I'm setting up a company with partners.

The cheapest moment to resolve a shareholder dispute is before it exists. Capital is allocated, it is settled who decides what, and it is agreed how each of you leaves if one day you want to. First step: A draft shareholders' agreement with the four clauses that really decide: reinforced majorities, drag along and tag along, non-compete and exit.

An investor has come in and sent me their paperwork.

A term sheet is not a formality: it fixes the valuation, the future dilution and, very often, actual control of the company. What is signed there shapes every round that follows. First step: A clause-by-clause reading, translated into numbers: what percentage you keep in each scenario and what you have given away without noticing.

I want to sell my company. Or buy one.

The price is agreed at the start and lost at the end: in the representations and warranties, in the price adjustments, and in whatever does or does not surface in due diligence. First step: A one-page map of the deal: phases, the risks that actually matter, and a realistic timetable to signing.

My partner and I no longer see eye to eye.

Corporate deadlock gets worse on its own. Every month without a decision reduces the value of the company and narrows the exits available to both of you. First step: An honest analysis of your position and of the other side's, and the real routes out: negotiated, statutory or judicial, with their cost and their timescale.

I have capital and want the investment structured properly.

A good investment badly structured stops being one. The legal form of the vehicle, the entry of co-investors and the tax treatment are decided before investing, not after. First step: A review of the proposed structure from both banks of the river: the legal one and the return.

I've received a claim or a lawsuit.

Some deadlines cannot be recovered. The first decision, whether to respond, negotiate or wait, shapes the rest of the proceedings more than any later filing. First step: An assessment of deadlines and options on the first call, and who at the firm or among our consultants should take it on.

Before you raise capital

Whoever is going to put up the money does not start with your deck. They start with six figures, and almost always in this order.

I have sat on the other side of the table many times. The experience is fairly consistent: the deck is skimmed, and the decision to continue or not is taken on half a dozen numbers. It is worth knowing them before you sit down.

1. Recurring revenue and its concentration

Invoicing a million across forty clients is not the same as invoicing a million across three. If a single client accounts for more than 25% of your revenue, to an investor that is not a client: it is a risk with a name attached. Bring it broken down and raise it first, because it will come up anyway.

2. Real gross margin

With direct costs included: infrastructure, licences, support, the part of the team that is delivery rather than development. A margin inflated by leaving out the uncomfortable items shows up in the first review, and what breaks then is not the valuation, it is trust.

3. Cash and months of runway

How many months you can survive on what you have, without counting the round. This number determines your negotiating position better than any other: someone raising capital with two months of cash does not negotiate, they accept. The sensible position is to open the conversation with nine to twelve months ahead of you.

4. Growth, month by month

As a monthly series, not as year-on-year comparisons. The series shows the shape of the curve and whether growth survives seasonality. If there is a bad month, explain it before you are asked; a series that is too clean looks more suspicious than a reasoned dip.

5. What each euro of new revenue costs

Acquisition cost against customer lifetime value, and above all how many months it takes to recover the commercial investment. A business that recovers acquisition cost in six months can finance its own growth; one that takes thirty needs capital structurally, and that completely changes the type of investor you should be approaching.

6. The cap table and cumulative dilution

This is where more deals fall through than people think. If after two rounds the founders hold a percentage that no longer motivates them, the professional investor does not see an opportunity: they see a team that will leave halfway. Stakes held by inactive former shareholders, outstanding convertible loans and the incentive plan, if there is one, also weigh in.

What is not a number, but shows anyway

Part of the decision is not on the spreadsheet: whether the founder knows their three main risks and says so without being pressed. Showing the risk does not weaken your position; it strengthens it, because it signals a company run by someone who looks things in the face.

And a word on structure: the legal and the financial conversation should not run separately. The form of the vehicle, the majorities and the exit terms are decided at the same moment as the price. Separating them is expensive, and it is expensive later, when there is no room left to correct it.

This article contains general information for informative purposes and does not constitute legal advice or an investment recommendation. The rules cited may have been amended after publication; always check the text in force before taking a decision.

Before you raise capital: the six numbers an investor looks at first