary009
Vesting & Cliffs
Equity earned over time. Standard founder and employee schedules are four years with a one-year cliff — nothing vests until month twelve, then monthly thereafter.
Read full article on AngelList →Glossary010
Carried Interest
The GP's share of fund profits, traditionally 20%. Aligns the manager with LPs — the bigger the returns, the bigger the carry.
Read full article on AngelList →Glossary011
Burn Rate & Runway
Burn is monthly net cash out the door. Runway is cash on hand divided by burn — the number of months before the company must raise, profit, or close.
Read full article on AngelList →Glossary012
ARR & MRR
Recurring revenue annualised (ARR) or by month (MRR). The single number SaaS investors anchor valuation to.
Read full article on AngelList →Operator013
Choosing Your Co-Founders
The most consequential hiring decision a founder ever makes. Look for complementary skills, shared values under pressure, and a history of finishing things together — not just chemistry on weekends.
Read full article on AngelList →Operator014
Splitting Founder Equity
Equal splits are tempting and often wrong. Weight for commitment, risk taken, original idea contribution, and forward expected contribution — and write everything into a vesting agreement.
Read full article on AngelList →Operator015
Making Your First Ten Hires
The first ten hires set the cultural genome of the company. Bias for generalists who can do three jobs today and grow into one of them tomorrow.
Read full article on AngelList →Operator016
Finding Product-Market Fit
You don't reason your way to PMF — you feel it. Customers start pulling product out of your hands, usage compounds without paid acquisition, and the team can't onboard fast enough.
Read full article on AngelList →Operator017
Pitching Venture Capitalists
Lead with the insight, not the deck. Investors back founders who have seen something the rest of the market hasn't — and can prove they're the right people to act on it.
Read full article on AngelList →Operator018
Fundraising Rounds Explained
Pre-seed funds the prototype, seed funds the search for PMF, Series A funds the engine of scale, B and beyond fund category dominance. Raise for the next 18 months, not the lifetime of the company.
Read full article on AngelList →Operator019
Running a Board
Boards are a forcing function for clarity. Send the read-ahead 48 hours early, use the meeting for decisions you cannot make alone, and never surprise a director.
Read full article on AngelList →Operator020
Issuing Employee Stock Options
Options are how startups out-compete incumbents on compensation. Set up an option pool, get a 409A valuation, and explain to every hire what strike price and vesting actually mean.
Read full article on AngelList →Operator021
Incorporating Your Startup
Most venture-backed companies incorporate as a Delaware C-corp. Pick the entity that lets you take outside capital, issue options, and exit cleanly — not the one with the lowest filing fee.
Read full article on AngelList →Operator022
The Metrics That Actually Matter
Revenue, growth rate, gross margin, retention, payback. If a metric doesn't move a decision this quarter, it's vanity — kill it from the dashboard.
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