Will I Lose Control of My Company If I Keep Raising Money? Every time I raise another round, my ownership percentage gets smaller. At some point, does that mean I stop calling the shots? Many founders assume control disappears when their ownership falls below a certain percentage. In practice, that is not how startup governance
Will I Lose Control of My Company If I Keep Raising Money? Read More »
Why Am I Still Locked Into This Contract I Want Out Of? You signed a vendor agreement a year ago and barely thought about it again. Now the software no longer fits where your company is headed, so you decide it is time to move on. Then the invoice arrives. It is for another 12
Why Am I Still Locked Into This Contract I Want Out Of? Read More »
What Kills an M&A Deal in Due Diligence, and Is My Portfolio Company Exposed? You finally have a buyer interested in acquiring one of your portfolio companies. The purchase price looks good, and the negotiations are moving forward. But price may not be the biggest risk. The bigger concern is what happens when the buyer’s
What Kills an M&A Deal in Due Diligence, and Is My Portfolio Company Exposed? Read More »
What Am I Missing in My First Executive Offer Letter After Raising a Priced Round? You just closed your priced round and are finally hiring the CFO or VP you have needed for the past year. You pull up a generic offer letter template. Salary, title, start date, done. That approach may work for a
What Am I Missing in My First Executive Offer Letter After Raising a Priced Round? Read More »
Should I Take Cash or Rollover Equity When I Sell My Company? The number on the letter of intent looks impressive. Then you look closer and realize that only part of the deal is actually cash. The rest may be stock in the buyer’s company, an earnout tied to future performance, or another form of
Should I Take Cash or Rollover Equity When I Sell My Company? Read More »
Should I Sign a Term Sheet If It’s the Only One I Have? You have spent months pitching investors. Then finally, one investor sends you a term sheet. Your first reaction may be to sign quickly before they change their mind. But having one term sheet does not mean you have to accept every term.
Should I Sign a Term Sheet If It’s the Only One I Have? Read More »
Should I Push for Reps and Warranties Insurance Before My Startup Gets Acquired? Your acquirer just sent over the deal structure. You see that a chunk of your proceeds will sit in escrow for a year, maybe two, before you can access it. Then you hear that another founder received a much cleaner check at
Should I Push for Reps and Warranties Insurance Before My Startup Gets Acquired? Read More »
How Much Should I Actually Be Spending on a Lawyer Right Now? A founder usually calls a lawyer when something goes wrong. A customer contract becomes difficult to interpret. An employee issue suddenly feels risky. An investor sends over a term sheet with provisions nobody on the team fully understands. The invoice arrives after the
How Much Should I Actually Be Spending on a Lawyer Right Now? Read More »
Does My Portfolio Company’s D&O Insurance Actually Cover Me on the Board? You are about to accept a board seat at a portfolio company. The company already has directors and officers insurance, so everyone assumes you are protected as soon as you join the board. That assumption can be dangerous. Investor appointed directors can face
Does My Portfolio Company’s D&O Insurance Actually Cover Me on the Board? Read More »
Do I Need an IP Holding Company Before My Startup Expands Overseas? Your engineering team in Krakow just shipped a feature that becomes part of your core product. At the same time, a distributor in Singapore is using your trademark on local packaging. Everyone is working for the same business, so it may feel unnecessary
Do I Need an IP Holding Company Before My Startup Expands Overseas? Read More »
Did My Cheap Online Incorporation Actually Cover Everything? You filed your incorporation online, paid a few hundred dollars, and received a PDF packet. It felt like the company formation process was finished. Then an investor asks for your bylaws. Another person asks for your founder’s stock documents. Someone wants to see your cap table. Suddenly,
Did My Cheap Online Incorporation Actually Cover Everything? Read More »
Should I Push for Reps and Warranties Insurance Before My Startup Gets Acquired? Your acquirer just sent over the deal structure. You see that a chunk of your proceeds will sit in escrow for a year, maybe two, before you can access it. Then you hear that another founder received a much cleaner check at
Should I Push for Reps and Warranties Insurance Before My Startup Gets Acquired? Read More »
Did I Just Sign Away Exclusive Rights to My Own Product? Your biggest customer has just sent over its contract. The deal is close, and you are focused on the payment terms, implementation schedule, and getting the signature. Then you notice a word buried somewhere in the licensing section: “exclusive.” At first, it may look
Did I Just Sign Away Exclusive Rights to My Own Product? Read More »
Can I Claw Back an Executive’s Bonus After I Already Paid It? You just found out your financial numbers were wrong. Your company now has to restate its financials, and the CFO’s bonus was calculated using the numbers that turned out to be incorrect. Now comes the uncomfortable question: can you actually get that money
Can I Claw Back an Executive’s Bonus After I Already Paid It? Read More »
Will My New Funding Round Kill My QSBS Tax Break? Is your next funding round about to wipe out one of your biggest tax benefits? You built your company with an eventual exit in mind. QSBS, or Qualified Small Business Stock, under Section 1202 can allow eligible founders and early employees to exclude substantial gains
Will My New Funding Round Kill My QSBS Tax Break? Read More »
Will a Foreign Investor on My Cap Table Kill My Next US Funding Round? You took that check two years ago because the money was good. Nobody asked where it came from twice. Now a new lead investor’s counsel is three weeks into diligence, asking about one name on your cap table. Is that what
Will a Foreign Investor on My Cap Table Kill My Next US Funding Round? Read More »
What Happens If My Convertible Note Matures and I Cannot Raise a Priced Round? “My note matures in six weeks and I still do not have a term sheet.” That sentence can turn an ordinary fundraising deadline into a serious problem. A convertible note is debt. It is not simply money sitting on your balance
What Happens If My Convertible Note Matures and I Cannot Raise a Priced Round? Read More »
Should I Wait for the EU’s Digital Omnibus Before Updating My GDPR Compliance? Do I build a full GDPR program now, or wait for Brussels to make it easier? That question matters if you have EU users, EU customers, or an EU expansion plan. On November 19, 2025, the European Commission proposed the Digital Omnibus,
Should I Wait for the EU’s Digital Omnibus Before Updating My GDPR Compliance? Read More »
My Fund Isn’t Based in California. Do I Still Have to Comply With Its New VC Reporting Law? Your fund is not headquartered in California. So why does this law keep showing up in your inbox? Because California suspended the law just days before its compliance deadline, and many fund managers treated that as a
If I Dissolve My Delaware Startup, Can I Still Get Sued Later? “We shut it down. That’s over now.” Is it? Dissolving a Delaware startup does not automatically end your legal exposure. The way you wind down the company can determine whether old claims remain open and whether you receive notice if someone later brings
If I Dissolve My Delaware Startup, Can I Still Get Sued Later? Read More »
