To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video clip of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present legendary investor John Doerr, a partner at Kleiner Perkins. Eric Schmidt calls John “one of Google’s best board members”; and Jeff Bezos noted that “Doerr (and Kleiner) is the center of gravity in the Internet.” In this interesting, one-minute clip from 2005 (courtesy of Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner), John discusses how to negotiate valuations with VC’s and related issues.
I included this clip as a supplement to my blog post today on VentureBeat in which I advised entrepreneurs that: “[Y]ou need to get out there and effectively pitch a bunch of VC’s in your space and get them excited about your venture. By doing so, you can, in effect, drive the market by creating a competitive environment and playing the VC’s off of each other.” Many thanks, Scott
I’m using Twitter as a form of micro-blogging to share interesting articles, blog posts and podcasts relating to entrepreneurship, startup and corporate law issues, and mergers & acquisitions.
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below are my five most popular tweets (via bit.ly) and two most popular blog-related tweets. If you’d like to see all of my tweets (or an RSS feed of them), you can do so here. Many thanks, Scott
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” -- Zig Ziglar
Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Motivational Clips for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, we post a short video or movie clip to inspire and motivate our fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s fuckn tough being an entrepreneur – and whether you’re launching a venture, trying to execute on your business plan or pitching investors, you need a little juice to help you push the ball forward. I hope these videos are a little juice. Cheers, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video clip of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present Marc Andreessen, a brilliant entrepreneur and co-founder and general partner of the venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz; he is also co-founder and chairman of Ning. In this interesting, three-minute clip (courtesy of Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner), Marc discusses (i) how to attract top talent to your startup and (ii) the hiring process generally. I hope you enjoy it. Many thanks, Scott
I’m using Twitter as a form of micro-blogging to share interesting articles, blog posts and podcasts relating to entrepreneurship, startup and corporate law issues, and mergers & acquisitions.
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below are my five most popular tweets (via bit.ly) and two most popular blog-related tweets. If you’d like to see all of my tweets (or an RSS feed of them), you can do so here. Many thanks, Scott
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” -- Zig Ziglar
Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Motivational Clips for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, we post a short video clip to inspire and motivate our fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s fuckn tough being an entrepreneur – and whether you’re launching a venture, trying to execute on your business plan or pitching investors, you need a little juice to help you push the ball forward. I hope these videos are a little juice. Cheers, Scott
This post was originally part of my “Ask the Attorney” series which I am writing for VentureBeat (one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs). Below is a longer, more comprehensive version.
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video clip of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present David Heinemeier Hansson, who is the creator of the Ruby on Rails web development framework, a co-founder of 37signals and the co-author of the best-selling book Rework. In this interesting, three-minute clip (courtesy of Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner), David discusses the problem with accepting venture capital funding. I hope you enjoy it. Many thanks, Scott
I’m using Twitter as a form of micro-blogging to share interesting articles, blog posts and podcasts relating to entrepreneurship, startup and corporate law issues, and mergers & acquisitions.
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below are my five most popular tweets (via bit.ly) and two most popular blog-related tweets. If you’d like to see all of my tweets (or an RSS feed of them), you can do so here. Many thanks, Scott
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” -- Zig Ziglar
Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Motivational Clips for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, we post a short video or movie clip to inspire and motivate our fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s fuckn tough being an entrepreneur – and whether you’re launching a venture, trying to execute on your business plan or pitching investors, you need a little juice to help you push the ball forward. I hope these videos are a little juice. Cheers, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video presentation or interview of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present Mark Pincus, co-founder and CEO of Zynga and a very smart and successful entrepreneur. First, there is an interesting, four-minute excerpt from Mark’s presentation at Stanford in October 2009 (via Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner), in which Mark discusses (i) mapping a strategy as CEO, (ii) “writing your story” and (iii) negotiating with VC’s.
As a bonus, we also present Mark’s interview in December 2009 on Charlie Rose. There is also an interesting article in yesterday’s New York Times discussing Zynga and Mark’s success. We indeed hope you find the videos and article helpful. Many thanks, Scott
I’m using Twitter as a form of micro-blogging to share interesting articles, blog posts and podcasts relating to entrepreneurship, business and corporate law issues, and mergers & acquisitions.
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below are my five most popular tweets (via bit.ly) and two most popular blog-related tweets. If you’d like to see all of my tweets (or an RSS feed of them), you can do so here. Many thanks, Scott
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” -- Zig Ziglar
Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Motivational Clips for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, we post a short video or movie clip to inspire and motivate our fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s fuckn tough being an entrepreneur – and whether you’re launching a venture, trying to execute on your business plan or pitching investors, you need a little juice to help you push the ball forward. Here’s a video of superstar entrepreneur Mark Cuban (which I hope provides a little juice). Cheers, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video presentation or interview of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
Today we present Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the co-founders of Google and brilliant entrepreneurs, from a 2001 interview with Charlie Rose. In this interesting, 14-minute clip, Sergey and Larry discuss, among other things, (i) the history of Google, (ii) their search for money, (iii) their business model, (iv) their relationship (and why they disliked each other) and (v) the rationale for bringing on Eric Schmidt as CEO. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks, Scott
I’m using Twitter as a form of micro-blogging to share interesting articles, blog posts and podcasts relating to entrepreneurship, business and corporate law issues, and mergers & acquisitions.
