A commonplace among emerging companies is the need to promise investors seats on the board of directors. For a lot of different reasons, it makes sense to make this promise. It is usually a condition to receiving the investor’s capital, so there’s that.
You’ve developed your idea into a business. It’s taken a lot of sweat and hard work, and there have been more than a few rough spots. Acquirers are now taking note and making inquiries. Maybe investment bankers are courting you. You have arrived!! Well, almost . . . .
Negotiating a lease for your company’s office or facility can be precarious. Real estate is not your core business, and you do not want to spend tremendous time (or expense) finalizing the lease document. In addition, start-ups and emerging companies without strong financials do not enjoy significant leverage in strong real estate markets.
Sometimes, about January, I get an urgent call from a founder telling me that his or her corporation has received a franchise tax bill from the State of Delaware for tens of thousands of dollars.
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.
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.
Raising capital for a new startup can be a daunting task for the founders. There are several types of investors and capital sources for startup projects, including friends and family members, angel investors (high net worth individuals), venture capital funds, corporate/strategic investors, and government grants. Each of these capital sources has different investment criteria and expectations.
Improve the probability of startup success by maintaining maniacal focus on the needs of your customers. A startup may capture disproportionate media attention with aggressive PR, but nothing can replace the power of extremely satisfied customers.
