YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 28, 2015

Craig Schmitz, a partner in the Technology Companies Group at law firm Godwin Proctor LLP who works on corporate, governance, board and fundraising issues, and Erika Fisher, an associate in the firm’s Business Law Department who deals with IP, fielded questions about the legal issues startups face. ” The Cost of Financing.

Convertible Security 100

Convertible Security IP Technical Review Software Review 100

The Startup Magazine

JUNE 26, 2020

Save these hard details for the professionals by consulting what startup lawyers will contribute to your launch immediately. If you are wondering what can a startup lawyer help with, your answers are on their way. Startup lawyers can help you decide on which structure is the best for you based on your finances, plans and goals.

Intellectual Property 149

Intellectual Property Startup SEC Stock Options 149

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

But not everybody has the right skills to build a highly successful and valuable startup from scratch. For some aspiring to be tech entrepreneurs, I often suggest a two-step process, as I argued in this post that “ The First Startup Founder You Need to Invest in Is You.” In fact, I would argue that most people don’t.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Liquidation Preference Silicon Valley IP 150

Hunter Walker

MAY 13, 2023

“Worst case scenario we’ll sell to a larger startup or public company for about ~$1.5m I was on both sides of these transactions – buying startups for Google/YouTube and angel investing in high quality technical founders. per engineer.” of the time my answer is no f **g way].

Early Stage 117

Early Stage Cap Table Acquisition Sales 117

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

More and more startups are pursuing Revenue-Based VCs , but “RBI” doesn’t fit everyone. Eligible for favorable treatment under Qualified Small Business Stock exemption, if structured as equity. This applies if the investment converts into common stock; details are beyond this essay’s scope. Of the Inc. 5000 companies, only 6.5%

Cofounder 78

Cofounder Technical Review Dividend Equity 78

View from Seed

DECEMBER 4, 2014

Editor’s note: Understanding how to divide founder equity at a startup can be tricky, even to the point of reaching emotional riffs between founders. Across both the startups I’ve personally been involved in (PayPal and LinkedIn) and the startups in which I’ve been an investor, I’ve seen a broad range of co-founder equity splits.

Equity 315

Equity Founder Sweat Equity Cofounder 315

Gust

DECEMBER 1, 2011

What is a startup really? I don’t fault entrepreneurs for relegating startup legal work to the bottom of their daily triage list; founders are spread incredibly thin. For starters, let’s examine the question of who, when and what: Who : Find and engage an experienced startup lawyer.

IP 114

IP Intellectual Property Equity Liquidity Event 114

YoungUpstarts

OCTOBER 14, 2011

With these encouraging statistics, perhaps it’s little surprise the local authorities realize that high-tech startups are horses worth putting money on. The hope is to get even more experienced investors and entrepreneurs to invest in local startups and provide them with systematic management guidance and mentorship.

Singapore 179

Singapore Technical Review Technology Incubator 179

Agile VC

DECEMBER 4, 2014

Across both the startups I’ve personally been involved in (PayPal and LinkedIn) and the startups in which I’ve been an investor, I’ve seen a broad range of co-founder equity splits. You can then work with your law firm to formally draw up founder common stock paperwork either then or subsequently.

Cofounder 255

Cofounder Equity Founder Sweat Equity 255

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

Having re-read it, I believe his real premise instead is, “Fixed-size, multi-investor angel rounds are such a bad idea for startups that one wonders why things were ever done that way.&#. Either would be fine with startups, so long as they can easily change their valuation. When I’m in, I’m in. rings true to me.

Finance 286

Finance Term Sheet Technical Review Warrant 286

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 17, 2019

I had just left Salesforce.com where I was VP, Products, after they had acquired my second startup. Just as I was getting the swing of things the world shifted beneath my feet and the stock market went into a free fall and venture capital all but shut down for nearly a year. Defensible IP becomes insanely valuable?—?particularly

IP 223

IP Intellectual Property IRR Cofounder 223

Version One Ventures

OCTOBER 15, 2020

Given these key advantages, I believe that Lightning (or something like it) will ultimately eat all of the USD payment networks and create the foundation for MoIP (Money over IP). . synthetic stocks or futures) and prediction markets. I’m seeing a lot of experimentation and development on this front in the Lightning community.

Networking 168

Networking Global Security OTC 168

Agile VC

DECEMBER 4, 2014

Across both the startups I’ve personally been involved in (PayPal and LinkedIn) and the startups in which I’ve been an investor, I’ve seen a broad range of co-founder equity splits. You can then work with your law firm to formally draw up founder common stock paperwork either then or subsequently.

