Don’t Create an “Issuance Pool”

“We want to have 30% of the startup company at exit.” -Anonymous Startup Founders Occasionally, founders will plan out their startup’s lifespan to the point of pre-determining their final equity figure after all hires and investments have been made. Usually, a set of founders want to end up with a

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Startup Docs from TheFunded.com

TheFunded.com has just released a “Complete Set of Founder Friendly Legal Docs” via its website. (Hat tip to @bradleyjoyce at the Fort Worth Startup Blog) The sample startup documents, located at docstoc.com, include: – Bylaws – Certificate of Incorporation – Initial Stockholder Consent – Invention Assignment Agreement – Restricted Stock

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What is a Registered Agent?

A registered agent is someone, either a company or an individual, that a corporation appoints to receive service of process and other official notices such as state franchise tax notices. Service of process is how a third party gives your company notice of a pending legal matter, which allows your

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The 83(b) Election For Startup Founders

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”

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Why LegalZoom Fails Startups

Thinking of saving some cash and using LegalZoom to incorporate your startup? Think again. While incorporating with LegalZoom is a viable option for some new businesses, LegalZoom comes up way short for startups. LegalZoom just doesn’t offer the documents a typical startup needs: Shareholders Agreement? Nope. Stock Purchase Agreements? No.

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Skip the LLC

“My startup will start out as an LLC and then change to a corporation when/if…” This quote, or similar derivation, is a common fact pattern I hear from new clients or general inquiries. I think most entrepreneurs are attracted to the LLC because they hear it is “simple” or “easily-managed”

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