“Only describe, don’t explain.” ― Ludwig Wittgenstein According to Merriam-Webster, a startup is a fledgling company. According to Wikipedia, it’s a partnership or temporary organization designed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model. According to the Chicago Manual of Style, you spell start-up with a hyphen. But most people who work in the … Read More
Six months ago you hired an employee. He shows up to work late more often than not. He’s always calling in sick, but never provides a medical explanation. When he is at work, he seems more devoted to updating his Facebook page than improving your company’s bottom line. He looked good on paper when you … Read More
What is vesting? Vesting, by law, is defined as the moment when a party’s right to an asset cannot be taken away by a third party. In the context of stock, it refers to the process by which restricted stock ownership changes in status from conditional and restricted to unconditional and unrestricted. What that means … Read More
Most people have heard of non-compete agreements. But there’s another scenario where an employer can keep you from working for a competitor, even in the absence of a prior agreement: the Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine. Three tests must be met for a court to invoke the doctrine. 1) You must possess trade secrets that you do … Read More
I’ve heard some wacky stuff recently from entrepreneurs about term sheets. Some people seem inclined to throw the term around in contexts where it doesn’t belong. It’s a pretty simple concept, so I figured I’d draw up a quick primer to summarize the basics. What is a term sheet? A term sheet is a document … Read More
The most expensive legal documents are the ones you never knew you needed until it was too late. For one example, filing a timely 83(b) election can be the difference between paying no taxes on an appreciating ownership interest in a startup and paying hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time when you don’t … Read More