In reading my last post, one may start to think on why either method may be more or less desirable to an entrepreneur seeking to raise cash.
Why a Note?
It is Cheap.
Early stage startups typically have little cash to spend. Closing a Note allows them to bring in money in the cheapest possible way. Preferred Equity will cost them 10 to 20 times more.
It is Fast
Often startups need cash as fast as possible to fund short term operations. A Note closing can be accomplished in as little as two days.
It is Unsecured
For early stage startups, every Note I’ve seen has been unsecured. If the company goes under, there is no obligation to pay the Note holders back. It could be secured by assets, but generally for early stage startups it is not. Why would you get paid back with 1/10 of a PC?
Maximum Flexibility
In the case of early stage startups, we talk most often about a Convertible Note which Note holders want to convert to some version of stock in the company. Depending on how vague the language of conversion is, a startup could convert the Note holders to common stock, to Preferred Equity, or even to the terms of another Note. There is the potential for maximum flexibility on the part of the company as, in theory, it could convert to anything if they word it right. Another aspect of flexibility comes in next financings. For instance, with a Note, valuation for the company has not been set yet so there is freedom to adjust. It also means there are no preferred shareholders and could be more attractive to certain large investors who want more control in the company.
It is Low risk
The Note holder often has an interest in helping the company and getting in on the ground floor, and they can be generous with the payback period and the terms. Assuming the company either gets to a place of generating money or raising more, a Note of this type can be paid off prior to the due date, or converted to preferred in the financing, in which case the Note turns into equity and expunges the debt.
Why not a Note?
Not many reasons to not use a Note first, from the company perspective.
It misaligns helpful investors with the company.
The startup may have some investors whose contacts you want to leverage, or who are actively giving you help. By executing a Note, the startup creates a situation where the investor is not incentivized to help the company. If the company grows in value, and since Note holders don’t have actual ownership in the company yet, then Note holders gain smaller share of the company when the Note converts. Helpful Note holders want to help, but they will see their potential stake in the company if they help drive the valuation of the company upwards.
But read on for some thoughts on Preferred Equity.
Why Preferred Equity?
It aligns the interests of helpful early stage investors with the company.
In Josh Kopelman’s blog post about Bridge Loans vs. Preferred Equity, he explains it well. Once investors jump into a preferred series where they have actual ownership in the company and feel good about building value with the company, as their own value in the company increases with whatever value they build.
It rewards early stage investors with their support of the company.
Early stage investors have the riskiest position. They go invest in a company early, and often they get their stakes diluted by subsequent investments until they get nothing back. This seems grossly unfair for people who supported the entrepreneur at such an early time when there is barely no clear value built yet. With a preferred series raised with the earliest investors, they are rewarded for giving their support early on and the preferred equity will most likely resist dilution with the proper provisions.
It attracts investors.
Like with the previous item, preferred series are just more attractive to investors simply because you gain immediate ownership of the company and not have to deal with potential uncertainty of Convertible Notes. Entrepreneurs can increase their chances of getting more investment by offering this early on. Many investors are gunshy of Convertible Notes and want ownership immediately.
Why not Preferred Equity?
It’s expensive in time and money.
You spend more money executing the paperwork, and there is a lot more paperwork to do. This may be too much for an early stage startup to bear financially.
It could deter future investors.
Venture funds don’t like to have others in potential control of the company. They want it all. Other preferred shareholders could present a problem here as they may have preferential voting rights, perhaps even a board seat. Also, preferred equity terms often have anti-dilution provisions which prevent future financings from grabbing a larger stake in the company.
Operationally, it adds a bit more complexity.
Now a preferred shareholder elected board member may be present, so there may be another voice in the operations of the company. Potentially, other large directional moves by the company may require the preferred shareholders to agree via vote.
Still not an exhaustive list, but some thoughts I’ve picked up along the way. More interesting thoughts in Part III from the investor point of view, coming up next!