StartupNation released an “Odds of Success Calculator” so that entrepreneurs can “see if your business is prepared for success.” The calculator derives your odds of success based upon your answers to the following 8 questions: (1) About how much debt and equity capital has been provided to your business? (2)
If founders stock is issued subject to a vesting period, each founder should make a Section 83(b) election with the IRS within 30 days of purchasing the restricted stock. If a founder fails to make a 83(b) election, each vesting milestone will be a taxable event for the founder. “Income”
A couple of weeks ago, I retweeted a Brad Feld post titled “Startup Cost Projections for First-Time Entrepreneurs.” The passage that interested me the most was: The biggest mistake first time entrepreneurs make is that they fall prey to the idea that they need to put together a five year
There’s quite a few startup events going on in DFW in June: June 4 – FundingPost.com Dallas Early Stage Venture & Angel Conference What: Panel of investors will discuss early-stage investing, how to get funded, hot sectors, and networking. Where: Sheraton Suites Market Center, 2101 N Stemmons Freeway Dallas, TX
The liquidation preference is the amount that must be paid to the preferred stock holders before distributions may be made to common stock holders. The liquidation preference is payable on either a liquidation of the company, asset sale, merger, consolidation or any other reorganization resulting in the change of control
Recently I’ve written about potential conflicts of interest between you and your startup lawyer. Now for the main event: Stock for Fees. This situation arises when a startup company offers stock to a lawyer in exchange for legal services. I’ve derived the following 2 postulates to explain why startups and
I got a tip from @Pietari that another set of startup documents were released today. The Funded Founder Institute just released a very founder-favorable set of startup documents centered around “Class F Common Stock.” The Class F Common offers founders various protective provisions such as: -2 to 1 Board votes
I just found out from Altgate.com that Wilson Sonsini has launched a “Term Sheet Generator.” Here is WSGR’s description of the free tool: This tool will generate a venture financing term sheet based on your responses to an online questionnaire. It also has an informational component, with basic tutorials and
Heck no. Your lawyer should not get a contingent finder’s fee for introducing you to investors or potential acquirers. I think taking a finder’s fee would be a greater conflict than sitting on your startup’s board of directors. I’ve always felt introductions, whether to an accountant, potential co-founder, or investor
Startup founders sometimes ask their startup lawyer to serve on the board of directors. The founders may feel that their lawyer is a prime candidate for a board seat since their lawyer (a) is familiar with their startup, and (2) has dealt with a myriad of startup company issues through
