Kryptonite Angel Round Terms
Here’s a list of the top 5 deal terms that cause harm to startups at the seed financing stage and therefore should be avoided:
5. Control
“Control” of a startup can manifest itself in various forms such as equal (or investor-favorable) representation on the board of directors or a requirement of obtaining seed [...]
The Lawyer DC Startups Are Talking To
In many ways, Steve Kaplan is your typical lawyer. He graduated from the University of Virginia Law School and has worked for the international firm Pillsbury Law since 2005. He speaks very precisely: in response to various questions, he began by listing how many parts his answers would have: “two related challenges,” “three general categories,” [...]
Judge Calls Privacy “Wishful Thinking” In Web Context
If you did not not have a reason to think twice before posting that photo of yourself slamming shots and beers at the bar on Facebook before, then listen up.
A real judge ordered the following in a recent case:
“Defendant STEELCASE moves this Court for an Order granting said Defendant access to Plaintiff’s current and [...]
Apple To Challenge $625.5 Million Verdict
The jury’s verdict in the case of Mirror Worlds LLC v. Apple Inc., 08cv88, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (Tyler) sounds like it was taken straight from the pages of a Grisham novel. According to an article from Bloomberg, the verdict was the second largest in 2010. Apparently Mirror Worlds patents [...]
If I Launched A Startup
This article was written by Ryan Roberts, The Startup Lawyer, and re-published on SocialMatchbox.com with his permission.
Here’s what I’d do in the beginning:
Incorporation
(1) Entity Choice: Corporation or Corporation
(2) State of Incorporation: Delaware
(3) Authorized Shares in Charter: 10,000,000 Shares
(4) Type of Shares: Common Stock
(5) Par Value of Common: $0.0001
(6) Initial Founders Issuance: 8,000,000 Shares
(7) Founders Equity Split: Depends on the Team, But Quickly and After [...]
When Lawyers Compete We Win
A couple of weeks ago, while watching the Wizards play a team that I can’t even remember from the corner of my eye in a Skybox, because the game was less interesting than the conversations to be had, I had a conversation with a friend who is the co-founder of a startup based here in [...]
