As one programs any financing, as in corporate finance generally, the objective is to make 2 + 2 = 5; that is to obtain added value for the issuer. In the course of a financing, the insiders are attempting to raise the maximum amount of money for the minimum amount of equity (“equity” meaning claims on the residual values of the firm after its creditors have been satisfied). A corporation will issue at least one class of common stock because it must; many firms stop there; they pursue the simplest capital structure possible in accordance with the KISS principle (“Keep it Simple, Stupid”). However, in so doing, the corporation may close down its chances to pursue the added-value equation (2 + 2 = 5) because that equation involves matching a custom-tailored security to the taste of a given investor. The top line of the term sheet will ordinarily specify the security the VCs opt to own; the following discussion takes up the most common possibilities.
