This guide covers a venture-track company from incorporation through exit. It explains entity choice and the tax provisions that make it consequential, then treats founder equity, vesting, and the thirty-day election that cannot be extended. It sets out the securities framework governing every raise and the exemptions startups actually use. It compares SAFEs and convertible notes and shows how conversion dilution accumulates. It walks a priced round term sheet term by term, separating what matters from what does not. It covers employee equity, valuations, and the tax rules that punish careless option pricing. It explains governance after the round, down-round mechanics, and founder departures. It closes with diligence preparation and the exit waterfall.