The first comprehensive guide to venture debt for founders.
Venture Debt Deals
How to Fund Growth With Less Dilution
by Marshall Hawks
Signed copies include free shipping.
Ships to your Kindle in January — no shipping fees, no cardboard box.
Hardcovers ordered here are offset-printed — the launch-run edition. They’ll ship a little earlier than the broad release in January 2026, and your dollars go directly to supporting my work (three cheers for publishing unit economics!).
Hardcover preorders at booksellers worldwide will start in early December. After broad release in early 2026, the same offset hardcover will be available on Amazon alongside Kindle and Audiobook versions. Other retailers (Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, etc.) will carry the print-on-demand version instead — perfectly fine, just not the same as the offset launch run.
I’m grateful wherever you choose to buy.
“Founders often underestimate the role debt can play in shaping outcomes for a company. Marshall combines two decades of hard-earned lessons into a book that gives entrepreneurs the context they need to make smarter decisions about when—and when not—to use debt.”
— Brad Feld, Co-Founder of Foundry Group and Techstars, author of Venture Deals and Startup Communities
About the Book
The first founder-friendly guide to venture debt term sheets.
For most entrepreneurs, the first time they ever see a venture debt term sheet is when it lands in their inbox. It may only be five pages long, but it’s packed with details that can make or break a company’s future. Until now, the nuances of venture debt have remained obscure and inaccessible.
In Venture Debt Deals, innovation lending veteran Marshall Hawks pulls back the curtain on Silicon Valley’s venture debt world. With more than twenty years in venture banking—primarily at powerhouse Silicon Valley Bank—Marshall has seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. He has worked with hundreds of startups, including unicorns like Airbnb, Twitch, Fitbit, and Planet Labs.
This book is the first comprehensive, founder-friendly guide to understanding, negotiating, and using venture debt wisely. Marshall breaks down every term you’re likely to see in a deal—explaining how it applies at different stages of growth, how terms differ between venture banks and private credit funds, and which points are worth negotiating versus which are take-it-or-leave-it.
You’ll also get clear answers to questions every founder asks:
Who are the key venture bank and private credit players?
How do lenders actually think about startups in the innovation economy?
What’s the typical process, timeline, and cost?
What diligence should you expect (and perform yourself)?
How to build a meaningful working relationship between the company and your lender.
Finally, four in-depth case studies bring the lessons to life, showing how venture debt works in the real world—successes, failures, and everything in between.
Whether you’re a founder, CEO, or CFO, Venture Debt Deals is your must-read reference for using debt to help fund growth —with less dilution and fewer surprises.
Praise for Venture Debt Deals
“As a CEO, I’ve raised venture debt and seen how powerful it can be when used well—and how risky if misunderstood. Marshall’s book is the first to truly level the playing field for founders by explaining both the opportunities and the pitfalls in plain language.”
— Matt Blumberg, CEO of Markup AI, former Founder & CEO of Return Path and Bolster, author of Startup CEO, Startup CXO and Startup Boards
“Our firm seeded Twitch (back when it was Justin.tv). Marshall and SVB took a chance on the company when no one else would, and that support helped lead to the exit with Amazon. He brings the same judgment and clarity to this book.”
— Stewart Alsop, Founding Partner of Alsop Louie Partners
Until Marshall Hawks’ book, venture debt was a dark art. Now entrepreneurs and venture capitalists alike have the benefit of Marshall’s decades of experience and insight. I wish I had this book when I was starting out!
David Hornik – General Partner at Lobby Capital
“There is only one regrettable thing about Marshall Hawks new book: The fact that millions of people every year don’t raise venture debt. It not only excels at giving you clear, no-nonsense, actionable advice, helping you avoid the pitfalls way too many founders fall into with venture debt, but it does it with an engaging, funny, banker-next-door vibe. You immediately trust that Marshall has your back; and as a friend of his and a founder who has raised venture debt before, he does. The case studies in this book alone are worth the price of admission, showing that Marshall has truly had a front row seat to some of Silicon Valley’s wildest and most profitable times. This is a rare tactical business book that’s almost impossible to put down, because it’s also an incredible read.”
— Sarah Lacy, Co-Founder of Bestbookstore.com, Founder of Pando.com and author of three books. (A Uterus Is a Feature Not a Bug; Brilliant, Crazy, Cocky; Once Your Lucky, Twice Your Good).
About the Author
Marshall brings more than 20 years in venture banking and lending. The bulk of that time was at Silicon Valley Bank where he held nine different roles across three countries over sixteen years. Most recently, he led SVB's Relationship Management organization in Northern California and was also responsible for SVB's in-house private credit team, the Strategic Capital Group. Prior to that he spent three years building SVB's Canada Branch as Head of Credit Solutions and the best/only/token American north of the border. Over his career, Marshall has worked with hundreds of high-growth startups — including Airbnb, Twitch, Fitbit, Planet Labs, Tubemogul, and Egnyte — giving him a front-row seat to how founders use (and sometimes misuse) venture debt.
Prior to joining SVB in 2009, he worked in similar venture lending roles at Wells Fargo, Greater Bay Venture Banking (acquired by Wells) and Comerica Bank. Marshall has a degree in economics from Sonoma State University, which really only means he can draw an impressive graph and knows that incentives matter.
Outside of work, Marshall is an avid skier, soccer player and CrossFit enthusiast who enjoys lifting oddly shaped heavy objects including his two young children.