SAFEs & convertibles
SAFEs are how most pre-seed and seed rounds get done. Tenacap records each one with its real terms, generates a Y Combinator post-money SAFE you can send for signature, and carries every outstanding SAFE into your round model so you can watch it convert before you sign.
A SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) isn’t stock today — it’s a promise to convert into shares at your next priced round, on terms you agree to now. Tenacap treats each SAFE as a first-class instrument on your cap table: you record what you actually agreed to, and the platform handles the rest, from the signed paper to the math at conversion.
Record a SAFE
To log a SAFE you’ve already signed, open your cap table and add a new SAFE. Each one captures four things:
- Investor — the stakeholder putting in the money. If they’re not on your cap table yet, add them first.
- Amount — the purchase amount the investor is paying.
- Post-money valuation cap — the cap that sets the conversion price, if the SAFE has one.
- Discount — the percentage off the round price, if the SAFE has one.
Caps, discounts & both
A SAFE can carry a valuation cap, a discount, or both, and that choice decides how it converts:
- Cap only — converts at the cap price (the cap divided by the company’s capitalization).
- Discount only — converts at a set percentage below the next round’s price.
- Cap and discount — converts at the lower of the cap price and the discounted price, whichever is better for the investor.
Record the terms exactly as written. Tenacap reads them back the same way at conversion, so there’s no second spreadsheet to keep in sync.
Generate a YC post-money SAFE
Haven’t papered the SAFE yet? Tenacap can generate one from the official Y Combinator post-money form, with your company name, state of incorporation, investor, amount, cap, discount, and date merged in for you. The legal body is the unmodified YC text — Tenacap only fills the blanks.
Three variants of the YC post-money SAFE are supported today:
- Valuation Cap, No Discount — for a cap-only SAFE.
- Discount, No Valuation Cap — for a discount-only SAFE.
- Valuation Cap and Discount — for a SAFE with both.
Open the Agreement panel on any supported SAFE to preview the full PDF. Uncapped MFN and pre-money SAFEs can still be recorded, but the generator declines to produce a document for them rather than use the wrong form.
Send it for signature
Once the draft looks right, send it for signature without leaving Tenacap. The agreement runs through the same native e-signature pipeline as every other document: the PDF is hashed and anchored, the investor is emailed a request to sign, and the executed copy comes back sealed with a signature certificate you can download. The full flow lives in Documents & e-signature.
How SAFEs feed scenarios
Recording SAFEs isn’t just bookkeeping — it’s what makes round modeling honest. When you model a priced round in scenario modeling, every outstanding SAFE converts on its own terms: cap price, discount price, or the lower of the two. You see exactly how much each investor’s SAFE turns into, how the new money dilutes everyone, and where founders land — all before you commit to a term sheet.