Vesting on founder shares (yes, even if you already own them).
Drag-along and tag-along rights.
Pro-rata and pre-emption rights.
Information and inspection rights.
“Founders negotiate the valuation. Lawyers negotiate everything that matters after the round closes.”
— Brad Feld, co-founder of Foundry Group, author of Venture Deals
A clean term sheet under £5m is rarely worth £30k of legal back-and-forth. But a 2× participating preference quietly converts your £20m exit into a founder pay-out of zero. Spend the time on the eight clauses above and accept the market position on the rest.
Stress-test a term sheet in Startup Grower before you sign.
