Tag: startup
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7 Legal Documents for Your Tech Startup
When launching a startup, you want to make and keep your startup as valuable as possible. But in order to do that, your tech startup needs to ensure that (a) the intellectual property is owned by the startup, and (b) the co-founders who own the startup have proper incentives and rules to handle inevitable contingencies.…
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How Many Shares of Authorized Stock Should a Startup Company have at Incorporation?
An often overlooked aspect of filing a certificate of incorporation is determining how many shares of authorized stock should the new corporation authorize at incorporation. This decision doesn’t really matter to most businesses (I don’t have a clue how many shares I authorized when I incorporated my law firm), but startup companies aren’t like most…
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How I Launched My Startup (Law Firm) 2016 Update
I’m often contacted by lawyers for advice about going solo or how to start a law firm. In the legal world, going solo is the equivalent of quitting your day job and launching your startup full-time. So I’m dedicating this blog post to provide some background about how I launched my startup law firm. I…
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When To Fire a Startup Company’s Founder-CEO
When should a founder be replaced as CEO of a venture-backed company? The topic is obviously a touchy one for a startup founder that brought early success to a company. But while a founder might have been successful leading the startup to a funding event, can the founder also lead the startup to a liquidity…
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The Entrepreneur Also Rises
I had some free time this weekend and watched “Empire of the Sun” starring Christian Bale and John Malkovich. The movie came out in 1987, but I saw it for the first time Saturday. The premise of Empire of the Sun is that an aristocratic British child is separated from his family (living in China)…
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Keep the Bridge Burning to a Minimum
A few months ago, I was on a conference call with opposing counsel to negotiate a client’s deal. Things got a little heated (the only time I’ve ever experienced a hostile communication with another attorney) and eventually I got hung up on. I was about to call the attorney back and show him what I…
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How to Incorporate Your Sole Proprietorship
Many entrepreneurs begin their startup as a sole proprietorship. Eventually, some sole proprietors desire to incorporate so they can reduce their personal liability and protect their personal assets. But the act of incorporating a going business does not, by itself, transfer the current business being conducted as a sole proprietorship to the new corporation. The…
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Flipping Your International Startup for U.S. Venture Capital
The Benefits of Moving Your International Startup to America for Venture Capital and Acquisitions
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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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Keep Your Startup Co-Founder Closer
Why Your Co-Founder May Be Your Biggest Liability