Legal in Startups: Common Pitfalls Before Series A
Over 90% of pre-seed rounds are now raised on SAFEs (Carta, Q1 2026), and median founding-team ownership drops from ~56% at seed to 36% at Series A. A lot of that drop is decided by how the paperwork is defined i.e. how your SAFEs work, how the option pool is sized, and how the SAFEs convert into equity.
Join us for a conversation with Mitch Duncombe, Co-Founder and CEO of Vector Legal, the YC-backed, AI-native law firm for startups and investors. Before Vector, Mitch spent three years at YC Legal and four years at Fenwick. Between them, those roles put him across the table on thousands of financings. He's experienced all the mistakes and strategic founders make when organising legals for their rounds.
In this session, we focus on the questions that matter most:
Structuring the Seed Round: Post-money SAFEs vs. a priced seed. How stacked SAFEs and side letters compound, and what founders don't model until conversion.
Cap Table Hygiene: Option pool sizing, stock plan set-up, vesting and IP assignment. The housekeeping Series A investors will check line by line in diligence.
Getting to a Clean Series A: The issues that most often delay or reprice a round, plus how to read a term sheet like a lawyer. That covers which terms to fight on, which to let go, and what's standard in 2026.
There'll be time for Q&A at the end. Most useful for seed-stage founders preparing to raise their Series A, and anyone sitting on a stack of SAFEs wondering how they'll operate and/or convert in the future.
About Us
Backed by a16z and Y Combinator, Metal is an AI-native operating system for founders raising venture rounds.
In Collaboration With
This event is hosted in collaboration with Vector Legal, a YC-backed, AI-native law firm that pairs experienced startup attorneys with its own AI to support founders from formation through Series B and beyond. It works on fixed fees, not hourly billing.