Take all of that startup paperwork very seriously.

Personally, I don't enjoy paperwork, let alone, startup paperwork.  If I could find a way to find the mental space to just sit and get into flow on a task, a project or something single minded, even it were startup paperwork, today I think I crave that mental feeling.  

So for anyone out there that's doing that startup fundraising thing (especially from angel and seed investors), here are a few bullets of things I've learned along the way, having raised funding, now in over 5 different successful rounds.  

1. Plan ahead - to not just the end of this cycle of fundraising, but to 1-3 years out.  How long is this really going to take you?  Where are you headed with it?  What's the next cycle or few going to look like?  What do you need to accomplish with this?  How sure are you that it'll happen?
2. Set up your company structure correctly.  It's foundational.  Think about if you want to be company or founder or investor friendly.  If there's an exit event, how do you envision things to happen?  Advisors, employees, investors, and consultants, think about all of the administration that matters.
3. Fundraising process - fundraising is definitely a process.  Think of it like a sales process: a) the "big" list that's unvetted, b) do you have a way to reach people on that list, c) have you reached out, d) have you followed up, e) when's the next time to follow up, f) have they replied, g) have you followed up, h) has a phone call been setup, g) are they interested? h) send them your term sheet, i) have them sign the document, j) have them wire in the funding, k) you sign the document, l) put a number on the document and a date on when the funding was received, and m) send in that document to your lawyer for processing.
4. Terminating an advisor, employee, or consultant - Always, always, always, ... ALWAYS follow up with a written letter to that person that documents the date and end of the relationship.  ALWAYS.  Let your lawyer know.
5. As you create/get documentation - organize it as you go.  Organizing all of the startup paperwork at a "later" time is EXTREMELY painful.  
6. The company option pool - has a LIMIT of how many options you can even OFFER other people, even if they NEVER take it.  Make sure the Board approves any offers of shares to ANYONE first.  
   
7. The Board of Directors matters - Make sure any action around shares of the company are always follow a signed board consent FIRST.  Whoever is on that board should be willing to put the Company's interests ABOVE their own, and definitely above any personal relationships.  
8. Make anyone that works with the company sign a PIIA/NDA - making sure this happens is very important.  You want to make sure the Company's intellectual property is formally the property of the Company.  
9. Have an Employee Handbook - make every single person that is an employee of the company sign it.  
10. Have an Accountant you trust - that you can call any time.  Pay your taxes on time.  Don't skip it.  Don't miss it.   Make sure your accountant and your lawyer at least know of each other.

Those are my takeaways that come up top of mind for me.  Startups are often the land of ideas and fantasy for a lot of people.  What I've learned is that it really does come down to execution, because the devil is in the details.  

​Arry

My real update is that since that trip to San Francisco, CA is that I find that I myself have been woo'ed into a startup company (and it's not GiftStarter).  The feeling is surreal. I'm now the COO of a company called CakeCodes Inc.  It's a blockchain-related company.  We've been getting to know each other since 2015 - more as acquaintances.  2016, I got more involved with answering questions/templates/pitch preparation.  2017, I got even more involved...  so now I'm the COO.  I'm wearing the mantra of Sheryl Sandberg these days.  I think about finding bottlenecks, data, processes, people, scaling and systems.

On GiftStarter, I haven't given up yet.  GiftStarter is functional and usable - group gifts can still be done today.  We are doing zero marketing or advertising.  Zero.  It is auto-running right now on autopilot.  The market timing, positioning, ... product, all needs some more tweaking.  

In the meantime, the opportunity is real.  I'm completely in with CakeCodes!  I'll write more on what this opportunity really looks like.

--Arry

This is the aftermath of my 1 hour session with Heather Redman of FlyingFish VC. She's an investor in GiftStarter (my startup I've been quarterbacking since 2014).  Usually we meet over coffee or drinks, and I give her my update.  She gives me feedback, helps answer questions, and connects me to helpful people.  This week, we met and got our nails done.  My nails are bright purple (as inspiration to myself to be like a purple unicorn!)!

After three years of wooing, and then continuing to woo our investors (GiftStarter), I've learned that really, when it comes to all meetings, it's completely always about the relationship.  Not just, do I like this person, do they like me back?  Honestly, do we like each other as people?  Do we respect each other?  

All I can say, is that I LOVE the investors that invested in me/GiftStarter - investment of dollars, time, and resources.  Some really really really (emphasis on really really REALLY really) awesome people.  I am so appreciative of the opportunity, the opportunity to go to battle with a very tough set of cards, and the opportunity to have learned all that I have gotten to learn (and continue to learn).  To all founders out there, investors are people, too (not just dollars).    

--Arry

It's my birthday week, so the family and a couple friends, we flew down to Cabo, Mexico for the week.  This is a photo of our #Lentil bean (though, now he's much much much larger than a lentil bean now) at one of our favorite places to eat in Cabo, the Office.  We devoured guacamole and chips, salads, tacos, steak and lobster, and coconut shrimp.  Momma, of course, had a few margaritas (Lentil stuck to drinking whole milk).

(While traveling with an infant/toddler isn't the easiest, the memories afterwards definitely make the trip worth it.)  Both momma and daddy came home, EXHAUSTED.  Took us a week to get the family back to a normal sleeping schedule.

And now... we're all taking turns getting over a cold of some sort.  :(

​--Arry