Clear decision guides for you
Straight comparisons of the tools you're choosing between, honest about where each one falls short. Where we quote a benchmark, we show its source.
53 guides of 1,000
Warrants or Convertible Notes: Which Costs You More Equity
How warrant coverage and convertible notes attached to a venture debt deal dilute your cap table differently, with a worked comparison for founders.
Revenue-Based Financing or an SBA 7(a) Loan: The Guarantee Question
How personal guarantees, collateral and repayment schedules differ between revenue-based financing and an SBA 7(a) loan, with a margin-based qualifying test.
Leasing GPU Servers Instead of Buying Them Outright
How an equipment lease for GPU servers affects your balance sheet under ASC 842, plus what to check before signing a datacenter hardware lease.
Building a Borrowing Base Certificate Your Bank Won't Kick Back
How to build a borrowing base certificate and AR aging schedule that survives your bank's eligibility rules, plus a monthly close checklist.
Mezzanine Debt or Preferred Equity Above Senior Debt in a Buyout
How mezzanine debt and preferred equity differ in a lower middle market buyout, from cash versus PIK coupons to board rights and default priority.
How Lenders Actually Define a Minimum Cash Covenant
How minimum cash covenants get measured in venture lending agreements, the most common measurement traps, and how to build an early warning system.
The Break-Even Math Behind Refinancing a Term Loan
How to calculate the break-even period on refinancing a commercial term loan, what a new lender checks, and when a prepayment penalty kills the deal.
Calculating DSCR for a SaaS Business a Lender Will Accept
How lenders adjust the debt service coverage ratio formula for recurring revenue businesses, with a worked example and the mistakes that shrink it.
What a Second Lien Lender Actually Gets in the Intercreditor Agreement
How the intercreditor agreement splits payment priority and control between first and second lien lenders, with what second lien terms are negotiable.
What Royalty Financing Actually Costs a Consumer Brand
How royalty financing caps get sized for ecommerce and consumer brands, why margin drives eligibility, and a worked comparison against the alternative.
Factoring or Invoice Discounting on a Federal Contract
How the Assignment of Claims Act shapes the choice between factoring and invoice discounting for government contractors, and what each one requires.
Getting Out From Under a Stacked Merchant Cash Advance
How stacked merchant cash advances compound daily cash flow pressure, what a consolidation or settlement negotiation actually involves, and the risks.
Who Actually Runs Your Loan Once a Syndicate Signs It
What a lead arranger negotiates before closing versus what an agent bank administers afterward, and why the difference matters once your loan is live.
A Series A CFO's Venture Debt Diligence Checklist
What a Series A CFO should check on the lender, the term sheet economics, and the covenant package before signing a venture debt facility.
What a Blanket Lien Actually Pledges Across Your Loans
How a blanket lien differs from an asset-specific one, how cross-collateralization links separate loans, and what carve-outs to negotiate.
Building a Funding Plan Around SBIR and STTR Matching Requirements
How to plan around SBIR and STTR matching fund requirements, the Phase I to Phase II funding gap, and how to blend grants with other capital.
The Payment Jump When Your Venture Debt's Interest-Only Period Ends
How a venture debt facility's interest-only period changes your monthly payment once amortization starts, with a worked example and negotiating points.
Why Your Investor's Capital Call Line Can Delay Your Wire
How a venture fund's subscription line lets it wire your round before calling its LPs, and what to ask your lead investor about how they'll actually fund it.
Negotiating a Convertible Note Extension Before It Matures
What noteholders ask for in exchange for extending a convertible note past maturity, with a worked comparison of two common extension asks.
How the Credit Spread Adjustment Works on Your SOFR Loan
Why loans moved from LIBOR to SOFR needed a credit spread adjustment, what to check in your fallback language, and how the daily and term rates differ.
Reading a MAC Clause Before You Actually Need To
How general versus specific MAC clauses work in a credit agreement, why lenders rarely invoke them, and what to negotiate before you sign.
Setting Up a Lockbox for a Receivables-Backed Credit Line
How a lockbox redirects customer payments once receivables are pledged as collateral, the springing versus blocked structures, and the operational steps.
SAFE Note Math: When the Cap Actually Beats the Discount
The formula that decides whether a SAFE's valuation cap or its discount sets your conversion price, with a worked example and pre vs post-money math.
The Back-End Success Fee Hiding in a Venture Debt Term Sheet
How venture debt success fees get calculated and triggered at exit or payoff, and what to negotiate before signing a term sheet that includes one.
How PIK Interest Actually Compounds on Mezzanine Debt
The compounding math behind payment in kind interest on mezzanine debt, PIK toggle structures, and the modeling mistake that understates a balance.
Building a Compliance Certificate Process That Never Slips
What belongs in a debt covenant compliance certificate beyond a yes or no, how to keep calculations consistent, and what to do before signing a marginal one.