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below are my five most popular tweets (via bit.ly) and two most popular blog-related tweets. If you’d like to see all of my tweets (or an RSS feed of them), you can do so here. Many thanks, Scott
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” -- Zig Ziglar
Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Motivational Clips for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, we post a short video or movie clip to inspire and motivate our fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s fuckn tough being an entrepreneur – and whether you’re launching a venture, trying to execute on your business plan or pitching investors, you need a little juice to help you push the ball forward. I hope these videos are a little juice. Cheers, Scott
This post was originally part of my “Ask the Attorney” series which I am writing for VentureBeat; below is a longer, more comprehensive version. Please feel free to call me directly if you have any questions (415-979-9998). Thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video presentation or interview of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, a partner at Greylock and a brilliant entrepreneur (courtesy of Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner). In this interesting, six-minute excerpt (from February 2007), Reid discusses certain fundamental principles of entrepreneurship, including the importance of (i) measuring your failing points as early as possible, (ii) time cycles (and luck), and (iii) taking controlled risk.
I’m using Twitter as a form of micro-blogging to share interesting articles, blog posts and podcasts relating to entrepreneurship, business and corporate law issues, and mergers & acquisitions.
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below are my five most popular tweets (via bit.ly) and two most popular blog-related tweets. If you’d like to see all of my tweets (or an RSS feed of them), you can do so here. Many thanks, Scott
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” -- Zig Ziglar
Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Motivational Clips for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, we post a short video or movie clip to inspire and motivate our fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s tough being an entrepreneur; and whether you’re launching a venture, trying to execute on your business plan or pitching investors, you need a little juice to help you push the ball forward. I hope these videos are a little juice. Cheers, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video presentation or interview of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
As a bonus video, we also present Jim Breyer, Managing Partner of Accel Partners, who briefly talks about the importance of Mark’s listening skills and his ability to experiment. I hope you enjoy them. Thanks, Scott
I’m using Twitter as a form of micro-blogging to share interesting articles, blog posts and podcasts relating to entrepreneurship, business and corporate law issues, and mergers & acquisitions.
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below are my five most popular tweets (via bit.ly) and two most popular blog-related tweets. If you’d like to see all of my tweets (or an RSS feed of them), you can do so here. Many thanks, Scott
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” -- Zig Ziglar
Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Motivational Clips for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, we post a short video or movie clip to inspire and motivate our fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s fuckn tough trying to build a company -- and we all need a little juice to help us push the ball forward. I hope these videos are a little juice. Cheers, Scott
This post was originally part of my “Ask the Attorney” series which I am writing for VentureBeat (one of the most popular websites for entrepreneurs); it is part 3 of 3 of my posts on choice of entity. Two weeks ago (in part 1), I discussed what’s wrong with an LLC. Last week (in part 2), I discussed what’s wrong with a sole proprietorship; and this week I’ll address what’s wrong with a partnership. Please shoot me any questions you may have in the comments section. Many thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video presentation or interview of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
Today, as a bonus to yesterday’s presentation by Keith Rabois, we have Larry Page, co-founder of Google and a brilliant entrepreneur, from a 2002 presentation at Stanford (courtesy of Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner). In this interesting, 4-minute excerpt, Larry discusses, among other things, the importance of (i) having great people involved with your venture; (ii) becoming an “expert” in your space/domain; (iii) having a “healthy disregard for the impossible”; and (iv) not starting a company because the space is “hot.” I hope you enjoy it. Thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video presentation or interview of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present Keith Rabois, Executive Vice President of Strategy & Business Development for Slideand a very smart investor (courtesy of GigaOm TV). In this interesting, 20-minute interview, Keith discusses, among other things: (i) the recent increases in the size of angel rounds, (ii) making investment decisions, (iii) how “cool” it is being a seed investor, (iv) the changing role of the VC, (v) how to choose the right investor and (vi) the excitement of being an entrepreneur. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks, Scott
I’m using Twitter as a form of micro-blogging to share interesting articles, blog posts and podcasts relating to entrepreneurship, business and corporate law issues, and mergers & acquisitions.
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below are my five most popular tweets (via bit.ly) and two most popular blog-related tweets. If you’d like to see all of my tweets (or an RSS feed of them), you can do so here. Many thanks, Scott
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” -- Zig Ziglar
Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Motivational Clips for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, we post a short video or movie clip to inspire and motivate our fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s fuckn tough trying to build a company -- and we all need a little juice to help us push the ball forward. I hope these videos are a little juice. Cheers, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our new weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video presentation or interview of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present Guy Kawasaki, managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, co-founder of Alltop and a very smart investor and marketing guy. In this interesting presentation from a few years ago, Guy discusses, among other things: (i) keeping MBA’s and consultants out of startups, (ii) creating a mantra (not a mission statement) for your venture, (iii) the importance of “getting going,” (iv) defining a business model, (v) the ideal powerpoint presentation and (vi) the “bozo explosion.” I hope you enjoy it. Thanks, Scott
I’m using Twitter as a form of micro-blogging to share interesting articles, blog posts and podcasts relating to entrepreneurship, business and corporate law issues, and mergers & acquisitions.
