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HSBC Innovation Banking

2 resources from HSBC Innovation Banking we point founders to, and the questions each answers.

📄 Article

✓ Link checked Free Intermediate

Speaks directly to the trap of confusing a giant TAM number with a real business. It explains why investors discount inflated global market figures and instead look for a credible path from the segment you can win first to the larger opportunity. A concise reality check before you build your market slide.

Beyond the TAM Slide: What Investors Really Want

From HSBC Innovation Banking by HSBC Innovation Banking

Investors discount inflated global TAM numbers
Show a credible path from your first winnable segment outward
A defensible obtainable market beats a huge total one

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Answers How big does my market need to be for this to be a real business?

📄 Article

✓ Link checked Free Beginner

This is the plain-English explainer that says the quiet part out loud: the 4-year schedule with a 1-year cliff exists so a co-founder who walks in month three walks away with nothing, and their unvested shares get reallocated to whoever keeps building. It names the exact standard (12-month cliff, then monthly vesting) without drowning you in legalese, and frames vesting as protection for the team, not a signal of distrust.

Founder vesting: what early-stage founders need to know

From HSBC Innovation Banking by HSBC Innovation Banking 9 min read

The industry standard is 4-year vesting with a 1-year cliff: cross the cliff and 25% vests at once, then the rest drips monthly.
A founder who leaves before the cliff forfeits everything, so their shares return to the company instead of dead-weighting your cap table.
Investors expect to see founder vesting in place; not having it is a red flag at your first raise, so set it before you need to.

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Answers What does co-founder vesting actually mean, and why do I need it even if we trust each other?

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