Category: Startup Issues
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Generate Goodwill Instead of Burning a Bridge
A frequent issue entrepreneurs, myself included, deal with is having to handle negative situations with due care and class so as to not erode startup company goodwill, not to mention other business tangibles and intangibles. You can create goodwill for your startup company many ways. And most are fairly obvious. But truly great entrepreneurs have…
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You’re Nobody Till Somebody Steals Your Startup Idea
Many entrepreneurs worry that someone, whether a potential partner, a VC, or a boogeyman will steal their startup idea. If you are worried about having your startup idea “jacked,” I recommend you take a deep breath and relax a bit–your startup idea isn’t worth that much. Paul Graham, in an essay derived from a talk…
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How Will This Economic Downturn Affect Startups?
As the economic downturn begins to spread from sub-prime borrowing to the current credit contraction (and I’m not ready to say the R-word yet), it seems unlikely that startups will be immune from an economic storm that may be felt internationally and across various asset classes. Fortunately, advances in technology mean that startups can launch…
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How to Avoid Being Ripped Off When You Lease Office Space, Part III
Critical information about various commercial office leasing terms, tricks, and traps.
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How to Avoid Being Ripped Off When You Lease Office Space, Part II
This article is part II in a series about leasing office space. In part I, we discussed how a tenant’s representative can help–and hurt–your office space search. In part II, we’ll discuss some provisions to consider negotiating before your startup company signs a commercial office space lease. The following list is in no particular order…
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Fixed Fees: A Must Have When You Hire a Law Firm
Lawyers and their law firms are increasingly making fixed fee or “project pricing” available to their clients. This is especially true for startup company clients, as they typically have well-defined legal issues and needs. There are 3 main reasons why your startup company should have a fixed fee arrangement with your law firm instead of…
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Funding Your Buy-Sell Agreement For All Scenarios
Before you execute a buy-sell agreement, make sure that you have adequately funded it. To adequately fund your buy-sell agreement, take each event that would trigger your buy-sell agreement (death, disability, retirement, etc.) and ask yourself “If this event happened tomorrow, would there be enough available funds to purchase the shares?” The most common mistake…
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Getting Subpoenaed Does Not Make You a Target–Just Be Sure to Tell the Truth
As a former Securities and Exchange Commission legal clerk and a current Apple fanatic, the following story is of high interest: Steve Jobs subpoenaed in backdating case September 20 2007: 5:27 PM EDT SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Apple CEO Steve Jobs has been subpoenaed by the Securities and Exchange Commission to give a deposition…
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How to Make Sure Your Startup Company Will Fail
1. Don’t form an LLC or incorporate. Make sure you and your partner have all the personal liability legally possible. 2. Don’t have any difficult conversations with your partner. Leave important global issues with your partner unaddressed so that you can fight over them later when you have less time and more stress. 3. Agree…