Which Is Better for a $2M ARR SaaS? — absolutely ridiculous

I publish illustrative scenarios prepared by my practice. All participants and conversations are fictional. The fictional posts are not posts by real users, accounts of client experiences, or reports of actual results.
Illustrative scenario prepared by my practice.
For informational purposes only. This is not legal advice.
Hypothetical question

We're a B2B SaaS at $2M ARR, growing ~40% YoY. Profitable but want capital to accelerate growth. We've been approached by both a VC fund (offering $3M for 20% equity) and an RBF provider (offering $500K at 1.5x repayment cap, 8% of monthly revenue).

The VC deal feels expensive. The RBF is smaller but no dilution. Can we do RBF now and raise equity later at a higher valuation?

Illustrative response

Yeah at $2M ARR growing 40% or whatever, your implied valuation should be $10M-$15M, so 20% for $3M is actually reasonable. But if you can grow to $4M ARR with the RBF capital, you'd raise the Series A at $20M-$25M pre-money and give up less equity.

The risk: RBF payments reduce your cash flow during repayment. At 8% of revenue, you're paying ~$13K/month initially tbh.

Illustrative response

Legal considerations for RBF:

  • Review for personal guarantees (some RBF providers sneak them in)
  • Check for anti-dilution provisions conflicting with future equity raises
  • Ensure there's no equity conversion clause
  • Watch for covenants restricting future equity raises
Illustrative response

The RBF term sheet does have a "warrant coverage" clause — they want warrants for 1% of equity. Is that standard?

Illustrative response

Warrant coverage on RBF is increasingly common but negotiable. 1% is on the low end (I've seen 2-5%). Push for warrants at current fair market value, not at a discount. And make sure they have an expiration date (5-7 years standard).

Illustrative response

One more thing: some VCs don't like seeing RBF on your cap table. It can signal that you couldn't raise "real" venture capital. Check with potential Series A investors before committing.