Cofounder 173

Cofounder Equity Founder Sweat Equity 173

Austin Startup

DECEMBER 17, 2017

This the 21st installment of Startup Decision Making will conclude my writing until after the Holidays. I recall that MSA’s stock increased 5X or thereabouts after our deal, which by no means implies that Peachtree deserved sole credit for all that. I got the message. But, credit is due to all these CEO’s for perseverance.

Silicon Valley 48

Silicon Valley Atlanta Software Review Early Stage 48

David Teten

MARCH 14, 2018

I’ve listed a few more below which require meaningful startup and ongoing costs. Venture studios work as co-founders with a founding team, with the larger ones assigning dedicated internal teams for each startup idea (e.g., Typically they get cofounder common equity, in addition to the preferred stock that a conventional VC gets.

Private Equity 60

Private Equity Venture Capital Equity Cofounder 60

The Startup Lawyer

JANUARY 26, 2010

Now if your startup received a $5MM Series A investment from a venture capital firm, how many developers (that you can recall) would come out of the shadows of the internet and claim to be your startup’s long lost founder? The answer to this question depends on how well your startup secures its intellectual property.

IP 57

IP Intellectual Property Founder Stock Options 57

mashable.com

AUGUST 31, 2010

Now that we’re nearing the home stretch of 2010, it’s a good time to take stock of various odds and ends for your business. SCVNGR Makes Major Enhancements to iP. Follow her on Twitter @corpnet and Facebook. You should consult with a legal or tax professional before making decisions about business incorporation.

LLC 75

LLC Social Media Startup Philadelphia 75

mashable.com

AUGUST 31, 2010

Now that we’re nearing the home stretch of 2010, it’s a good time to take stock of various odds and ends for your business. SCVNGR Makes Major Enhancements to iP. Follow her on Twitter @corpnet and Facebook. You should consult with a legal or tax professional before making decisions about business incorporation.

LLC 75

LLC Ruby Social Media Startup 75

mashable.com

OCTOBER 16, 2010

During a presentation at Startup School at Stanford University earlier today, the prolific investor discussed the state of startup funding with a packed auditorium of students and entrepreneurs. These investors usually raise a smaller fund and make investments into startups that range in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Angel Investor 84

Angel Investor Venture Capital Social Media Technical Review 84

mashable.com

OCTOBER 16, 2010

During a presentation at Startup School at Stanford University earlier today, the prolific investor discussed the state of startup funding with a packed auditorium of students and entrepreneurs. These investors usually raise a smaller fund and make investments into startups that range in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Angel Investor 83

Angel Investor Venture Capital Social Media Technical Review 83

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

If you’re wildly successful early on or if they help you achieve a great valuation they actually pay a significant price for their eventual stock even though they took much more risk than a future investor and backed you early. Less than you’ll probably grant your most junior employees in stock options? Stock Option plans.

Venture Capital 417

Venture Capital Liquidation Preference Valuation Term Sheet 417

Hunter Walker

AUGUST 8, 2023

At the time, this is last quarter and the stock market has trended upwards nicely since then (a potential leading indicator of private tech valuations), we all agreed venture portfolios were probably still 25-40% overvalued. And fascinating new advances (and needs) in AI, climate, biology, etc are driving tech-IP driven startups.

Portfolio 98

Portfolio Cap Table LP Valuation 98

Scott Edward Walker

NOVEMBER 2, 2011

I’ve been a corporate lawyer for 17+ years, and there are certain fundamental legal mistakes that I’ve seen startups repeatedly make. Accordingly, I thought it would be helpful to provide a simple checklist for startups , which includes links to prior posts for a more detailed discussion.

Accredited Investor 111

Accredited Investor Stock Options Delaware Silicon Valley 111

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

You transition from “startup” to real business and it turns out that having an entire team be efficient is more important than that boundless energy but destructive nature of constantly changing direction from the CEO. Great startups have budgets. Stock option top-ups after a few years are vital retention mechanisms.

Operations 150

Operations Metrics Early Stage Non-Compete 150

The Startup Lawyer

MARCH 17, 2010

4) Type of Shares: Common Stock. (5) 10) Consideration for Founders Shares: Cash & IP. (11) 11) Handling of “Lost Founders&# : Lock Down the IP. 2) Fees Paid to Pitch my Startup: $0. (3) Tags: Startup Issues Incorporation raising capital startup. 1) Entity Choice: Corporation or Corporation. (2)

Accredited Investor 112

Accredited Investor Delaware NDA Vesting 112

The Startup Lawyer

MARCH 17, 2010

4) Type of Shares: Common Stock. (5) 10) Consideration for Founders Shares: Cash & IP. (11) 11) Handling of “Lost Founders&# : Lock Down the IP (then Wish Them Well). 2) Fees Paid to Pitch my Startup: $0. (3) Tags: Startup Issues Incorporation raising capital startup. 8) Vest Founders Shares?

