Start-up company

Important Contracts for Startups

July 22, 2016 | Mark Figueiredo

Contracts are an integral part of conducting business and the necessity for certain contracts can arise from the very start of your company. The following are only some examples of important contracts for startups in California.

Founders’ Agreement — If you are going into business with one or more people, having a comprehensive and clear founders’ agreement is imperative. This agreement can be likened to a premarital agreement: it foresees and addresses potential issues that may arise and sets guidelines for dealing with those issues. A solid and enforceable founders’ agreement can prevent a lot of legal conflict and costs down the road.

Nondisclosure Agreements — If you have the idea or formula for a unique product or process, you want to keep information confidential so others do not try to misappropriate your idea. However, it will be necessary to share information with co-founders, employees, investors, contract developers, and others involved in the project. In such cases, you may have others sign a nondisclosure agreement to ensure they will not disclose confidential information to other parties.

Restricted Stock vs. Stock Options: Deciding How to Compensate Your Employees

June 24, 2016 | Mark Figueiredo

Issuing equity in a company is a popular form of employee compensation. This trend is especially popular here in Silicon Valley, where startup companies often defer cash compensation to their employees in exchange for a share of future growth through the issuance of equity. If you own a non-public company, you may wish to compensate your employees partially by issuing them equity in the company. Equity aligns incentives between employers and employees while enabling employees to build up wealth over a longer term. Equity issuance can be done in different ways, including by issuing restricted stock grants or by issuing stock options. Each of these forms of compensation can have its own pros and cons and you want to make sure you carefully analyze the decision and decide which is best for your circumstances.

Restricted Stock

Restricted stock is a stock award that will not fully transfer to the employee until certain conditions have been met. These conditions can include a certain length of time working for your company, meeting certain performance or financial goals or milestones, and more. These restrictions can be helpful for owners to ensure that employees do not simply walk away from your venture and that they must wait for the award to vest before they receive the stock benefits. In addition, by making an 83(b) election with the IRS within a certain period of time after the restricted stock grant, employees can save significantly on the tax burden once the stock vests. If no election is made, however, employees may face hefty tax liability at the time of vesting depending on the value of the shares. Restricted stock is less risky and easier to manage in comparison to regular stock. However, restricted stock has less favorable tax treatment than options.

Avoiding Business Ownership Disputes

June 17, 2016 | Mark Figueiredo

Starting a business with a partner can be highly beneficial: collaborations offer many benefits and are particularly popular with startups and firms providing professional services. When you start a business with another person or people, the last thing you expect is to end up in a disagreement about business ownership. Unfortunately, these kinds of disputes arise on a regular basis and can have a significant impact on the success of your business as well as your personal bottom line.

Business disputes can arise in a variety of contexts – here are some of the most common situations:

A party may attempt to assert authority which he or she does not have

Thinking of Partnering to Launch a Business? Draft a Partnership Agreement.

March 18, 2016 | Jaclyn Ford

While many well-known businesses are either corporations or limited liability companies, partnerships remain a common and savvy business entity selection. In fact, some of the biggest names in tech—Apple, Microsoft, and Google—started out as partnerships.

What is a Partnership?

Partnerships exist whenever there is a cooperative endeavor of two or more people, entities, or some combination thereof, to provide a product or service. The main characteristic of any partnership is that the partners share in the profits and losses of the business.

I Want to Protect My Startup’s Reputation. Are Non-Disparagement Clauses an Option?

March 11, 2016 | Mark Figueiredo

Reputation can help make or break a startup. Startups rely upon a positive reputation to grow, develop, and maintain a strong customer base. Glowing reviews help startups strengthen their brand equity; at the same time, they help support and influence a customer’s decision to use the startup’s product or service.

A startup that develops a negative reputation will not have the same luck. Customers that leave negative reviews weaken the perceived value of the startup’s product or service. Potential future customers may find themselves less inclined to use the product or service as a result of negative reviews. Too many potential reviews could spell a startup’s demise.

Startups want to succeed. Whether the ultimate goal is to grow and expand or to be bought out, startups want to ensure that their success is not derailed through customer disparagement. In order to combat potential negative reputation, some startups began including non-disparagement clauses in their purchase or licensing agreements.

