We plan to bring eChai across 100 cities in India. It starts with eChai Startup Demo Day on 26 September, all in person. 13 cities confirmed, 701 founders registered. Any city that reaches 20 interested founders is on too. See your city
Raise money

Valuation, SAFEs & term sheets

Understand the paper before you sign it.

Level All Beginner Intermediate Advanced
Who's asking Everyone Idea-Stage Founder Builder Launcher Grower Technical Solo Founder Non-Technical Founder Women Founder Anywhere Founder Repeat Founder

Showing 6 of 18 questions. Clear filters

What's the difference between a valuation cap and a discount on a SAFE? A cap sets the maximum valuation at which your SAFE converts, protecting the investor's upside if you raise your next round at a high price; a disc... Intermediate 3 resources → How is my startup's valuation actually decided at the early stage? At seed there's no spreadsheet truth; valuation is set by market comps, your traction, the strength of the team, and mostly by supply and demand fo... Intermediate 3 resources → How much dilution should I expect across seed and Series A? Plan for roughly 10-20% dilution per priced round plus the option pool, and remember that stacked SAFEs at different caps all convert at once and c... Intermediate 3 resources → Post-money SAFE or pre-money SAFE: which one am I actually signing and why does it matter? YC's post-money SAFE (the standard since 2018) locks the investor's ownership percentage the moment they sign, which means every new SAFE you add d... Intermediate 3 resources → Can I even use a SAFE in India, or do I have to do a CCPS or convertible note? A US-style SAFE has no clean legal home under Indian company law, so most Indian-incorporated startups raise early money through Compulsorily Conve... Intermediate 3 resources → Should I raise on a SAFE or just do a priced round at seed? Raise on a SAFE when speed and low legal cost matter and you're taking money from a handful of angels, because you skip the negotiation and lawyer ... Intermediate 3 resources →
eChai Partner Brands The partnership →