Secure the Capital Without Losing Control

Legal and strategic counsel for startups raising capital: SAFEs, Series Seed, and priced rounds from Series A through Series C. We protect your equity, negotiate investor terms, and get you from term sheet to close without losing control.

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Why Us

Why Startups Choose Founders Form

Raising capital changes everything. Investors bring resources, but they also reshape how decisions get made, and the terms you sign early, on SAFEs and Series Seed documents, follow your company through Series A, B, and C. Founders Form has guided founders through seed rounds, Series A and beyond, including alumni of accelerator programs like Techstars and Neo, with clients securing more than $100M across 50+ major deals. You work directly with the attorney handling your raise, and the counsel covers strategy as well as documents: how each term plays at the next round, what investors will ask for, and how to negotiate without damaging the relationship.

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Capabilities

What We Bring to the Table

Term Sheet and Deal Structuring

Valuation, option pool sizing, board seats, and protective provisions negotiated before they harden into the definitive documents. We model how each term plays at the next round so you keep equity and decision-making power.

Investor Agreements

Stock purchase agreements, SAFEs and convertible notes, voting and information rights, and side letters drafted to close quickly and hold up later, shaped to your long-term plan rather than boilerplate.

Corporate Governance

Board composition, consent requirements, and clean corporate records that satisfy investor diligence, so the company you run after the raise still operates the way you intend.

IP and Asset Protection

Assignments, licensing, and confidentiality that put your technology, brand, and data provably inside the company, because chain-of-title gaps are the diligence finding that stalls rounds.

Exit and Liquidity Planning

Drag-along, tag-along, and transfer provisions negotiated with secondaries and M&A in mind, so today's financing documents leave room for tomorrow's liquidity instead of blocking it.

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How a raise works with us

Four stages, one attorney, no hand-offs. What the engagement looks like from first conversation to closed round.

Before the term sheet

Structure, strategy, and positioning. We help you choose between SAFEs and a priced round, size the raise against dilution, clean up the cap table and corporate records investors will inspect, and decide which terms are worth negotiating before anything is in writing.

Term sheet to signing

The highest-leverage days of the raise. We negotiate valuation mechanics, option pool, board composition, and protective provisions, and tell you plainly which asks are market and which are not, so you push where it counts and sign quickly where it does not.

Signing to close

Definitive documents, diligence, and momentum. We draft and negotiate the stock purchase and ancillary agreements, run the diligence response so it does not consume your week, and manage closing mechanics through to funds in the account.

After the close

The hand-off, not the exit. Board cadence, governance, and commercial contracts continue under Outside General Counsel, with counsel that already knows your deal, your investors, and your cap table.

The Founders Form Difference

Clear, practical counsel for startups raising capital: sharp documents, honest advice on what is market, and a partner who has sat on both sides of the table.

  • Approachable yet elite with proven results in venture transactions

  • Direct involvement from first pitch deck to signed agreement

  • Complete corporate, IP, and strategic guidance in one place

Your Growth Beyond the Raise

The work does not stop at the wire transfer. When the round closes, board support, governance, and commercial contracts continue under our outside general counsel practice, so you scale operations, expand into new markets, or prepare for an acquisition with counsel that already knows your cap table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Straight answers to the questions founders ask before bringing on fundraising counsel.

When should a startup involve a lawyer in a fundraise?

Before anything is signed, including the term sheet. Economics and control terms set at the term sheet stage carry into the definitive documents, so the highest-leverage legal work happens before terms are locked in. Early review is almost always cheaper than renegotiating later.

Do I need a lawyer to raise on SAFEs?

SAFEs, or Simple Agreements for Future Equity, are standardized, but the decisions around them are not. Valuation caps, discounts, side letters, and pro rata rights all shape your cap table when the priced round arrives. A short review before you send documents costs far less than untangling stacked SAFEs at Series A.

What does fundraising counsel cover from SAFEs through Series C?

Term sheet review and negotiation, deal structuring, investor agreements, corporate governance, IP and asset protection, and closing mechanics. On SAFEs and Series Seed rounds the emphasis is speed and clean paperwork. From Series A onward it expands to diligence preparation, board structure, and protective provisions, and at Series B and C the focus shifts to defending earlier terms while new investors negotiate theirs.

How is working with a boutique different from a large firm?

You work directly with the attorney handling your deal rather than a rotating team, and the engagement covers strategy as well as documents: how a term plays out at the next round, how investors read your cap table, and how to negotiate without damaging the relationship. Founders Form pairs legal counsel with hands-on advisory built from working alongside founders and investors.

How does billing work?

Deal work is billed hourly. You pay for the work your raise actually needs, whether that is a single term sheet review or full support from first draft to close, and scope is agreed up front so there are no surprises. For companies that want an outside general counsel after the round, Founders Form also offers fractional general counsel engagements at a fixed monthly fee, scoped to the work your company needs. Ask about either option on a call.

Does Founders Form support companies after the round closes?

Yes. Board and governance work, commercial contracts, and ongoing compliance are handled as their own practice area, outside general counsel for funded startups, so companies get counsel matched to that stage. Fractional general counsel at a fixed monthly fee is available there as well.

Where is Founders Form based, and who does it work with?

Founders Form, PC is based in Palo Alto, California, and works with founders, athletes, entertainers, and investors across the United States.

These answers are general information about how Founders Form works, not legal advice for any specific situation.

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You bring the talent. We bring the strategy.

Schedule your confidential consultation today to see how Founders Form can protect your company and help you secure the right investors.

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