Fundraising and equity

https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/fundraising
Last changed: 2026-11-14. Dates track content changes, not independent source checks.

• Venture capital

  Concept

  Money that professional investment firms put into young companies in exchange for equity.

• Non-dilutive funding

  Concept

  Money a company receives without giving up any ownership.

• Equity

  Concept

  Ownership in a company.

• Grant

  Concept

  Money given for a stated purpose that does not have to be repaid and does not buy any ownership.

• Pitch deck

  Concept

  A short slide presentation that explains your business to investors: the problem, your solution…

• Small business loan

  Concept

  Money a business borrows and must repay with interest.

• Board of directors

  Concept

  The group that a corporation's shareholders elect to oversee the company.

• C-corp

  Concept

  C corporation.

• Pre-seed

  Concept

  The earliest outside money a startup raises, often before the product is finished or has customers.

• SAFE

  Concept

  Simple agreement for future equity.

• Seed

  Concept

  An early round of funding that helps a startup go from a first product to a business that shows…

• Due diligence

  Concept

  The checking an investor or buyer does before committing money: reviewing your finances, legal…

• Series A

  Concept

  Usually the first larger funding round led by a venture capital firm, where investors buy shares…

• Stock options

  Concept

  The right to buy shares in the company later at a price that is set today.

• Valuation

  Concept

  What the company is agreed to be worth for the purpose of an investment.

• EIN

  Concept

  Employer Identification Number.

• Exit

  Concept

  The moment when founders and investors can turn their shares into cash.

• Lead investor

  Concept

  The investor who negotiates the terms of a round with the founders and usually puts in the largest…

• Vesting

  Concept

  Earning your shares bit by bit over time instead of all at once.

• Advisor shares

  Concept

  A small amount of equity a startup gives an advisor in return for ongoing help, usually as stock…

• Angel investor

  Concept

  An individual who invests their own money in a very young company, usually in exchange for equity…

• Bootstrapping

  Concept

  Building a company with your own savings and the money customers pay you, instead of money from…

• Cap table

  Concept

  Short for capitalization table.

• CDFI

  Concept

  Short for community development financial institution.

• LLC

  Concept

  Limited liability company.

• Priced round

  Concept

  A fundraising round where investors buy shares at a set price per share, which fixes the valuation…

• Term sheet

  Concept

  A short document that lays out the main terms of a proposed investment, such as the amount, the…

• 83(b) election

  Concept

  A notice sent to the US tax agency, the IRS, by a person who receives stock that vests over time.

• Accredited investor

  Concept

  A person or organization that meets tests set by the US securities regulator, the SEC, based on…

• Data room

  Concept

  An organized online folder of a company's key documents, shared privately with investors or buyers…

• Dilution

  Concept

  When the company creates new shares, each existing owner's percentage gets smaller, even though…

• Incorporation in Delaware

  Concept

  Forming a company as a corporation under the law of the state of Delaware.

• Cliff

  Concept

  The first stretch of a vesting schedule, during which nothing vests.

• Fiduciary duty

  Concept

  A legal duty to act in someone else's best interest and not your own.

• Limited partner

  Concept

  An investor who puts money into a venture fund.

• Non-provisional patent

  Concept

  The full US patent application that the patent office actually examines.

• Option pool

  Concept

  A block of shares a company sets aside to grant to future employees, advisors and contractors…

• Trade secret

  Concept

  Valuable business information, such as a formula, algorithm or process, that is protected by…

• 409A valuation

  Concept

  An independent appraisal of what one share of a private company's common stock is worth.

• Angel group

  Concept

  A group of angel investors who hear startup pitches together.

• Capital gains

  Concept

  The profit from selling an asset, such as stock or property, for more than it cost.

• Convertible note

  Concept

  A loan from an investor that is meant to turn into shares later instead of being paid back in cash.

• Liquidation preference

  Concept

  A term that sets who gets paid first, and how much, when a company is sold or shut down.

• Opportunity zone

  Concept

  A designated low-income area in the US where investors can put money through special funds and…

• Preferred stock vs common stock

  Concept

  The two main kinds of shares in a startup.

• Private equity

  Concept

  Investment firms that buy stakes in, or all of, established private companies, usually aiming to…

• Pro rata rights

  Concept

  An investor's right to buy enough shares in a later round to keep the same percentage of the…

• S-corp

  Concept

  A corporation that has chosen a US tax status in which profits and losses pass through to the…

• Notice of allowance

  Concept

  A notice from the patent or trademark office that an application has been approved, pending final…

• Office action

  Concept

  A letter from a patent or trademark examiner explaining problems with an application, often…

• Prior art

  Concept

  Anything public before a patent was filed, such as earlier patents, papers or products, that shows…

• Valuation cap

  Concept

  A term in a SAFE or convertible note that sets the highest valuation used to work out how many…