Clause for alarm in term sheets

Welcome to Tech in Asia’s Daily newsletter, your essential dose of Asia’s tech and startup buzz. Not on the mailing list? Register here. Got a story tip? Send it to editors@techinasia.com.

In focus

For this edition, we cover:

• Term sheet clauses that founders should watch out for
• Everything you need to know about writing for Tech in Asia’s Insights section
• A US$7.8 billion EV project in Indonesia that seems to have been cancelled

Hello reader,

Term sheets have been the talk of the town for the last couple of weeks in Southeast Asia’s tech ecosystem.

This enlightening article by my colleague Melissa, which talks about a Malaysian VC’s term sheet, stirred up conversations on social media. Things even got a little heated.

I feel that spirited discussion is one of the best ways to learn about anything, as long as we can debate things respectfully. I certainly gained valuable insights into the delicate process of investing by following some of the debates that emerged around the piece.

I learned even more by reading and editing today’s Big Story, which dives into some common term sheet clauses that can put startups at risk.

As Hsu Ken Ooi of Iterative writes for our Insights section (more on that later), these clauses aren’t always harmful for startups. However, issues can arise when founders sign up for something they don’t fully understand.

I hope you also find something useful in the piece, particularly if you’re a founder on the receiving end of some of these term sheet clauses. And if reading today’s Big Story gets your creative juices going, check out today’s Spotlight for the lowdown on how you can write for Tech in Asia, too.

Peter

The Big Story

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Understand these term sheet clauses before taking VC money
Founders sometimes accept deal terms without fully grasping the possible long-term consequences for their startup, which could make operating or exiting harder.

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