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below are my five most popular tweets (via bit.ly) and two most popular blog-related tweets. If you’d like to see all of my tweets (or an RSS feed of them), you can do so here. Many thanks, Scott
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” -- Zig Ziglar
Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Motivational Clips for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, we post a short video or movie clip to inspire and motivate our fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s tough trying to build a company -- and we all need a little juice to help us push the ball forward. I hope these videos are a little juice. This one is in tribute to the 2010 World Cup. Cheers, Scott
This post was originally part of my weekly “Ask the Attorney” series which I am writing for VentureBeat (one of the most popular websites for entrepreneurs). Below is a longer version. Please shoot me any questions you may have in the comments section. Many thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video interview or presentation of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
Yesterday, we presented Tony Hsieh of Zappos. Today, as a bonus video, we present Steve Case, the co-founder and former CEO of AOL, and an extraordinary entrepreneur (courtesy of Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship Corner). Steve discusses (i) the importance of entrepreneurship and innovation in this country; and (ii) the “3 P’s” – people, passion and perseverance (through the prism of his own career).
Please note that this video is a little longer than the others in this series, but well worth it. Thanks, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our new weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video interview of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business/thought leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos. In this interesting speech, Tony discusses (i) the history of Zappos, (ii) customer service and the “wow” experience and (iii) the importance of company culture. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks, Scott
I’m using Twitter as a form of micro-blogging to share interesting articles, blog posts and podcasts relating to entrepreneurship, business and corporate law issues, and mergers & acquisitions.
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below are my five most popular tweets (via bit.ly) and my blog-related tweets. If you’d like to see all of my tweets (or an RSS feed of them), you can do so here. Many thanks, Scott
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” -- Zig Ziglar
Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Motivational Clips for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, we post a short video or movie clip to inspire and motivate our fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s fuckn tough trying to build a company -- and we all need a little juice to help us push the ball forward. I hope these videos are a little juice. Cheers, Scott
This post was originally part of my “Ask the Attorney” series which I am writing for VentureBeat (one of the most popular websites for entrepreneurs). Below is a longer, more comprehensive version — with ten mistakes, instead of six.
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our new weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video interview of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present Brad Feld, co-founder of the Foundry Group and a very smart investor (courtesy of GigaOm TV). Brad discusses, among other things, seed funds and the emergence of new angel investors and offers some great advice to entrepreneurs, including having a “chip on your shoulder” and “picking your 2%”. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks, Scott
I’m using Twitter as a form of micro-blogging to share interesting articles, blog posts and podcasts relating to entrepreneurship, business and corporate law issues, and mergers & acquisitions.
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below are my five most popular tweets (via bit.ly) and my blog-related tweets. If you’d like to see all of my tweets (or an RSS feed of them), you can do so here. Many thanks, Scott
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” -- Zig Ziglar
Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Motivational Clips for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, we post a short video or movie clip to inspire and motivate our fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s fuckn tough trying to build a company -- and we all need a little juice to help us push the ball forward. I hope these videos are a little juice. Cheers, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our new weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we post a short video interview or presentation of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present Jeff Bezos, the founder, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Amazon.com and an extraordinarily smart entrepreneur, who discusses the importance of (i) obsessing over customers, (ii) inventing to solve problems and (iii) thinking long-term. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks, Scott
I’m using Twitter as a form of micro-blogging to share interesting articles, blog posts and podcasts relating to entrepreneurship, business and corporate law issues, and mergers & acquisitions.
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below are my five most popular tweets (via bit.ly) and my blog-related tweets. If you’d like to see all of my tweets (or an RSS feed of them), you can do so here. Many thanks, Scott
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” – Zig Ziglar
Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Motivational Clips for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, we post a short video or movie clip to inspire and motivate our fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s fuckn tough building a company – and we all need a little juice to help us push the ball forward. I hope these videos are a little juice. Cheers, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our new weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we will post a short video interview of one or more successful entrepreneurs, investors or business leaders on a variety of relevant topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
This week, we present heavyweight VCs Marc Andreessen, Ron Conway and David Hornik courtesy of TechCrunch and its founder Michael Arrington (who conducted the interview). They discuss valuation issues, hot investments, and issues relating to venture capital generally. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks, Scott
I’m using Twitter as a form of micro-blogging to share interesting articles, blog posts and podcasts relating to entrepreneurship, business and corporate law issues, and mergers & acquisitions.
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below are my five most popular tweets (via bit.ly) and my blog-related tweets. If you’d like to see all of my tweets (or an RSS feed of them), you can do so here. Many thanks, Scott
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” -- Zig Ziglar
Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Motivational Clips for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, we post a short video or movie clip to inspire and motivate our fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s fuckn tough trying to build a company -- and we all need a little juice to help us push the ball forward. I hope these videos are a little juice. Cheers, Scott
To Our Clients & Friends: Welcome to our new weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we will post a short video interview of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of relevant topics to help entrepreneurs succeed.
Earlier this week, we presented Naval Ravikant. Today (as a bonus interview for this week), we present Jeff Clavier, the founder and Managing Partner of SoftTech VC, who discusses what he looks for in startups (“it’s people, product, market”) and diligence issues. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks, Scott
Welcome to our new weekly series entitled “Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed.” Each week, we will post a short video interview or presentation of a successful entrepreneur, investor or business leader on a variety of business and management topics. This week, we present Naval Ravikant, a smart entrepreneur and angel investor (courtesy of GigaOm TV), who discusses, among other things, (i) what to look for in a co-founder, (ii) the importance of Silicon Valley and (iii) how to get a meeting with an investor. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks, Scott
I’m using Twitter as a form of micro-blogging to share interesting articles, blog posts and podcasts relating to entrepreneurship, raising capital, mergers & acquisitions, and lawyering.
