Angel Investing
How to Angel Invest: Understanding Risk

Before you begin throwing money at startups, it’s important to understand the risk involved with investing. Venture capitalist, Sammy Abdullah, believes “angel investing is the absolute hardest thing to do in investing.” Angel investing can be fun and exciting, but […]


Angel Investing
How to Angel Invest: Where to Find Deals

After confirming your accredited investor status, the next step is to find promising companies. Serendipity is definitely a factor; however, you can approach finding deals in a systematic way. Identify Local Angel Networks Local angel networks are the safest and […]


Angel Investing
How to Angel Invest: What is an Accredited Investor?

Who can play the game Angel Investors are individuals who provide seed or startup financing to entrepreneurs. If you give your little brother a few hundred dollars to start a business, technically, you’re an angel investor. However, the more intricate […]


Angel Investing
How to Angel Invest

You’ve noticed it everywhere. Whether you see Mr. Wonderful grilling someone on Shark Tank, hear about Kevin Durant building a tech empire and basketball dynasty in California, or read about George Clooney selling a Tequila brand for $1 billion, everyone […]


General Business
Understanding Basic Contracts: The Payment Provision

I know, it seems like a simple contractual provision. It can be, but a lack of detail in the payment section of a contract can be disastrous. Take the following provision for example: Payment: “Contractor shall be paid $40,000 for […]


Funding & Capital Raising
Flipping Through PitchBook’s 1Q 2018 VC Valuations Report

Yes, it’s the 1Q (available here). It’s been on my desk for a few months. But I’ve made my way through it and wanted to share a few thoughts. Let me start with a little background. First of all, this report, […]


General Business
Understanding Basic Contracts: The Indemnification Clause

One of the most confusing, yet critical, sections of a contract is the indemnification section. Hard word, hard section. Hopefully this blog will help. “To indemnify” means to compensate someone for his/her harm or loss. In most contracts, an indemnification […]


General Business
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 […]


General Business
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 […]


Funding & Capital Raising
Pricing Stock Options

As I wrote last time, equity is currency for startups. As you launch your startup, you’ll likely be granting some equity to service providers throughout the life of your company. Now, it’s critical to understand that anytime you grant equity, […]