SAFE Notes vs Convertible Notes: One Protects Founders, One Protects Investors — Know Which Is Which
SAFE Notes vs Convertible Notes: One Protects Founders, One Protects Investors — Know Which Is Which Y Combinator created the SAFE in 2013 to make fundraising faster. It worked. It also shifted ALL the downside risk to...
SAFE Note Explained: The Y Combinator Instrument That Reshaped Angel Investing
SAFE Note Explained: What Angel Investors Must Know Y Combinator's Simple Agreement for Future Equity has gone from a five-page startup document in 2013 to the instrument behind 88% of US pre-seed rou
Pre-Seed Funding in 2026: What It Is, Who Writes the Checks, and What Terms Look Like
In Q1 2026, roughly 3,000 U.S. startups raised $2.9B in pre-seed funding, with the median round coming in at $1M on a $4–6M post-money SAFE cap, and only 45% of those companies will reach a seed round
Pre-Seed Funding Explained: What Investors Write Checks For Before the Company Exists
TL;DR: The Pre-Seed Market in 2026 According to Kruze Consulting's 2025-2026 guide, pre-seed rounds typically range from $250,000 to $2 million, with 92% of deals using SAFEs (Simple Agreements for Fu
SAFE vs. Convertible Note: The Investor's Playbook
Founders love SAFEs. You should think twice. Y Combinator's Simple Agreement for Future Equity dominates early-stage rounds because it's fast, cheap, and founder-friendly. But SAFEs strip away