The instrument: the CISA
Chisos invests through the Convertible Income Share Agreement (CISA), an instrument we designed and open-sourced. It blends two things:
- An income share with the founder. You pay Chisos a percentage of your personal income, but only when it's above a minimum salary floor. No salary, or a low one? Payments pause.
- A small equity stake in the company. It starts small, and founders can earn part of it back as they make payments.
Because the agreement is with you, not just one company, we can back people earlier than equity-only investors can. And our upside isn't tied to a single bet working out.
What that means for a founder
- Not a loan. No interest, no fixed installments, no personal guarantee.
- Not revenue-based financing. We don't take cash out of the business.
- Payments only when you can afford them. There's a salary floor below which nothing is owed.
- You keep most of your equity. Our starting stake is small, and you can earn part of it back.
- It doesn't block future rounds. The CISA is designed to sit cleanly alongside later venture funding.
Note: We're updating the CISA for our next cohort. The structure above holds, but the specific percentages, salary floor, and caps are set in each investment's term sheet. We'll walk you through the exact terms before you sign anything.
For background, the original CISA we open-sourced is on GitHub: https://github.com/Chisos-Dev/Convertible-Income-Share-Agreement. It's an earlier version; current terms differ.
Check size
- First checks: typically up to $100,000
- Follow-on and larger checks: available for founders already showing real traction
Process
- Apply. Online, no warm intro needed. Your agent can help you prepare. See how to apply.
- Review. A person on our team reads every application, supported by our own scoring software.
- Conversation. If it looks like a fit, we set up a call to dig in and answer your questions.
- Diligence and decision. We look at the full picture and our investment committee decides, usually within a few weeks of the call.
- Funding. Cash is wired directly to you.