The Securities and Exchange Commission‘s message in its Tuesday investor bulletin on Simple Agreement for Future Equity securities was clear: Be wary of opportunities bearing names too good to be true.
The SAFE investment vehicles, as they’re known, were created to facilitate a faster, less cumbersome way for Silicon Valley venture capitalist-type investors to get in on the absolute ground floor of promising new companies. Unlike convertible notes with a built-in guarantee of some sort of maturity date or interest, SAFEs allow investors to provide upfront capital in exchange for future access to equity in the company—but only after a “triggering” event has occurred, such as being acquired or another round of financing.