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below are my five most popular tweets (via bit.ly) and my blog-related tweets. If you’d like to see all of my tweets (or an RSS feed of them), you can do so here. Many thanks, Scott
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” -- Zig Ziglar
Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Motivational Clips for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, we post a short video or movie clip to inspire and motivate our fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s tough trying to build a company -- and we all need a little juice to help us push the ball forward. I hope these videos are a little juice. Cheers, Scott
I’m using Twitter as a form of micro-blogging to share insightful articles, blog posts and podcasts relating to entrepreneurship, business/corporate law issues and mergers & acquisitions.
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below are my five most popular tweets (via bit.ly) and my blog-related tweets. If you’d like to see all of my tweets (or an RSS feed of them), you can do so here.
If you have any questions or comments with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact me through the comments section of this post. Many thanks, Scott
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” -- Zig Ziglar
Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Motivational Clips for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, we post a short video or movie clip to inspire and motivate our fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s fuckn tough trying to build a company -- and we all need a little juice to help us push the ball forward. I hope these videos are a little juice. Cheers, Scott
I am using Twitter as a form of micro-blogging to share insightful articles, blog posts and podcasts relating to entrepreneurship, business/corporate law issues and mergers & acquisitions.
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below are my five most popular tweets (via bit.ly) and my blog-related tweets. If you’d like to see all of my tweets (or an RSS feed of them), you can do so here.
If you have any questions or comments with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact me through the comments section of this post. Many thanks, Scott
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” -- Zig Ziglar
Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Motivational Clips for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, we post a short video or movie clip to inspire and motivate our fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s tough trying to build a company -- and we all need a little juice to help us push the ball forward. Hopefully, these videos are a little juice. Cheers, Scott
I am using Twitter as a form of microblogging to share insightful articles, blog posts and podcasts relating to entrepreneurship, mergers & acquisitions, and business and corporate law issues.
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below you’ll find highlights of our top tweets. If you’d like to see all of our tweets (or an RSS feed of them), you can do so here.
If you have any questions or comments with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact me through the comments section of this post. Many thanks, Scott
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” -- Zig Ziglar
Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Motivational Clips for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, we post a short video or movie clip to inspire and motivate our fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s fuckn tough trying to build a company -- and we all need a little juice to help us push the ball forward. Hopefully, these videos are a little juice. Cheers, Scott
This post is part of my weekly “Ask the Attorney” series which I am writing for VentureBeat (one of the most popular websites for entrepreneurs). As the VentureBeat Editor notes on the site: “Ask the Attorney is a new VentureBeat feature allowing start-up owners to get answers to their legal questions.” Below is a longer, more comprehensive version. Please give me your input in the comments section. Many thanks, Scott
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below you’ll find highlights of our top tweets. If you’d like to see all of our tweets (or an RSS feed of them), you can do so here.
If you have any questions or comments with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact us through the comments section of this post. Many thanks, Scott
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” -- Zig Ziglar
Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Motivational Clips for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, we post a short video or movie clip to inspire and motivate our fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s fuckn tough trying to build a company -- and we all need a little juice to help us push the ball forward. Hopefully, these videos are a little juice. Cheers, Scott
My colleague, Susan Morgan, conducted a webinar yesterday with respect to venture capital term sheets for the “CFO University,” which is group of Chief Financial Officers convening monthly webinars via CFOwise. As I have previously discussed, Susan recently joined our team and has strong financing experience, including 7+ years at Fenwick & West in Silicon Valley where she closed more than 30 financings. (You can learn more about Susan’s background on her bio page.) In conjunction with the webinar, Susan also wrote a brief post on convertible notes. You can see the webinar and read the post below. Many thanks, Scott
I had originally intended to discuss “Series FF” stock in today’s post (as a follow-up to last week’s post regarding “Class F” stock); however, I had several telephone calls in the past few days with respect to the issue of choice of entity for startups and thought it would be helpful to get this post up.
Indeed, one of the most important early decisions an entrepreneur must make in connection with his or her venture is the choice of entity. There are basically six choices: (1) sole proprietorship, (2) general partnership, (3) limited partnership, (4) C corporation, (5) S corporation or (6) limited liability company. Below is a discussion of each entity, including a basic description, the advantages and disadvantages, the ideal candidate/business for such entity, the cost to set-up such entity and the most important take-away.
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” -- Zig Ziglar
Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Motivational Clips for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, we post a short video or movie clip to inspire and motivate our fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s tough trying to build a company -- and we all need a little juice to help us push the ball forward. Hopefully, these videos are a little juice. Cheers, Scott
This post is part of my weekly “Ask the Attorney” series which I am writing for VentureBeat (one of the most popular websites for entrepreneurs). Below is a longer, more comprehensive version. Many thanks, Scott
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” -- Zig Ziglar
Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Motivational Clips for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, we post a short video or movie clip to inspire and motivate our fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s fuckn tough trying to build a company -- and we all need a little juice to help us push the ball forward. Hopefully, these videos are a little juice. Cheers, Scott
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below you’ll find highlights of our top tweets. If you would like to see all of our tweets (or if you would like to receive an RSS feed of them), you can do so here.
