Founders often seek advice regarding the amount of capital to be raised. The conventional wisdom is to raise sufficient capital to permit the company to achieve a milestone that will result in a material increase in the company’s value. The milestone might be…
For a start-up company, noncompetition agreements typically arise in one of the following contexts; a founder or new employee entered into a confidential information and inventions assignment agreement (or similar agreement) with his or her former employer that prohibits competing with the former employer, the start-up company wants to prohibit a terminated employee from competing with the company, or in an acquisition, the buyer demands a founder and/or key employee sign a noncompetition agreement.
How does a technology startup determine its valuation? Is it an art, a science or a combination of the two? Does a startup’s valuation increase if it has a slick pitch deck and a clever company name? Should a startup use a Ouija board to determine its valuation?
“I think we need about $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 for our first round of funding. Should we use convertible notes or issue preferred stock?” This is one of the most common questions we get from entrepreneurs looking to raise their first round of outside funding. When deciding between convertible notes or preferred stock, consider these key factors.
As a founder of a start-up company, you will likely be spending the bulk of your time refining your business plan, pitching your ideas to VCs and looking for talented and experienced employees to fill out your team. Admittedly, in the early days, you probably won’t have much time for anything else, including attending to corporate formalities. However, giving some early attention to establishing and maintaining good corporate hygiene will pay dividends down the road that far exceed the fairly nominal investment required up front, especially when it comes to raising money or gearing up for an ultimate exit, such as a sale of the company or IPO. Here are a few fairly simple things that every start-up should do early in its lifecycle.
We find ourselves explaining 83(b) elections several times a week, so we thought it would be a good blog topic.
In the start-up world, the opportunity to file of an 83(b) election generally arises in the context of a founder purchasing low-priced “founder” common stock of a start-up company that is subject to vesting, or an employee, director or other service provider of such a company “early exercising” an option for stock that is subject to vesting. Such stock is sometimes also referred to as “unvested” stock or stock subject to “reverse vesting.” All this means is that…
The introduction of a disruptive technology leads to the collapse of sales of recorded music. Does this refer to the impact of legal and illegal digital music downloads on CD sales? Certainly.
Advisory boards are powerful tools used by companies at all stages of development. Advisory boards are generally comprised of business leaders, scientists, professionals or other persons of influence. Advisory boards can have general duties, such as providing critical advice and introductions, or they can be more issue-focused, such as advising on specific industry sectors or particular products, transactions or other critical strategic decisions.
Entrepreneurs think big, with visions of iconoclastic products and services that transcend markets. To help these lofty goals, entrepreneurs must learn lessons from innovators in other industries. Today, we turn to the freewheelin’ Bob Dylan for some unconventional startup advice.
Starting a company has many challenges—the biggest being how to attract top talent when you are cash-strapped. Many companies solve this by offering equity for services.