Tech Startups and Intellectual Property Decisions

February 19, 2016 | Mark Figueiredo

Startups centered around a technological development or product are highly popular in this day and age—and for good reason. Companies such as Apple or Facebook originated in garages or dorm rooms and are now each valued at hundreds of billions of dollars. Even if you are not a technical person and know nothing about programming or coding, you can still start a successful tech startup, as evidenced by companies such as Pandora. It is not surprising that individuals are continually trying to bring the next big idea to life and start their own tech company.

However, like any other type of business, there are many legal concerns for tech startups. One highly important concern is how to properly protect your intellectual property (IP). A novel and viable idea is generally the heart of a tech startup and you do not want to risk your success by failing to adequately protect your idea. The following are only some IP concerns that may be relevant to your tech startup.

Choosing the right type of IP protection

What is “Mezzanine Financing” and Should your Startup Pursue It?

February 12, 2016 | Mark Figueiredo

Too many startups fail to successfully get off the ground because of decisions that result in inadequate financing. As a founder of a startup, you can have a completely viable idea and still fail due to financing mistakes. For this reason, it is important to understand the different types of financing appropriate at different stages of your business. Financing can be complicated and it is always helpful to consult with a skilled business attorney who can evaluate your financing needs and provide valuable advice.

One type of financing used by startups is called “mezzanine financing.” The name is appropriate because this type of financing is in the middle between equity and traditional bank debt. Your business is less leveraged because there is no hard collateral to mezzanine investors, though many charge more interest than a bank loan. On the other hand, you will give up less control of your company than you will if you pursue additional equity funding.

When is mezzanine financing appropriate?

Using Equity as Compensation in a Tech Startup

February 5, 2016 | Mark Figueiredo

Many startups in the tech sector are idea-rich and cash-poor, meaning that their most valuable (and often only) asset is their intellectual property that may have the potential to be worth a substantial amount of money. While some startups are able to move their ideas from concept to deployment with relatively little labor involved, many of these ideas require the assistance of developers, programmers, engineers, and marketers, all of whom are skilled professionals who can easily command salaries well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

For this reason, many startups are faced with the issue of how to pay their employees during the development and launch phase, before they are generating any revenue. Of course, one option is to borrow the money or to seek investors – a solution that has significant pros and cons which should be considered. Another very popular option is to offer employees equity shares in a company in lieu of cash compensation. In some cases, this may take the form of equity for a lower salary than they would normally expect, while in others an equity share may be the only compensation they receive.

There are many issues that tech entrepreneurs and founders should consider when offering equity as compensation. These include the following:

Incorporating your Tech Startup: The Importance of Bylaws

January 29, 2016 | Mark Figueiredo

According to an article published by Forbes in late 2014, 42 technology startups potentially looking at a 2015 IPO had raised venture financing of at least $1 billion. With the potential for the creation of significant wealth in a relatively short period of time, it is no wonder that many people are seeking to enter the tech marketplace with new ideas that have the potential to impact the way that millions of people conduct their daily lives.

Incorporation is one of the major steps involved in the growth of a tech startup and involves creating a distinct business entity that can own intellectual property, issue stock, raise capital, and is subject to rules of corporate governance. Incorporation can be a complicated process and involves filing paperwork with the Secretary of State’s office in the jurisdiction in which you wish to incorporate.

What are Bylaws?

What Does a Corporate Board of Directors Do?

January 8, 2016 | Mark Figueiredo

Very generally stated, the Board of Directors of a California corporation is responsible for the way in which the corporation is run. California law requires every corporation in the state to have a board of directors and, according to the text of the law, “all of the activities and affairs of a corporation shall be conducted and all corporate powers shall be exercised by or under the direction of the board.” While this may make is seem as if a company’s board of directors participates in the everyday management of the business, this is usually not the case, and corporate boards regularly delegate management of a business to individuals who may or may not be a member of the board.

How is a Board of Directors Formed?

When a company incorporates, it is required to file a document called “articles of incorporation” with the Secretary of State’s Office. This document establishes much of the basic identity about a corporation, including its name, how much stock it will issue, and the way in which the board of directors will be chosen. California law requires that every board of directors has a chairperson or a president (or both), a secretary, and a treasurer or chief financial officer (or both), as well as any other named officers that may be required by a corporation’s bylaws.