Methodology

The venture capital industry runs on narratives, but returns are generated entirely by math. We built this institute to document the unvarnished mechanics of how these financial instruments actually function.

The Problem with VC Content

Most content on venture capital falls into two categories:

• Law firm genericism: Bullet points that define terms but refuse to show the aggressive math behind them (to avoid alienating potential GP clients).
• Founder cheerleading: Blogs that frame fundraising as a validation milestone rather than the sale of a highly restrictive financial asset.

Our Stance

We analyze terms strictly from an economic perspective. A 3x participating preference is not "non-standard" or "founder-unfriendly"—it is simply a lever a GP pulls to protect downside risk. We model it objectively.

Data Sources

Our calculators and guides are based on standard NVCA model documents, aggregate historical data (e.g., standard 20% carry, 2% fees), and real-world term sheet mechanics. We do not use LLMs to generate definitions; every mathematical model here is hand-coded to reflect actual cap table software logic.