1. CEO’s Roles & Responsibilities
o General
§ What is the general role of the CEO
§ How does a CEO differ from other positions
§ Leadership vs. management
o Sales
§ How to get a sales process off the ground
§ How to grow a sales organization
§ REVENUE! REVENUE! REVENUE!
· Determining your runway
§ Fundraising
· Communicating before during and after
§ Managing burn
§ Operating without a CFO
§ Dealing with investors
o Board of Directors
§ Selection of Board members
§ Running Board Meetings
§ Communication with the Board
§ Having the Board work for you
o Plus More…(Legal, Culture, Innovation…)
2. The Deal – Understanding Terms and Conditions and Financing Options
o Definition of terms in the term sheet
o Basic elements of the term sheet
o Funding alternatives – Pro and Con
o Negotiable items
o When to sign and when to walk away
3. Due Diligence and You
o Keys to successful outcome
o Importance of preparation for making the process speedy
o Twenty essential questions . . . you need to answer . . . well
o The secret to doing thorough reference checks
4. Accounting – Setting up Books and Financial Projections
o The Basics
o Financial Projections
§ Bottom up approach versus top down
§ Validating your assumptions
§ Avoiding the hockey puck revenue growth syndrome
§ Cash Flow
o Determining Valuation of the company
o Raising Funds Alternatives
§ Convertible Note
§ Equity
5. Protecting Intellectual Property
o General Intellectual Properties Issues for Founders
o Specific Issues for Trade Secrets, Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights
o Strategic Issues
o Protecting Intellectual Property through Agreements
6. Sales & Marketing
o Unfair Competitive Advantage of your product and/or service
o Competitive Comparison
o Sales and Marketing Strategies
o Getting Traction
§ Betas
§ Customers
§ Revenue
§ Sales Pipeline
7. Avoiding Incorporation, Formation and Compensation Pitfalls and Land-mines
o Choice of Law
§Delaware vs. California
§Governing law for different disputes
o Founders' stake in the Company
§ Financial and tax effects of the transfers into the Company
§ Reporting requirements and documentation
§ Vesting schedules for founders' shares
o Equity and Deferred Compensation
§ Valuation
§ Option plans and timing
§ Rule 409A and deferred compensation
§ Sweat equity and structures that compensate for sweat equity
o Key Employment Documents and Structured Concerns
§ Employment agreements
§ Independent contractors versus employees
§ Stock Options versus Stock Grants versus restricted stock
§ 83b
o Documenting the Employee Relationship and Compensation Employees
§ Offer letter and at-will employment relationship
§ Exempt versus Non-Exempt
8. Valuations & Exit Strategies
o How to determine valuation of company at a set point in time
o When to determine valuation of the company
o Consequences of setting valuation incorrectly
o Exit Strategies
§ Projected timeframe and ROI
§ Evaluating Exit Options
§ Resources Available to Evaluate and Execute Exit Strategies
9. The Pitch
o Problem being solved or need being addressed
o Intellectual Property (IP) you have that addresses the problem or need
o Management Team’s track record
o Projected revenue over 3 to 5 years
o Anticipated Exit Strategy and Return on Investment
o Mock Drills