CHAPTER 19Legal Things Every Entrepreneur Should Know
There are a few legal issues that we’ve seen consistently become hurdles for entrepreneurs and their lawyers. While in some cases they will simply be a hassle to clean up in a financing or an exit, they often have meaningful financial implications for the company, and in the worst case, can seriously damage the value of your business. We aren’t your lawyers or giving you legal advice here (our lawyers made us write that), but we encourage you to understand these issues rather than just assume that your lawyer got them right.
If you want to read the best book ever on legal issues that face entrepreneurs, get The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Business Law, fifth edition, by Constance Bagley and Craig Dauchy (South-Western, 2012). It is written for entrepreneurs, not lawyers, so it’s easily digestible and is the best legal resource for entrepreneurs we know. The cost is less than 11 minutes of a typical lawyer’s time and the payback is immediate and invaluable.
Intellectual Property
We also thank our friends at Cooley LLP for helping us with this chapter. And, no, they aren’t giving you official legal advice here either.
We discussed some intellectual property (IP) issues in Chapter 2 around preparing for fundraising. However, IP issues can kill a startup before you even really begin. Following is an example.
You and a friend go out and get some beers. You start telling him about your new company that will revolutionize X and make ...
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