Article · ~10 min read

Series A Diligence Checklist

Jason Kwon (Y Combinator) · Y Combinator Startup Library Free Intermediate

This is the exact list a founder gets handed once a term sheet lands, written by YC Continuity's general counsel after hundreds of financings, so it is the request list itself and not a vendor's marketing checklist. It spells out the corporate, equity, IP, and financial documents investors ask for, and it makes the core point plainly: assemble the data room before you sign, and you cut about a week off closing. Treat it as a starting point to pre-build your folders, not a legal opinion on your specific deal.

• The scramble is avoidable: having board minutes, stockholder and option lists, incorporation docs, and recent financials ready before the term sheet saves roughly a week at closing.
• Investors want the paper trail of your equity (who owns what, at what price, on what dates), so a clean cap table and signed option agreements sit at the centre of the ask.
• This is post-term-sheet reality, so build the folder structure now while things are calm rather than reconstructing it under a deadline.