Numerical Example: SAFE, cap and discount

Investor has purchased a safe for $100,000. The Valuation Cap is $8,000,000 and the Discount Rate is 85%.

The company has negotiated with investors to sell $1,000,000 worth of Series A Preferred Stock at a $10,000,000 pre-money valuation. The company’s fully-diluted outstanding capital stock immediately prior to the financing, including a 1,000,000 share option pool to be adopted in connection with the financing, is 11,000,000 shares.

The company will issue and sell 1,100,110 shares of Series A Preferred at $0.909 per share to the new investors. The company will issue Series A-1 Preferred to the safe holder, based on the Valuation Cap or the Discount Rate, whichever results in a lower price per share. The 15% discount applied to the per share price of the Series A Preferred is $0.77265. The Valuation Cap results in a price per share of $0.72727. Accordingly, the company will issue 137,500 shares of Series A-1 Preferred to the safe holder, at $0.72727 per share. The Discount Rate does not apply in this case.

Source: Y Combinator SAFE Primer