Accredited Investor 112

Accredited Investor Delaware NDA Vesting 112

The Next Web

JANUARY 24, 2014

As a startup hub, Amsterdam grabs the same amount of attention as the girl with braces at the high school dance. So is the Dutch tech startup story sold short? So let’s take stock: What do we offer? The company has a checkered past, but it was the first corporation in history to issue stock in exchange for capital.

Netherlands 143

Netherlands Technical Review Stock Silicon Valley 143

Tim Keane

JANUARY 12, 2010

Startups and angels: Along the way to success. Term-sheets for preferred stock offerings are designed to protect the investor in case things don’t go as well as planned.   Say I invest $1MM in a company and receive 40% of the stock. These include: ·       Vesting of Founder Stock.

Term Sheet 68

Term Sheet Valuation Dividend Pre-Money Valuation 68

Hearpreneur

JULY 1, 2020

Several “experts” in marketing and advertising, and IP lawyers, tried to talk me into changing it. Our whole startup team brainstormed for days before coming up with ideas. As a financial planner, money was my stock in trade; however, I discovered true wealth was in good health and relationships. Buttercloth was born.

Naming 149

Naming Entrepreneur New Hampshire LLC 149

ReadWriteStart

NOVEMBER 15, 2010

The law firm Goodwin Procter has launched a new resource for entrepreneurs that will help them navigate some of the legal and organizational challenges that startups face. Documents that can be created include a Certificate of Incorporation, Bylaws, Consent of Board of Directors, and Common Stock Certificates.

Founder 117

Founder Common Stock IP Startup 117

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 4, 2017

Investing in startups is a lot more than just buying “stock” in a company. For investors who have come to the table with a history investing in publicly listed companies or the property market, it’s easy to think that backing startups is largely a “set and forget” strategy. In addition to that very few startups only raise once.

Pre-Money Valuation 167

Pre-Money Valuation Seed Stage IP Deal Flow 167

ReadWriteStart

FEBRUARY 10, 2011

Questions about the legal requirements surrounding the establishment, incorporation or funding of a startup may be among the most common and most challenging that entrepreneurs face. Mandal was the lead of Apple's mergers and acquisitions team, and Gupta was an IP attorney at a several national firms.

California 118

California Merger IP Startup 118

Austin Startup

AUGUST 20, 2017

August 20, 2017: This is another in my series of posts all leading up to a book on Startup Decision Making. One of the most common mistakes I see in startups is making decisions that lose sight of the context , including the past, present, and future. Sooner or later everybody in a startup knows what everyone else is getting paid.

Technical Review 48

Technical Review Software Review Cap Table Securities and Exchange Commission 48

The Startup Lawyer

AUGUST 18, 2010

I’ve noticed a lot of recent articles promoting that a startup can “ skip the lawyer &# and incorporate via an online service. These sites typically list about 20 incorporation tasks they’ll do for your startup for around $250 plus the applicable state filing fees. Tags: Incorporation startup.

Vesting 94

Vesting IP Startup Stock 94

www.seriesseed.com

DECEMBER 9, 2012

Good idea, I think this will benefit lots of startups and some angels. Locks in rights, preferences and priviledges of the stock. It would be helpful to get a California standard employee manual, employee contract/agreements, IP ownership release to company, and confidentiality. Ted: Great service to the startup community!

Finance 40

Finance Term Sheet Vesting LLC 40

Scott Edward Walker

OCTOBER 27, 2015

I get calls and questions all the time about our Startup Package and, accordingly, I put together a brief clip from the podcast “ This Week in Startups ” which should be helpful. Indeed, we have done more than 300 Startup Packages and the appeal is obvious: no billable hours. Legal Checklist for Startups. v=N1A44ShZfWo.

Intellectual Property 40

Intellectual Property Accredited Investor Vesting Delaware 40

Gust

DECEMBER 8, 2011

In Part I , I gave a quick summary of the who, when and why of forming and documenting a new startup company. This week we’ll delve into what , exactly, is necessary or desirable to lay a solid legal foundation for a startup to build upon. Make escrow arrangements for restricted stock (i.e., Newco, Inc.”) Yes, it’s a mouthful.

Intellectual Property 139

Intellectual Property Non-disclosure Agreement Delaware Stock 139