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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
Grant Your Equity Wisely
Which conversation would you rather have? “So…that 10% equity we gave you last year – yeah, I’m gonna need half of that back,” or “Thanks so much for everything you’ve been doing for the company; here’s another 3% equity!” As […]
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 […]
Dilution Done Well
The word dilution may sound scary to the uninitiated, but it shouldn’t. In fact, dilution is a good thing when done appropriately. The adage is that you’re better off owning a little piece of something worth a lot then owning […]