If you have any questions or comments with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact us through the comments section of this post. Many thanks, Scott
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” -- Zig Ziglar
Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Motivational Clips for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, we post a short video or movie clip to inspire and motivate our fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s fuckn tough trying to build a company -- and we all need a little juice to help us push the ball forward. Hopefully, these videos are a little juice. Cheers, Scott
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below you’ll find highlights of our top tweets. If you would like to see all of our tweets (or if you would like to receive an RSS feed of them), you can do so here.
If you have any questions or comments with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact us through the comments section of this post. Many thanks, Scott
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” -- Zig Ziglar
Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Motivational Clips for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, we post a short video or movie clip to inspire and motivate our fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s tough trying to build a company -- and we all need a little juice to help us push the ball forward. Hopefully, these videos are a little juice. Cheers, Scott
This post is part of my weekly “Ask the Attorney” series which I am writing for VentureBeat (one of the most popular websites for entrepreneurs). As the VentureBeat Editor notes on the site: “Ask the Attorney is a new VentureBeat feature allowing start-up owners to get answers to their legal questions.”
I have two goals here: (i) to encourage entrepreneurs to ask law-related questions regardless of how basic they may be; and (ii) to provide helpful responses in plain English (as opposed to legalese). Please give me your feedback in the comments section. Many thanks, Scott
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below you’ll find highlights of our top tweets. If you would like to see all of our tweets (or if you would like to receive an RSS feed of them), you can do so here.
If you have any questions or comments with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact us through the comments section of this post. Many thanks, Scott
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” -- Zig Ziglar
Welcome to our weekly series entitled “Motivational Speeches/Clips for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, we will post a short video or movie clip to inspire and motivate our fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s fuckn tough trying to build and run a company -- and we all need a little juice to help us push the ball forward. Hopefully, these videos are a little juice. Cheers, Scott
As I tweeted a couple of days ago, I recently received three telephone calls over a three-day period from entrepreneurs looking for a new law firm because of the excessive fees of their current law firm. Two of the three entrepreneurs advised me that they were reluctant to even call their lawyers with a question because of the fees. I thought to myself: I get it! 15 minutes = $125-175 for most partners (and those phone calls add up).
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below you’ll find highlights of our top tweets. If you would like to see all of our tweets (or if you would like to receive an RSS feed of them), you can do so here.
If you have any questions or comments with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact us through the comments section of this post. Many thanks, Scott
Welcome to our new weekly series entitled “Motivational Speeches/Clips for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, I will post a short video or movie clip to inspire and motivate my fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s fuckn tough trying to build a company -- and we all need a little juice to help us push the ball forward. Hopefully, these clips are a little juice. Cheers, Scott
This post is part of my weekly “Ask the Attorney” series which I am writing for VentureBeat (one of the most popular websites for entrepreneurs). As the VentureBeat Editor notes on the site: “Ask the Attorney is a new VentureBeat feature allowing start-up owners to get answers to their legal questions.”
I have two goals here: (i) to encourage entrepreneurs to ask law-related questions regardless of how basic they may be; and (ii) to provide helpful responses in plain English (as opposed to legalese). Please give me your feedback in the comments section. Many thanks, Scott
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below you’ll find highlights of our top tweets (via bit.ly). If you would like to see all of our tweets (or if you would like to receive an RSS feed of them), you can do so here.
If you have any questions or comments with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact me through the comments section of this post. Many thanks, Scott
Welcome to our new weekly series entitled “Motivational Speeches for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, we will post a short movie clip or video to inspire and motivate our fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s fuckn tough trying to build a company — and we all need a little juice to help us push the ball forward. Hopefully, these videos are a little juice. Cheers, Scott
This post is part of my weekly “Ask the Attorney” series which I am writing for VentureBeat (one of the most popular websites for entrepreneurs). As the VentureBeat Editor notes on the site: “Ask the Attorney is a new VentureBeat feature allowing start-up owners to get answers to their legal questions.”
I have two goals here: (i) to encourage entrepreneurs to ask law-related questions regardless of how basic they may be; and (ii) to provide helpful responses in plain English (as opposed to legalese). Please give me your feedback in the comments section. Many thanks, Scott
Welcome to our new weekly series entitled “Motivational Speeches for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, we will post a short video to inspire and motivate our fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s fucking tough trying to build a company — and we all need a little juice to help us push the ball forward. Hopefully, these videos are a little juice. Cheers, Scott
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below you’ll find highlights of our top tweets. If you would like to see all of our tweets (or if you would like to receive an RSS feed of them), you can do so here.
If you have any questions or comments with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact us through the comments section of this post. Many thanks, Scott
Welcome to our new weekly series entitled “Motivational Speeches for Entrepreneurs.” Each week, we will post a short (2-3 minute) video to inspire and motivate our fellow entrepreneurs. Why? Because it’s fuck’n tough trying to build a company — and we all need a little juice to help us push the ball forward. Hopefully, these videos are a little juice. Cheers, Scott
This post is part of a weekly series entitled “Ask the Attorney,” which I am writing for VentureBeat (one of the most popular websites for entrepreneurs). As the VentureBeat Editor notes on the site: “Ask the Attorney is a new VentureBeat feature allowing start-up owners to get answers to their legal questions.”