Funding a Bolt-On Acquisition With Venture Debt Instead of Equity
How venture debt for an acquisition gets underwritten differently than a working capital draw, with a worked dilution comparison and covenant checks.
Should You Sell and Lease Back Your Equipment for Cash?
How equipment sale-leasebacks work, what lessors check before they buy your gear, and how to compare the lease rate to a straight equipment loan.
Subordination Agreements: What Your Junior Lender Gives Up
What a lender subordination agreement actually covers, the terms worth negotiating, and where the legal review usually stalls between two law firms.
How a Dividend Recap Turns Company Cash Into Owner Liquidity
How a dividend recapitalization works, how lenders size and price it differently than a growth loan, and the most common mistake owners make sizing one.
Unused Line Fees: The Hidden Cost of an Idle Credit Line
How commitment fees, draw fees, and minimum utilization requirements work on a revolving line of credit, and how to size a line so fees don't outweigh it.
Pledging a Foreign Subsidiary's Stock as Loan Collateral
What it means to pledge a foreign subsidiary as loan collateral, why local law perfection matters, and the tax and currency questions to raise first.
SBA 504 vs a Conventional Mortgage for Buying Your HQ
How an SBA 504 loan is structured against a conventional commercial mortgage for buying your headquarters, and where each option actually wins.
What to Ask for When You Need a Forbearance Agreement
What a loan forbearance agreement actually does, what to bring to the lender before you ask, and the terms worth negotiating before you sign.
How to Calculate WACC and Use It to Size New Debt
How to calculate a weighted average cost of capital without a public stock price, and how to use it to decide whether new debt actually helps.
Negative Pledge Covenants: Protecting IP Without an IP Lien
What a negative pledge covenant on intellectual property actually restricts, why venture lenders ask for it, and the carve-outs worth negotiating.
How Equity Line Financing (SEPA) Actually Works
How a standby equity purchase or distribution agreement lets a public company draw capital on demand, and where the registration and pricing terms bite.
Cashless Warrant Exercises: What Happens at a Sale or IPO
How a cashless or net warrant exercise actually works, how the number of shares gets calculated, and what to check in the terms before you grant one.
TTM ARR Covenants: When Churn Triggers a Technical Default
How a trailing twelve month ARR covenant is measured, why a single lost contract can trip it, and how equity cure rights work as an escape hatch.
Commercial Paper: Is Your Company Big Enough to Issue It?
What commercial paper actually requires in credit quality and backup liquidity, why most mid-sized companies don't qualify, and what to use instead.
Raising Debt Through Reg CF: What the Rules Allow
What Regulation Crowdfunding actually allows for a debt raise, why it fits consumer brands more than B2B companies, and the ongoing reporting it requires.
Asset-Based Lending vs Recurring Revenue Loans: How to Choose
How asset-based lending and recurring revenue loans differ in what they secure, how availability is calculated, and which one actually fits your company.
Building a Monthly Reporting Package Lenders Won't Reject
What a venture lender's monthly reporting package actually requires, why packages get bounced back, and how to negotiate the annual audit requirement.
Refinancing an SBA 7(a) Loan to Drop the Personal Lien
Why SBA 7(a) loans often carry a personal real estate lien, when refinancing into a conventional loan can remove it, and what to check before you do.
Unsecured Credit Lines for Consulting and Professional Firms
Why consulting and professional services firms rely on unsecured credit lines, how lenders underwrite them without collateral, and how to size one.
Modeling a Debt Waterfall When You Have Multiple Tranches
How to model a debt waterfall across a revolver, a term loan, and mezzanine debt, and the difference between a cash sweep waterfall and a sale scenario.
Negotiating Venture Debt Closing Costs and Legal Fee Caps
How venture debt origination fees and lender legal fee reimbursement actually work, and how to cap the legal bill before redlines even start.
What Counts as a Qualified Financing Under Your Note
Why convertible notes set a minimum threshold for a qualified financing, how that threshold gets defined, and what happens if you never hit it.
Cross-Default Clauses: How One Missed Payment Sinks Every Loan
How a cross-default clause can put a current loan into default because of trouble elsewhere, and how to negotiate a materiality threshold and cure period.
Bank Venture Debt vs Non-Bank Funds: Cost vs Flexibility
How bank venture debt groups and non-bank funds price and structure deals differently, and how to match the lender type to where your company is.
How Much Debt Your ARR Can Actually Support
Why growth-stage SaaS companies size debt against ARR instead of EBITDA, and how gross margin, retention, and burn multiple change what's actually safe.
Intercreditor Standstills: What Mezzanine Lenders Agree to Wait For
How an intercreditor standstill differs from simple subordination, what a payment blockage actually restricts, and the buyout option worth negotiating.
Blending Debt, Grants, and Tax Credits Without Diluting
What actually counts as non-dilutive capital, why debt still carries real risk even without dilution, and how to sequence grants, credits, and loans.