Founders receive a term sheet full of unfamiliar words and a deadline, and it is easy to agree the headline price while missing the clauses that decide control. This template turns the offer into one readable summary. It starts with the round, valuation and ownership, then explains each term with a worked example, covering the liquidation preference, the board, vesting and the remaining terms. The pages follow the order you need to think about them, from price down to the small print.

The sample follows a fictional £2.4M round for Driftwood Partners at £9.6M pre-money, with a 12% option pool and a 1x non-participating preference. Replace the amounts, holders, share classes and terms with the ones in your own offer, rewrite each explanation in your own words, and check the cap table with counsel before you respond. The summary is a guide to the terms and is not legal advice.