You can now create, sign, and distribute a SAFE investment document right from your Mercury account. We help connect and track each investment back to each SAFE, and provide a dashboard for you to stay up-to-date on the progress in real time.
What is a SAFE?
A SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) is an agreement between an investor and a company that provides rights to the investor for future equity in the company similar to a warrant, except without determining a specific price per share at the time of initial investment. It was created in 2013 by Carolynn Levy as an alternative to traditional convertible notes.
You can read more about SAFEs, the different types and much more here.
Who are SAFEs for?
SAFEs are ideal for startups and early-stage companies looking for early fundraising from investors, allowing them to invest money in a company in exchange for equity in the company at a later date.
Right now, only companies formed and incorporated in the U.S and structured as C-corps can create SAFEs via Mercury. This mostly comes down to C-corps having the tax treatment and equity structures appropriate for SAFEs. Since SAFEs are designed to convert into equity during a future financing round, they align well with the growth trajectory and financing needs of C-corps.
Why SAFEs through Mercury?
- Mercury’s SAFEs are loaded with features like e-signature and direct investment tracking within the SAFE dashboard.
- The SAFE agreement is generated within the Mercury platform, making collaboration and signing with investors easy.
- SAFEs are sent via Payment Request. We'll generate a "routing" account with separate details to protect your actual account information. Once funds are received, we'll automatically transfer them to your designated account.
- Mercury takes care of tracking payments associated with specific SAFEs, ensuring efficient and transparent management of funding rounds.
- You can access a comprehensive SAFE dashboard, allowing you to review and manage all past and present SAFEs to see who’s signed, who’s sent payment, and what’s been deposited into your Mercury account.
How do I get started?
Once you and an investor reach an agreement on terms, you can generate a SAFE agreement within the Mercury platform. As long as you’re an admin on the account, you can get started by following these steps:
- Click on Capital found on the left-hand side of your dashboard where you’ll see a section on SAFEs. Click Start Now.
- Fill out the terms based on discussions with your investor.
- Confirm your company details (you can edit these if needed within your Settings).
- Input your investor’s details (type of investor, name, address, etc.).
- Review the details of your SAFE agreement, input emails of anyone you’d like cc’d, and click Send. We’ll email your investor details of the SAFE and a link to sign.
- You’ll be notified via email once the SAFE has been signed and funds have been deposited. You can always check on the status of your SAFE through the Capital page.
How much does it cost?
SAFEs by Mercury are free to all Mercury customers.
Glossary of Terms
- Valuation Cap - This value effectively “caps” the valuation at which the SAFE converts to equity.
- Pre-Money or Post-Money Valuation - The value of a pre-money SAFE is dependent on the valuation at the next priced round, whereas a post-money SAFE effectively locks in the percentage the investor will own when the SAFE is converted to shares. Pre-money SAFEs are typically considered more founder-friendly, but many investors require post-money SAFEs.
- Discounts - SAFEs convert to shares during the next priced round, when a valuation is set. If a discount was included in the SAFE terms, the shares are converted at 100% — discount % of the valuation.
- Pro-Rata Rights - Included as a side letter, this establishes a right for the investors to invest in the next fundraising round.
- Most Favored Nation - This provision guarantees that the terms of the SAFE are equal or better than the terms other investors are receiving. This clause is typically seen as investor-friendly.