Fundraising Mechanics

What Every Founder Needs to Know About Term Sheets, SAFEs, and Closing a Round

By: William McNarland CFA

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

You have a great company. Now you need capital. But the fundraising process is full of terms, instruments, and unwritten rules that no one explains until it is too late.

Fundraising Mechanics is the practical, plain-language guide that walks founders through every stage of raising outside capital, from deciding whether to raise at all to managing investor relationships after the wire hits your bank account.

Written by a fractional CFO with more than 25 years of experience advising startups through seed rounds, Series A financings, and everything in between, this book answers the questions founders actually ask:

How much should I raise, and how do I decide? What is a SAFE, and why has it replaced the convertible note for most seed rounds? Which term sheet provisions actually matter, and which ones are standard? How do liquidation preferences work, and why should I care? What happens between signing a term sheet and getting the money? How do I handle multiple offers without burning bridges?

Whether you are raising your first round or preparing for your next one, Fundraising Mechanics gives you the vocabulary, the frameworks, and the real-world examples you need to raise capital on terms that protect your company and your ownership.

This is Book Eight in the series A Founder's Conversations with a Fractional CFO.