We aim to offer returns in the mid-teens to 20% range to attract investors, ensuring our financial model is appealing. There are effectively two markets: the investor market, which has its required return, and the product market, which has its potential return. The goal is to align these two as closely as possible.

Pro-rata rights allow investors to maintain their percentage ownership in future funding rounds.

When calculating ownership percentages after a priced round, it's important to remember that the total number of shares includes both common and preferred shares, which have different rights and privileges.

In a non-priced round, investors often have a valuation cap that sets an upper limit on the company's valuation for future share conversions, rewarding early investors with more shares if the company grows significantly.

Despite only raising $118,000 throughout our company's life, we achieved returns of over 30,000% upon acquisition, highlighting the potential of lean startups.

Investors should exercise their pro-rata rights to maintain their ownership percentage during subsequent funding rounds, as early investors can face significant dilution otherwise.

The standard vesting period for stock in Silicon Valley is four years with a one-year cliff, meaning founders earn 25% of their shares after one year.

Pro-rata rights were not included in the original SAFE conversion round due to the different nature of seed rounds in 2013, but investors can negotiate side letters for these rights.

It's acceptable for founders to return money to investors if they haven't found success after several years.