Guide

What Is a SAFE Note? A Founder's Complete Guide

Promise Legal · blog.promise.legal

Lawyer-written founder guide covering when a SAFE is the wrong instrument.

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The question it answers

  1. What should I check before signing a SAFE, iSAFE, or convertible note?

Read with it

  1. The instrument's inventor explaining how it converts, with worked examples. ycombinator.com Guide Understanding SAFEs and priced equity rounds Y Combinator
  2. The canonical templates; anything an investor hands you should diff cleanly against these. ycombinator.com Guide YC Safe Financing Documents Y Combinator
  3. The official conversion math with sample calculations to check your own model. ycombinator.com Guide Primer for the post-money SAFE Y Combinator
  4. The single most consequential distinction, explained by the cap-table platform that sees the data. carta.com Guide Pre-money vs. post-money SAFEs: A founder's guide Carta
  5. Names the cap-stacking trap that surprises founders at Series A diligence. seedlegals.com Article YC post-money SAFEs: Avoiding expensive dilution mistakes SeedLegals
  6. A VC lawyer's deep dive into conversion percentage details most founders never read. lawofvc.substack.com Article YC's Secret SAFE (Law of VC #32) Chris Harvey, Law of VC
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