Venture Capital | A View from the Valley

Perspectives on issues affecting founders, startups and investors from a veteran startup lawyer in Silicon Valley

Category Archives: Venture Capital

Temporary Exclusion of 100% of Gain on Investments made in Qualified Small Business Stock

posted Oct 22 in Angel Investors, Venture Capital

UPDATE TO BELOW: On December 17, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 which included, among other things, an extension of the tax benefit discussed below for all of 2011. For a summary of the tax law changes, please review the following Dorsey & Whitney…

Don’t blow up your Series A term sheet by over-optimizing terms

posted Mar 31 in Negotiating, Startups, Term Sheets, Venture Capital

Let’s say you’re a first-time entrepreneur and you’ve hit on an idea that is getting some traction and attracting the attention of VCs. You do some research online to familiarize yourself with customary terms and finally get a term sheet from a reputable VC at a valuation you think is fair. Next comes the fun…

Obama Administration doubles down on startups

posted Feb 10 in Venture Capital

In May of 2009, I wrote an article about the Obama Administration’s proposal to eliminate capital gains taxes on certain qualified small business stock. I have pasted a copy of that article below for those interested in the technical aspects. I was very happy to see in the President’s recent State of the Union Address…