Rudy, a founder in fund-raising mode, received a verbal term sheet. A what? Heidi informs Rudy that there is no such thing as a verbal term sheet and flags all the other issues with the investor’s offer. In this episode, Heidi resets Rudy’s expectations of what is involved in the fund-raising process, including the time it will take to properly diligence investors.

 More information: https://www.threshold.vc/podcast/the-case-of-the-verbal-term-sheet

Further Reading:

• Here’s a great piece about whether Term Sheets are legally binding, and what happens to your reputation if you renege on one.
• Term sheets are typically non-binding in that neither side is obligated to close the deal. But what is usually binding is confidentiality and exclusivity: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/are-term-sheets-really-nonbinding-1765649/
• Y Combinator has a great piece on seed fundraising, which goes into detail about debt versus equity here: https://www.ycombinator.com/library/4A-a-guide-to-seed-fundraising
• Here’s a good post on SAFEs versus convertible notes: https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/safe-vs-convertible-note
• And, finally, seed-stage investor Chris Neumann on how to diligence a VC: https://chrisneumann.com/archives/how-to-diligence-a-vc