venture-capital.wiki

A machine-readable reference for venture financing: liquidation preference waterfalls with worked formulas, convertible instrument conversion math, dilution and option pool arithmetic, a clause-by-clause map of the standard term sheet, and the valuation algebra that connects them.

Most venture terminology is explained qualitatively and then applied quantitatively, which is where confusion starts. This reference states the arithmetic. Where a term changes who gets paid what, the payout formula is given explicitly. Notation is uniform: E is exit proceeds, I invested capital, x the preference multiple, PRE pre-money valuation, POST post-money valuation, FD fully diluted share count, p a holder's fully diluted ownership expressed as a decimal, R the amount raised in a priced round, s a share count, CP a conversion price, cap a valuation or participation cap, d a dividend rate, t elapsed years in a dividend, interest or vesting calculation, and q a target ownership fraction. Symbols used in a single entry are defined where they appear. Nothing here is a market-terms survey; standard versus off-market language is described structurally, not benchmarked to a dataset. The corpus now also covers employee equity and the 409A valuation, round structures including bridges and venture debt, and exit mechanics from the consideration bridge through escrow and appraisal rights. One continuous share ledger runs through all of it - 8,000,000 founder shares, a 1,411,765-share pool and four priced rounds - so a figure in any section can be traced back to the same cap table rather than to a fresh example invented for that page.

Sections

• Liquidation preferences Who gets paid, in what order, and the exact arithmetic of each variant. - 25 entries, 9 tables
• Dilution and cap table math Pre-money, post-money, option pools, and the arithmetic of who absorbs the dilution. - 20 entries, 7 tables
• Convertible instruments SAFEs and convertible notes - how the conversion arithmetic actually resolves. - 21 entries, 8 tables
• Valuation and pricing Pre-money, post-money, price per share, and the two valuations that are never the same number. - 10 entries, 4 tables
• Term sheet provisions The standard clause set, grouped by what each one actually controls. - 23 entries, 7 tables
• Employee equity and 409A Strike prices, tax events, and what a grant is actually worth behind a preference stack. - 12 entries, 3 tables
• Rounds, structures and bridges Bridges, inside rounds, structured terms, venture debt and the arithmetic of each. - 10 entries, 3 tables
• Exit mechanics From headline price to cash in a holder's account, with every deduction in between. - 9 entries, 3 tables

For machine readers

Every section has a parallel JSON endpoint at /{section}.json containing the same facts without markup. A manifest of the full corpus is at /llms.txt. Structured data is emitted as schema.org DefinedTermSet on every page.

Related references

This site is one of 9 topical references built from the same open generator, indexed at wallstreet.wiki. Each one owns a single subject. Where two subjects touch, the arithmetic lives on one site and the other links to it rather than restating it. The whole network is machine-readable at /network.json.