I have two goals here: (i) to encourage entrepreneurs to ask law-related questions regardless of how basic they may be; and (ii) to provide helpful responses in plain english (as opposed to legalese). Please give me your feedback in the comments section. Many thanks, Scott
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below you’ll find highlights of our top tweets. If you would like to see all of our tweets (or if you would like to receive an RSS feed of them), you can do so here.
If you have any questions or comments with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact us through the comments section of this post. Many thanks, Scott
This post is part of a new series entitled “Ask the Attorney,” which I am writing for VentureBeat (one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs). As the VentureBeat Editor notes on the site: “Ask the Attorney is a new VentureBeat feature allowing start-up owners to get answers to their legal questions.” This post is a longer, more-comprehensive version of the VentureBeat post.
The goal here is two-fold: (i) to encourage entrepreneurs to ask law-related questions regardless of how basic they may be; and (ii) to provide helpful responses in plain english (as opposed to legalese). Please give me your feedback in the comments section. Many thanks, Scott
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below you’ll find highlights of our top tweets. If you would like to see all of our tweets (or if you would like to receive an RSS feed of them), you can do so here.
If you have any questions or comments with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact us through the comments section of this post. Many thanks, Scott
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below you’ll find highlights of our top tweets. If you would like to see all of our tweets (or if you would like to receive an RSS feed of them), you can do so here.
If you have any questions or comments with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact us through the comments section of this post. Many thanks, Scott
This post is a longer, more comprehensive version of the post I wrote a couple of weeks ago for VentureHacks, one of the best websites for startups, in which I recommended five New Year’s resolutions for entrepreneurs. Indeed, as I noted in that post, during my 15+ years as a corporate lawyer (including nearly eight years at two major law firms New York City), I have seen entrepreneurs make certain fundamental mistakes over and over again in connection with doing deals. So what better way to welcome in the new decade than to provide seven basic tips for entrepreneurs.
(Message to all of my female clients and readers: (i) the term “guys” includes “gals”; and (ii) in tip #6, you can decide what the term “balls” includes.)
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below you’ll find highlights of our top tweets. If you would like to see all of our tweets (or if you would like to receive an RSS feed of them), you can do so here.
If you have any questions or comments with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact us through the comments section of this post. Many thanks, Scott
This post is part of a new series entitled “Ask the Attorney,” which I am writing for VentureBeat (one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs). As the VentureBeat Editor notes on the site: “Ask the Attorney is a new VentureBeat feature allowing start-up owners to get answers to their legal questions.”
The goal here is two-fold: (i) to encourage entrepreneurs to ask law-related questions regardless of how basic they may be; and (ii) to provide helpful responses in plain english (as opposed to legalese).
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below you’ll find highlights of our top tweets. If you would like to see all of our tweets (or if you would like to receive an RSS feed of them), you can do so here.
If you have any questions or comments with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact us through the comments section of this post. Many thanks, Scott
This post is part of a new series entitled “Ask the Attorney,” which I am writing for VentureBeat (one of my favorite websites for entrepreneurs). As the VentureBeat Editor notes on the site: “Ask the Attorney is a new VentureBeat feature allowing start-up owners to get answers to their legal questions.”
The goal here is two-fold: (i) to encourage entrepreneurs to ask law-related questions regardless of how basic they may be; and (ii) to provide helpful responses in plain english (as opposed to legalese).
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below you’ll find highlights of our top tweets from December 13th though December 20th. If you would like to see all of our tweets (or if you would like to receive an RSS feed of them), you can do so here.
If you have any questions or comments with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact us through the comments section of this post.
Finally, we would like to wish all of our clients and friends Happy Holidays and best wishes for the New Year. We will be offline until Monday, January 4th. Many thanks, Scott
This is part two of my two-part series on angel financings. In part one, I provided the following five tips for entrepreneurs: (i) push for the issuance of convertible notes; (ii) understand the key business terms; (iii) diligence the angel(s); (iv) never subject yourself to personal liability; and (v) comply with applicable securities laws. Below are five additional tips for entrepreneurs to help them through the angel financing process. Obviously, this is still a difficult environment in which to raise capital; however, I am confident that 2010 will bring greener pastures.
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below you’ll find highlights of our top tweets. If you would like to see all of our tweets (or if you would like to receive an RSS feed of them), you can do so here.
If you have any questions or comments with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact us through the comments section of this post. Many thanks, Scott (more…)
I am currently working with several smart, young entrepreneurs who are trying to raise capital from “angels” (i.e., wealthy individuals who invest in start-up companies). Indeed, since I moved to Los Angelesfrom New York City in 2005, I have been involved in a number of angel financings; and what’s interesting from my perspective as a corporate attorney is that the deals run the gamut from an angel handing a check to an entrepreneur and instructing him to “send the paperwork when it’s ready” — to an angel retaining a large, aggressive law firm and insisting on shares of preferred stock, with all the “bells and whistles.” Below are five tips for entrepreneurs to help them through the angel financing process. (This is part one of a two-part series; I will provide five additional tips in my next post.) (more…)
For those of you who missed this week’s Twitter updates, below you’ll find highlights of our top tweets. If you would like to see all of our tweets or would like to receive an RSS feed of our tweets, you can do so here.
If you have any questions or comments with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact us through the comments section of this post. Many thanks, Scott (more…)
Please note – we changed our Twitter handle to @ScottEdWalker (previously @WalkerCorpLaw). For those of you who missed this week’s updates, below you’ll find highlights of our top Twitter posts. If you would like to see all of our tweets or would like to receive an RSS feed of our tweets, you can do so here.
