How to Protect Your Startup With Insurance Requirements in Vendor Contracts

Every startup will eventually have contracts with third-party vendors and suppliers to provide goods and services to the company. Taking proactive steps to ensure that the insurance requirements in your vendor contracts accurately reflect the needs of your company is vital to avoid complicated insurance issues and […]

Should We Include Transfer Restrictions in Our Bylaws?

Transfer restrictions are one of the principal tools that startups use to prevent secondary transfers of their capital stock and maintain tight control over their cap tables. Why include? As secondary sales of restricted securities become more common, perhaps as a result of blockchain-based digital securities being […]

Board Advice: Adding Advisors Versus Adding Directors

Our company clients often come to us at an early stage in their growth process with some variation of the following question: “We were introduced to an amazing resource who can help our team grow the business in a material way.  We’re considering putting the person on […]

I GOT YOU COVERED: Part I — Obtaining Insurance as an Additional Insured

“I got you, Babe.”  It’s not just the title of a 1965 Sonny and Cher hit—it also aptly describes the relationship between a named insured and its additional insured.  To clarify, an additional insured may be able to access the coverage provided by the named insured’s liability […]

Five Steps for Collecting Stockholder Consents by Email

Collecting stockholder consent by email can be more complicated than collecting director consent by email. If your company is incorporated in a state that permits stockholders to consent by electronic transmission, developing a process for collecting these consents is key to ensuring that the stockholder action is […]

Options – Structural Elements

Stock options – the right to purchase stock in the Company at a fixed price (“exercise price”) for set period of time-generate many of the questions facing a startup lawyer.  This relates to the popularity of options as a way to compensate employees and contractors. Benefits: Properly structured options are […]

Top 5 Insurance Products for Startups

Q:  How should I invest in insurance for my startup? What types of insurance do I need? What can I expect from the claim process? A:  A full risk assessment of your company’s developing business requires an audit of your potential liabilities.  However, as a general rule […]

A Start-up’s First Office Lease Agreement – Focus on the Economics

Nearly every start-up begins in a garage, basement or home office. Some of today’s largest technology companies fall into that category, including Google, Apple, Hewlett-Packard and Amazon. But, at some point hopefully, the start-up outgrows its humble beginnings and needs to lease office, retail or storage space in order to meet consumer demands.