Should You Add a Co-Founder?

Having a co-founder dilutes your equity and authority. When does adding a co-founder add more value than hiring an executive with similar skills? Understanding the unique role a co-founder plays can help you determine if and when you need one.

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Navigating a Deal before You Sign a Term Sheet

How do you assess the offer and navigate a term sheet, ensure you’re getting the best terms, prevent critical misunderstandings, and optimize your level of control and cash upon exit? HBS faculty, serial entrepreneurs and investors identified 3 different angles from which you need to examine terms.

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Common Terms & Their Implications

Most VCs have standard expectations about equity, control, and governance. Having a solid understanding of common terms—and their consequences—at the outset may help you in negotiating.

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Common Funding Mistakes when Scaling

Many founders conflate raising a significant amount of venture capital or getting a high valuation as validation of their current business model. But as you scale, past behaviors stop working effectively and often processes are strained and break. How do you avoid the most common scaling mistakes?

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How to Build a Great Pitch that Hooks Investors

It’s easy to find templates, checklists, and techniques that promise to improve your pitch. But even the majority of good pitches fail to raise venture capital. What drives investors’ interest? How do VCs make decisions? How can you turn your pitch into a great one that has investors eager to hear more about your startup?

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Reasons to Write a Formal Founders’ Agreement

Research shows that establishing a founders’ agreement prematurely often generates founder conflict—a leading cause of startup death. Can writing a founders’ agreement help you mitigate future conflicts and save your business? Before you rush into an agreement, understand the underlying mechanics and learn how to customize them to strengthen your co-founder relationship.

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