The answer in one line: a $775K SAFE is secured by proof and the asset stack, not revenue. Take it as rolling SAFEs (small angels rolled into one SPV line) so it never crowds your cap table, and keep a founder-controlled board. SAFEs carry no vote and no board seat, so funding the round does not create anyone you answer to. Board seats are a seed-round negotiation, not now.
Milestone pack to secure the $775K
Click a status to cycle it. These are what a pre-seed backer at a $3.5–4M cap actually underwrites. Click to keep it current.
How the raise is structured to protect control
Small angels come in through one SPV that occupies a single cap-table line. A lead may anchor the round. Every check is the same YC post-money SAFE at one cap, with no vote and no board seat until it converts at the 2027 seed. The GELI partner stays off the cap table entirely on a license plus revenue share.
The board, by stage
What kind of board you can pull together, what the seat looks like, and where founder majority holds. Toggle the stage.
Advisory bench (credibility, no equity, no control)
Path B: advisers get advisory agreements or profit-share, never ownership. They advise; they do not govern.
Control mechanisms (the real levers)
- Shaun on 4-year vesting, 1-year cliff, ≤7%, full IP assignment, 83(b), good/bad-leaver
- Iowa marital-property wall so the cap table is separate from the marriage
- SAFEs carry no vote and no board seat until the seed
- SPV rolls many angels into one cap-table line and one signature
- Hold the cap at $3.5M or above to stay over 51% after the seed
- GELI partner off the cap table: license + revenue share, not equity
- Board majority stays founder-aligned through the seed
Governance structures shown are standard practice, not legal advice. Confirm the SAFE, SPV, vesting, marital-property wall, and board terms with Zach (Fredrikson & Byron) and benchmark the cap with G2M. Built in Cowork, June 2026.