7 terms
Instruments
The paper you actually buy. Whether your money is equity today, equity later, or a loan that hopes to become equity.
SAFE
Simple Agreement for Future Equity
A short agreement in which you pay cash now for shares issued later, at a price set by a future priced round — with no interest, no maturity date and no repayment.
Read the term →Convertible note
Convertible loan note · CLN
A short-term loan to a startup that is intended to convert into shares at the next priced round rather than be repaid, usually with an interest rate, a maturity date, a cap and a discount.
Read the term →Priced round
Equity round · Series Seed · Series A
A financing in which the company and its investors agree a valuation, set a price per share, and issue shares immediately — as opposed to deferring the price to a later round.
Read the term →Advance subscription agreement
ASA
A UK instrument in which you pay for shares in advance and they are issued at a later round's price, structured so that the payment can never be repaid as cash — which is what preserves SEIS and EIS relief.
Read the term →Special purpose vehicle
SPV · Deal-by-deal vehicle
A single-purpose company or fund formed to pool several investors' money into one line on a startup's cap table, usually run by a lead who charges a fee, carry, or both.
Read the term →Syndicate carry
Carried interest · Carry
The share of an investment's profit — conventionally 10% to 20% — paid to the person who sourced, diligenced and led the deal, in exchange for letting others invest alongside them.
Read the term →Nominee vs direct shareholding
Nominee structure · Bare trust
Whether your shares are registered in your own name or held for you by a nominee company that appears on the register in your place — a distinction that decides who votes, who is informed, and how easily you can sell.
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