Disclosure certainty 4/5 debate potential 1/5

Kleiner Perkins Secured 27% Equity in Nav's Series A for $2M Extra

Levi King · Leading Authentically: Levi King’s Journey from Entrepreneur to Fintech Innovator · Jun 4, 2025 · at 19:12

Levi King, co-founder and CEO of Nav, recounts negotiating round size and dilution with Randy Komisar at Kleiner Perkins.

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“He said, look, I really want to have 27%. I love this deal. I want to work with you. I'll go down to 25. And I said, how about you give me an extra two million bucks and we'll give you the 27. He said, done.”

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