Is it a fair convertible note arrangement if we don't need another round or exit beforehand?

Try local Meetups and local chapters of Startup Grind and Founder Institute. Many of the ones I attend here in Orange County start with pitches from the floor, and there are often several events a week. Bear in mind that all investors are looking to eliminate the following so make sure you address all of them proactively: 1) Market risk 2) Product risk 3) Execution risk These typically map to your deck slides as follows: Market Risk • Problem • Solution • Market Size Product Risk • Product • Competition • Competitive Advantages Execution Risk • Team • Business Model • Go to Market • Traction • Financials • Funding

It entirely depends on the kind of business you have. If you have a tech startup for example, there are pretty reliable assumptions about each round of funding. And a business plan and financial forecasts are almost totally irrelevant to sophisticated tech investors in the early stages of a company's life. Recent financial history is important if the company is already generating revenue and in that case, a twelve-month projection is also meaningful, but pre-revenue, financial forecasts in tech startups mean nothing. You shouldn't give up more than 10-15% for your first $100,000 and from that point forward, you should budget between 10-20% dilution per each round of subsequent dilution. In a tech startup, you should be more nervous about dilution than control. The reality of it is that until at least a meaningful amount of traction is reached, no one is likely to care about taking control of the venture. If the founding team screws-up, it's likely that there will be very little energy from anyone else in trying to take-over and fix those problems. Kevin is correct in that the board is elected by shareholders but, a board exerts a lot of influence on a company as time goes-on. So board seats shouldn't be given lightly. A single bad or ineffective board member can wreak havoc on a company, especially in the early stages of a company's life. In companies outside of tech, you're likely going to be dealing with valuations that are far lower, thus likely to be impacted with greater dilution and also potentially far more restrictive and onerous investment terms. If your company is a tech company, I'm happy to talk to you about the financing process. I am a startup entrepreneur who has recently raised angel and VC capital and was also formerly a VC as part of a $500,000,000 investment fund investing in every stage of tech and education companies.

Wow, sounds like you have an amazing profit margin. The key is GROWTH. Continuous and stable, with the ability to predict future growth. Therefore, your market niche is very important, to feed the growth curve within an order of magnitude and can't be too vague. As others have mentioned, investors look for a $100-200 million valuation potential, as well as the ability to morph or expand as needed. Contact me if you want to discuss more.

I'm assuming you're talking about yourself, working for another company? The first thing to consider is that a "1099" is NOT an employee, rather an "independent contractor". The IRS takes it seriously when a company claims 1099 contractors, when in fact, these contractors are treated as employees (the IRS wants payroll tax and will fine companies that miscategorize). To be a 1099 contractor, rather than an employee (W-2), you must have complete control over your schedule - when you work, how much ect. There are other criteria, but this is the main one - you must clearly not be treated the same as an employee. The other thing to consider is that if you are a 1099 contractor, you are responsible for paying and submitting your own income tax and self employment tax to the state and the IRS. It is more advantageous for a company to pay you as a 1099 contractor as they save paying employer portion of payroll taxes. Also you will not count as an employee for the Affordable Care Act (which impacts companies with over 50 employees). Hope this helps. Kathryn

Simple: The right investor is someone who wants to invest on standard terms at a good valuation relative to your current stage. Extra bonus points for someone who has relevant industry connections that could accelerate your business and is willing - at the right time - to make introductions for you. But you should have really quite low expectations of most angel investors. Certainly they should have NO operational control of the business. Although I want to be as helpful as possible to companies I invest in, it's entirely for the entrepreneur to drive me, not the other way around. There are very few exceptions to this rule, for example when angels who actually do have very recent and relevant experience want to back someone who is inexperienced and need oversight in order to feel comfortable investing early. But this is a real rarity. Finally, to answer your question about what entrepreneurs do when they receive funding, they should spend it in the best possible way to accelerate the success of the business. I'd be happy to talk to you in a call to provide more clarity on the matter and also discuss when is the right time to accept investment. If you have people willing to back you, that's great. You want to make sure you have a clear plan and set expectations accordingly.