Is it unattractive to investors if I have a 51% Anti-Dilution Provision?
Will investors be turned off if i own 51% of the company and have an Anti-Dilution clause that keeps me at 51%?
I expect I will go through several rounds of 3rd party investing in my start-up.
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Would you invest in a company that specifically forbids anyone other than the first investor to have a majority stake? – Littleadv 12 years ago
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If the goal is to maintain control of the company, you're better off with a clause that offers you an exclusive and perpetual right of veto at the board. I think ownership matters less than control; but that's just my opinion. – Frenchie 12 years ago
1 Answer
From everything I have seen, yes, professional investor will not touch your company with that kind of condition, since your motivations are not aligned with that of investors'. Really good book worth 1000X the price of it is The Founder's Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup.
Especially read the section on Rich vs King. You can't be both. Pick one or the other. Your odds of having both at the same time are between zero and none.
You could put together holding company and multi-level ownership scheme with voting and non-voting stock, plus several other board control provisions... but only very small and new angels (and/or friends and family) will fall for it.
Simply put, if you want to retain control, your most realistic route is collateralized debt.
