Scott Edward Walker
OCTOBER 19, 2020
Over the past six months, my firm has been engaged by a number of startups with significant intellectual property (“IP”) problems. In a couple of cases, the founders played lawyer on their own; in the other cases, the founders either used (i) a Web service that did not address IP issues or (ii) an inexperienced law firm.
Scott Edward Walker
SEPTEMBER 28, 2011
Vesting Restrictions. The first deadly mistake relates to vesting restrictions. In addition, sometimes a portion of the shares will be deemed to be vested “up front” – meaning that they are not subject to vesting — particularly where a founder has made a significant contribution prior to the company’s incorporation.
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Startup Professionals Musings
FEBRUARY 27, 2016
Project your costs as diligently as your revenues. Keep all IP details close to the vest. Crowdfunding interest, by definition, is primarily from non-professional investors who are more focused on features and value, rather than the financials of your business. Several crowdfunding successes have failed as a business.
NZ Entrepreneur
SEPTEMBER 29, 2021
Addressing real world problems, they thrive in uncertainty, generating new jobs and new revenue streams in new markets. This equity will vest over 2-3 years. In deep tech companies value creation milestones are more likely to be tagged to validating the technology and IP creation. 0.75% for directors and 1-2% for the chair.
Scott Edward Walker
NOVEMBER 2, 2011
Set-up vesting schedules for the founders (see post here ) and file 83(b) elections with the IRS (see #3 here ). Button-down IP ownership and assignment issues (see post here ). Incorporate in Delaware and qualify the company to do business in the state in which its principal office is located (see #2 here ).
Both Sides of the Table
SEPTEMBER 18, 2014
Revenue multiple? of the time I have no vested interest in having the debate. How will you price the next round? Your A round? Him: On metrics. We’ll have some proof points by then. What proof points? How will the lead determine a value? EBITDA multiple? Cashflow projections? I’m not sure. These are all real conversations.
Scott Edward Walker
OCTOBER 27, 2015
Set-up vesting schedules for the founders (see post here ) and file 83(b) elections with the IRS (see #3 here ). Button-down IP ownership and assignment issues (see post here ). We charge a flat fee of $2,000, plus filing fees, for up to three co-founders and it includes unlimited phone calls and emails.
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