If you have any questions or comments with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact us through the comments section of this post. Many thanks, Scott (more…)
Yesterday evening, Michael Arrington of TechCrunch posted an interesting piece entitled “TweetPhoto CEO Says Too Much In Interview, Gets Fired. And That’s Just The Beginning…” (which has been subsequently re-posted throughout the blogosphere). Unfortunately, Arrington has gotten his facts all wrong — at least according to Dan Caulfield, the CEO in question.
Arrington sets forth in his post that Caulfield “apparently said too much in [his podcast]interview [with Frank Peters], disclosing confidential information about partnerships [and] was fired by the company for the transgression.” In the comments section to the post, however, Caulfield denied that there was any connection between his firing and the interview. First, yesterday evening, he noted that: “I conducted this interview on [the] Morning of Nov 9th. It had nothing to do with me leaving the company”; and then, this morning, he added that: “I was terminated a week prior to anyone hearing the interview. Events not connected.” Caulfield also retweeted the TechCrunch link to the post yesterday evening with a “Totally false!” insertion. (more…)
For those of you who do not follow Walker Corporate Law Group, PLLC (Walker) on Twitter, I have set forth below highlights of our tweets for the past seven days (in reverse chronological order). I indeed hope that a few of the links to articles, blog posts, podcasts and videos are helpful to our clients and friends. If you would like to follow Walker on Twitter (or if you would like to receive an RSS feed of our tweets), you can sign-up here. You can also check out the recent tweets of some of the entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and others Walker is following by clicking their photos on such page. If you have any questions or comments (or if you would like any additional information) with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact me through the comments section of this post. Many thanks, Scott (more…)
For those of you who do not follow Walker Corporate Law Group, PLLC (Walker) on Twitter, I have set forth below highlights of our tweets for the past seven days (in reverse chronological order). I indeed hope that a few of the links to articles, blog posts, podcasts and videos are helpful to our clients and friends. If you would like to follow Walker on Twitter (or if you would like to receive an RSS feed of our tweets), you can sign-up here. You can also check out the recent tweets of some of the entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and others Walker is following by clicking their photos on such page. If you have any questions or comments (or if you would like any additional information) with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact me through the comments section of this post. Many thanks, Scott (more…)
As I mentioned in a recent post, one of things that surprised me when I moved to Southern California from New York City in 2005 was the lack of sophistication of some of the players in the so-called “middle market.” Indeed, I was particularly surprised to see so many investment bankers and other intermediaries running around and raising capital for private companies without being registered as a “broker-dealer” with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). As I have previously discussed (see mistake #4 here ), this is a huge potential problem for the issuer, particularly in light of the recent changes to SEC Form D. Accordingly, I thought it would be helpful to entrepreneurs to provide them with a basic understanding of the new, revised Form D and related securities laws via a question-and-answer format. (more…)
For those of you who do not follow Walker Corporate Law Group, PLLC (Walker) on Twitter, I have set forth below highlights of our tweets for the past six days (in reverse chronological order). I indeed hope that a few of the links to articles, blog posts, podcasts and videos are helpful to our clients and friends. If you would like to follow Walker on Twitter (or if you would like to receive an RSS feed of our tweets), you can sign-up here. You can also check out the recent tweets of some of the entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and others Walker is following by clicking their photos on such page. If you have any questions or comments (or if you would like any additional information) with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact me through the comments section of this post. Many thanks, Scott (more…)
I’ve been doing deals as a corporate attorney for over 15 years now, including nearly 8 years in the trenches at two big law firms in New York City. Accordingly, I thought it would be helpful for entrepreneurs if I briefly peel back the curtain of the big law firm and explain how these firms work (i.e., the good, the bad, the ugly) so that entrepreneurs can make an informed decision as to whether it makes sense to be working with a big law firm with respect to a particular corporate project. Obviously, some of this is a bit self-serving, but entrepreneurs need to understand that the assumption “the bigger, the better” — i.e., the bigger the law firm, the better the representation — is not necessarily the case. The video version of this post is set forth directly below.
For those of you who do not follow Walker Corporate Law Group, PLLC (Walker) on Twitter, I have set forth below highlights of our tweets for the past seven days (in reverse chronological order). I indeed hope that a few of the links to articles, blog posts, podcasts and videos are helpful to our clients and friends. If you would like to follow Walker on Twitter (or if you would like to receive an RSS feed of our tweets), you can sign-up here. You can also check out the recent tweets of some of the entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and others Walker is following by clicking their photos on such page. If you have any questions or comments (or if you would like any additional information) with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact me through the comments section of this post. Many thanks, Scott (more…)
For those of you who do not follow Walker Corporate Law Group (Walker) on Twitter, I have set forth below highlights of our tweets for the past seven days (in reverse chronological order). I indeed hope that a few of the links to articles, blog posts, podcasts and videos are helpful to our clients and friends. If you would like to follow Walker on Twitter (or if you would like to receive an RSS feed of our tweets), you can sign-up here. You can also check out the recent tweets of some of the entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and others Walker is following by clicking their photos on such page. If you have any questions or comments (or if you would like any additional information) with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact me through the comments section of this post. Many thanks, Scott
There has been quite a bit of excitement on the blogosphere and twitter with respect to Jason Calacanis’s crusade against angel groups charging entrepreneurs fees to pitch them (see, e.g., the discussion on Hacker News and this recent post). As a corporate attorney representing entrepreneurs, I generally agree in principle with Jason’s position; however, I think it is important to distinguish among the different angel groups and their respective practices.
