Erik Ralston
Co-Founder at Fuse Accelerator
Tri-Cities
LAUNCH UNIVERSITY
Week [Number]: Legal
OVERVIEW
- The Team?
- The Thing?
- The Money?
THE TEAM
THE TEAM
- Ownership
- Roles and Responsibilities
- Decisions and Operations
- Communication
EXERCISE
What does your Dream Team look like?
How many are owners?
What is your role/title?
What are their role/tiles?
OWNERSHIP
- How do we value the speculation and divide?
- The rule of 1/N, or
- Efforts/Capital
- Vesting/Milestoning
- Departure/Dis-ownership
ROLES &
RESPONSIBILITIES
- Who is doing what work?
- Not all roles are equal in demand and time
- Not all team members are ideal for all roles
DECISIONS & OPERATIONS
- Respecting formalities
- Who is operating day to day?
- Who has the power to contract?
COMMUNICATION
- Planning for all of these in advance is critical.
- Documenting them should be paramount
STANDARD LEGAL TOOLS
- Master and Local Business License
- Articles of Incorporation
- Bylaws
- Organizational Resolutions
- Subscription Agreements
- Stock Certificates and Ledger
- Cap Table (derived from Ledger)
- Shareholder/Stock Agreements
- Asset Assignments
- S- Election
- 83 - B Election
- Stock Option Plan or Employee Stock Agreement
- Contracts and IP Agreements
THE THING
ASSETS & INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
- Patent
- Trademark
- Copyrights
- Trade Secrets
THE BASICS ON IP
- Owner/Employee/Contractor
- IPA/NDA/SPA
- First to Market and The cost of protection
EXERCISE
What is your IP?
Write down a list, indicate what type, and who might own it.
THE MONEY
FUNDING NOT SO CLEAR
- Boot Strap or Investors
- Incorporation Exemption
- Securities Regulation
- No friends and family
- Crowdfunding
- Equity Crowdfunding
EXERCISE
How much will your thing cost to get to market?
How will you get the money?
IN A NUTSHELL
-
Plan with your Team
- Incorporate
- Draft the plan in contract
- Communicate often
-
Know your IP
- Protect it
-
Have a funding plan
- Don't sell too early
- Know the legal landscape of:
- Securities
- Tax
Q&A
TC Launch University: Legal 2016
By Erik Ralston
TC Launch University: Legal 2016
Tri-Cities Launch University is your chance to take a crash course before you launch! This week deals with team, intellectual property, and money! The goal is to understand how to spot common potential issues and mitigate them with planning and communication.
