A question that would-be startup founders often ask is how they should split the equity among themselves. This is an excellent and extremely difficult question, and also one that I cannot answer for …
Brand Name Protection – The Three Pillars
Recently I wrote about the importance of ensuring that your desired corporate name is available, as a key step before filing to incorporate your company. Today, I will take an even broader view of …
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Is Your Company Name Available?
Suppose you are a founder of a startup, and you haven't incorporated your company yet. You know it will cost money, and you want to defer that expense as long as possible (although you really should …
When Should You Incorporate?
If you are working on a startup, one of the hardest early decisions you will make is when to incorporate your company. Incorporation, when done properly, will cost money, which is why too many …
Qualifying As A Foreign Corporation
Any newly-incorporated company must grapple with the issue of whether and when it needs to qualify to do business as a foreign corporation in various states. What exactly does this mean? Suppose that …
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The Importance of Vesting
I just came across this article by Rebekah Campbell, on a topic of crucial importance to entrepreneurs -- how to divvy up ownership interests in a startup. Campbell is an Australian entrepreneur, and …
Choosing the Right Entity
One of the most important decisions to make when starting a business is what form the business entity will take. There are a number of options - sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability …