Seeking Angels? Check out these awesome resources from Y-Combinator

Thanks to world renowned Startup Incubator Y-Combinator for releasing their “Series AA Equity Financing Documents”. As stated by Y-Combinator…

Y Combinator and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati are happy to announce the Series AA Equity Financing Documents. Their goal is to make angel funding rounds for startups easier for both sides.

These documents were originally created for YC-funded startups to use when raising angel rounds. They seem to have worked well in trial runs so far, so we’re open-sourcing them.

While they may not be suitable for all situations, the goal was to make the terms fairly neutral. So while we would of course advise both parties using these documents to have their lawyers look at them, they provide a starting point that we hope can be used in many situations without too many modifications.

Needless to say, neither YC nor WSGR assumes any responsibility for any consequence of using these documents.

• Series AA Termsheet
• Series AA Stock Purchase Agreement
• Series AA Board Consent
• Series AA Stockholder Consent
• Series AA Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation
• Series AA Investors’ Rights Agreement

These links are provided by Y-Combinator for your reference. Thanks again to the gang at Y-combinator for making these docs available to the masses.

Credit to @StartupCFO http://startupcfo.ca/ for linking them from his blog.

Entrepreneurs… To band together or go it alone?

One very common comment that you hear from those who’ve been successful as entrepreneurs is “Stay Focused”. Such a vague comment, so lets visit what it means. (this all relates to the topic, bear with me)

Defined: focus [foh-kuhs]- a central point, as of attraction, attention, or activity

Questions:

1. Does focus mean that we should avoid all distractions
2. Does focus mean that we should avoid giving input on others projects
3. Does focus mean that we should ignore what others are saying about our product or service

Answer:

NO

Focus means that we need to stick to our core competencies and seek those out who can support us in areas where we are not strong, while not letting those sought out to become a distraction. Each of us have broad areas of expertise that can help others in similar shoes. For example, one of the ways that I am supporting my entrepreneurial endeavors is that I consult with other web start ups in the area of Information Architecture / Usability and Operations which are my strong points. While I do charge a discounted rate, I always see to it that the client that I am working with can provide valuable input and feedback for the projects that are my central focus.

So, back to the original question… Entrepreneurs, should we band together or go it alone?

My opinion, and its a strong one, is to encourage entrepreneurs to band together and help each other. Lets face it, great minds think alike. When you get a bunch of great minds together in one place, it can be like watching the best fireworks you’ve ever seen. Be warned though, ALWAYS know your scope and what your needs are. Only give what you get and make sure there is a value to everything that you do.

Do you agree? Your comments are invited and very welcomed!