Understanding Basic Contracts: Terminating for Material Breach
All contracts will have a term (length of the agreement) and termination (how you terminate the agreement) clause. Well, they should have a termination clause. As I wrote last time, it’s important to take great care in reviewing your contracts […]
Understanding Basic Contracts: The Termination Clause
A client of mine called me last week to express her frustration with a vendor. The vendor wasn’t turning around the work in a timely fashion, and this was severely impacting her business. She wanted out of the contract. My […]
The Three Levels of Control Within an Organization
A common misconception in any startup is thinking ownership percentage equates directly with control. While it’s true that the majority equity holder(s) usually controls the business, this isn’t necessarily always the case. Let’s break it down. Day-to-Day Operations Day-to-day operations […]
The Repeal of PASPA
On Monday the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (“PASPA”), the federal ban on sports betting. In a 6-3 ruling, SCOTUS held that PASPA unconstitutionally commandeers state legislatures by dictating what they “may […]
Why You Should Be Anti Anti-Dilution
A client, who had already raised some money and thus had a few people on his cap table, came in recently with a term sheet whereby the prospective investor had requested “anti-dilution” protection. If you’re not familiar with anti-dilution, it […]
Finding a CPA
As I’ve discussed before, the four external pillars of any small business are a lawyer, a CPA, a banker, and an insurance broker. Each of these professionals will be critical to the growth and health of your business. The first […]
Design Is About Input
Between the law firm, other startups I’ve started, and advising clients, I’ve interacted with hundreds of designers and developers through the years. The most critical thing that I’ve learned is that design is about input, not output. Let me give […]
Working With Developers
Failure to have a clear written agreement with developers is the most frequent problem I see with early-stage companies. And one that is completely avoidable. Here are a few common issues.
Forming an Entity (LLC v. C-Corp)
This blog was originally published in March of 2018 but was revised in January of 2025 and is still accurate. Okay – it’s time to actually form the business. You’ve built your pitch deck, received feedback from naysayers, visited with […]
How Founder “Vesting” Really Works
Vesting is the process whereby a recipient of equity earns the equity, or the right to purchase it in the case of options, over time. As I mentioned in my last post, the typical schedule is 4 years with a 1-year cliff. […]