Author: Ryan Roberts
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Acceleration Startup Law Book Title and Cover Design
Thought I might take some time to explain the origin of the title and the book cover design for “Acceleration: What All Entrepreneurs Must Know About Startup Law“. The Title: Acceleration Quite often, a new client starts our first meeting with something like: “We messed up the legal at our last startup, so we want…
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So I wrote a Startup Law Book called “Acceleration”
If you follow this blog, then you probably know new posts have been harder to find than a four-leafed clover in the desert. But I had a good reason — I’ve spent the good portion of the last 3 years putting together a startup law book, when I wasn’t doing my venture lawyer day job…
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Voting Rights of Vesting Shares
One of the most common questions I get when helping founders set up a new startup is: “Do my unvested shares have any voting rights?” Put differently, do you only get to vote based on the number of vested shares you have at a given time? Because founders often subject most (or all) of their…
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U.S. VC Process for Indian Startups
As a startup in India, closing on U.S. venture capital is similar to doing so if your company was completely US-based, with a few notable differences. I’ve represented several India-based startups through venture capital financings. To name just a few, clients have included Freshworks (formerly FreshDesk), WizRocket, and Shopalyst. They, along with other clients, have…
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Accelerator Investments Should Be Convertible Equity
I previously wrote that accelerator documents should be easy. At the time, I focused on adverse selection: the more difficult the terms or onboarding process (including the investment documents), the more likely the best startups would choose a different accelerator or decide not to join at all. As the accelerator ecosystem has evolved, and after…
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Right of First Refusal in Company Bylaws
A Right of First Refusal (ROFR) provision gives a startup the right to step into the shoes of a third-party buyer when a current stockholder wants to sell their shares. In other words, before the shares can be sold to an outside purchaser, the company has the option to buy the shares itself on the…
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Convertible Note Maturity Date Terms
Convertible notes are a very common startup financing method. They typically include a maturity date, at which point the notes are, in theory, due and payable with interest. Convertible note maturity is often set 18 to 24 months after the first note investment. In practice, repayment at maturity is usually not a great outcome for…
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Dual Class Common Stock Structure for Founders
A startup founder’s desire to hold equity better than plain vanilla common stock is not new. Several years ago, Series FF stock for founders was a popular approach for founder liquidity in subsequent financing rounds. We implemented Series FF for a handful of clients back then, but we have not done so recently. In the…
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How to Survive a Co-Founder Divorce while at an Accelerator
Accelerators can certainly help a startup reach new levels. But if the relationship between the startup’s co-founders is already on shaky ground when they enter, the only thing the accelerator (through no fault of its own) may accelerate is a co-founder divorce…and possibly the death of the startup. The Co-Founder Divorce Problem In a co-founder…
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Accelerator Demo Days and General Solicitation
If you have been to accelerator demo days, you have probably seen a pitch that mentions a financing round in progress, or the details of a proposed round. In the last several years, some accelerators have worried that demo day presentations could be viewed as a general solicitation for purposes of Rule 502(c) of Regulation…