Needless to say, to the extent an angel group (i) is not adequately disclosing their fees, (ii) is charging unreasonable fees and/or (iii) is deceiving entrepreneurs, it is a significant problem that needs to be addressed. On the other hand, (i) if the fees are reasonable/de minimis and are adequately disclosed and (ii) the angel group is providing a legitimate service to entrepreneurs, there may be compelling reasons to support such a fee-based service. Indeed, as discussed below, John Dilts (the founder and President of Maverick Angels, LLC) recently attempted to make that case to Frank Peters during his podcast interview on 9/24/09 here (referred to herein as the “Dilts Podcast”).
This post briefly (i) provides some background and context, (ii) sets forth the respective arguments made by Jason and John and (iii) concludes by recommending that they should meet face-to-face and have a live debate (in the great American tradition). (more…)
For those of you who do not follow Walker Corporate Law Group (Walker) on Twitter, I have set forth below highlights of our tweets for the past seven days (in reverse chronological order). I indeed hope that a few of the links to articles, blog posts, podcasts and videos are helpful to our clients and friends. If you would like to follow Walker on Twitter (or if you would like to receive an RSS feed of our tweets), you can sign-up here. You can also check out the recent tweets of some of the entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and others Walker is following by clicking their photos on such page. If you have any questions or comments (or if you would like any additional information) with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact me through the comments section of this post. Many thanks, Scott (more…)
As I have previously noted, I was a corporate attorney for nearly eight years at two major law firms in New York City; and the majority of my work there was spent negotiating and documenting large mergers and acquisitions for multinational corporations, financial institutions and private equity firms. When I moved out here to California in 2005 and started focusing on representing entrepreneurs (which meant predominately middle-market M&A transactions), I was surprised to see how unsophisticated a lot of the players are here; in short, it’s a different environment than New York. Nevertheless, I love living in California, and I am trying to provide to entrepreneurs (via these blog posts) some legal tips and lessons I learned at the big firms in New York City. Below are ten tips for entrepreneurs who are contemplating acquiring a private company. (more…)
For those of you who do not follow Walker Corporate Law Group (Walker) on Twitter, I have set forth below highlights of our tweets for the past seven days. Indeed, I hope that a few of the links to articles, blog posts, podcasts and videos are helpful to our clients and friends. If you would like to follow Walker on Twitter (or if you would like to receive an RSS feed of our tweets), you can sign-up here. You can also check out the recent tweets of some of the entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and others Walker is following by clicking their photos on such page. If you have any questions or comments (or if you would like any additional information) with respect to any of the tweets below, please contact me through the comments section of this post. Many thanks, Scott
I’ve been doing deals as a corporate attorney for over 15 years, including nearly eight years in the trenches at two major law firms in New York City; and during that period, I have seen certain mistakes made by entrepreneurs (and inexperienced deal guys) over and over again. The purpose of this post (which is part I of a series) is to discuss the following five basic mistakes made by entrepreneurs in connection with corporate transactions: (1) the failure to diligence the guys on the other side of the table; (2) the failure to build a strong transaction team; (3) the failure to run the negotiations through the lawyers; (4) the failure to check their emotions and to remain disciplined; and (5) blinking first. The video version of this post is set forth immediately below.
Below are ten tips for entrepreneurs who are launching a start-up that will seek venture capital (“VC”) financing.
1. Protect Yourself from Personal Liability. The entrepreneur’s first step in connection with launching a start-up should be to form an organization that will protect against personal liability. As discussed below, a Delaware C-corporation is the structure that VC investors will generally require; however, if a financing is not imminent, it may be prudent for the entrepreneur to form an S-corporation or a limited liability company to obtain “pass-through” tax treatment (and then convert the entity to a C-corporation down the road, if necessary) to take advantage of the company’s initial losses, if applicable. The bottom line is that the entrepreneur should seek the advice of counsel in connection with the formation of any business organization, including the advice of tax counsel (e.g., shareholders in S-corporations — as opposed to C-corporations — are not eligible for the “qualified small business stock” capital gains tax break; and losses in C-corporations may be deductible up to $50,000/yr. or $100,000/yr. on a joint return with respect to “Section 1244 stock”). (more…)
There have been several relatively recent blog posts with respect to the issue of founder vesting, including (i) two posts by Chris Dixon, a smart angel investor and co-founder of Hunch, here and here; and (ii) a post by Mark Suster, a successful entrepreneur turned VC (and another smart guy), here. There are also a number of solid older posts addressing this issue, including (i) Venture Hack’s post here and (ii) Brad Feld’s post here. The purpose of this post is three-fold: (i) to weigh-in from the legal side; (ii) to try to pull the foregoing posts together in an organized manner; and (iii) thereby to provide five practical tips to entrepreneurs in connection with founder vesting. (more…)
Scott Edward Walker is the founder and CEO of the Firm. Scott has 16+ years of broad corporate and securities law experience, including nearly eight years at two prominent New York City law firms. Read more »
