The Case of the Radical Recap

Simone is a founder in a challenging situation. The only financing she can raise comes with a catch – she needs to do a recap. Heidi reviews how Simone landed in this position, what a recap entails, and the best path forward for the company and investors.

 More information: https://www.threshold.vc/podcast/the-case-of-the-radical-recap

Further Reading: 

• This is an excellent four-part series for entrepreneurs that explains how to navigate down rounds and recaps by Eric Ashman, highly recommended! https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/navigating-funding-roadblocks-intro-down-rounds-recaps-eric-ashman
• A great summary of the legal pitfalls and best practices for a cram down financing from the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher: https://www.gibsondunn.com/wp-content/uploads/documents/publications/Weirick-Wortmann-Stephens-Barinsky-DownRoundFinancings.pdf
• From the great Bill Gurley of Benchmark, a comprehensive tome about recaps and other forms of “the party is over” financings. He wrote it in 2016, but it is just as relevant today: https://abovethecrowd.com/2016/04/21/on-the-road-to-recap
• Here’s an interesting take from Joanne Wilson, an early-stage angel investor, on a recap of a seed company, with additional commentary by Brad Feld, my old partner and dear friend. It covers the danger of too many note financings and also talks about the people/reputation/relationship aspects of recapping a seed stage deal: https://gothamgal.com/2015/07/recapping-a-round 
• And here’s another interesting take from my fellow Stanford Lecturer and amazing entrepreneur Steve Blank about why recaps/cram downs are a bad idea. I don’t 100% agree with him, but I think his position is excellent food for thought: https://steveblank.com/2022/04/26/cram-down-a-test-of-character-for-vcs-and-founders