Priced Round

A round where investors buy shares at an agreed price per share.

Also known as: priced round, priced equity round, Series A

A priced round sets a per-share price and sells equity at it — the Series A and beyond standard, replacing SAFEs and notes with definitive stock. Pricing crystallizes everything deferred: valuation fixed, ownership percentages known, governance (board, protective provisions) formalized. It is fundraising grown up.

SAFEs/notes (defer pricing) → priced round (fix price, convert everything, set governance)
                             → company with known owners and a board

Run it as a process with a lead investor setting terms others follow, on a compressed timeline with momentum deliberately built (running a fundraise). Priced rounds cost more in legal fees and time than SAFEs — worth it when valuation is defensible and governance needed.

The classic mistakes:

Pricing too early. A priced round on thin traction sets a low anchor that’s hard to escape and dilutes heavily. Price when evidence supports it; bridge with SAFEs until then.
No lead, no round. Chasing ten small checks without a lead to set terms stalls indefinitely. Secure the lead first — followers follow.
Governance unexamined. Board composition, protective provisions, information rights — signed hastily, regretted for years. Negotiate governance with the same care as valuation (term sheet).
Conversion chaos at close. Stacked SAFEs/notes with conflicting terms discovered mid-round delay closing and reprice expectations. Reconcile the conversion stack before launching the round.
Celebrating the close. The round is fuel, not victory. Announce briefly, thank specifically, then return to the milestones that must justify the valuation by next round.

Graduate to priced rounds when traction supports valuation and the company needs governance. Until then, SAFEs and extensions fund cheaper — see funding stages for the sequence.