I’ve been doing deals as a corporate lawyer for 17+ years, and there are certain fundamental mistakes that I’ve seen entrepreneurs make over and over again. Accordingly, I thought it would be helpful to share three basic tips in connection with doing deals. This is part two of a three-part series; it was originally posted on Forbes. In part one, I discussed the importance of (i) being careful with letters of intent, (ii) creating a competitive environment and (iii) using your lawyer as a “bad cop.”
I’ve been doing deals as a corporate lawyer for 17+ years, and there are certain fundamental mistakes that I’ve seen entrepreneurs make over and over again. Accordingly, I thought it would be helpful to share three basic tips in connection with doing deals. This is part one of a three-part series; it was originally posted on Forbes.
“Ask the Business Attorney” – 7 Negotiating Tips for Entrepreneurs
by Scott Edward Walker on July 14th, 2010
Introduction
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
This post is part of my “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 of the VentureBeat post, which provides seven tips to entrepreneurs contemplating selling their venture.
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
Doing Deals in the New Decade: 7 Tips for Entrepreneurs
by Scott Edward Walker on January 20th, 2010
Introduction
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 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…)
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
Walker Twitter Highlights: September 27th – October 3rd
by Scott Edward Walker on October 3rd, 2009
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
Five Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make in Dealmaking – Part I
by Scott Edward Walker on September 29th, 2009
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.