Debt Covenants Explained: A Guide for Startups
What are loan or debt covenants and how do they work? Learn to steer clear of overly-restrictive covenants and avoid costly violations.
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- 3 min
4 Ways to Protect Your Business From Wage and Hour Lawsuits
In 2017, employers were hit with over 8,200 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) wage and hour lawsuits, largely due to failure to pay the...
- 6 min
Equity Compensation for Startup Employees: Top Mistakes to Avoid
Equity compensation is a great recruiting tool and an effective employee retention strategy for startups and early stage companies. You...
- 3 min
Silicon Valley Likes Section 1045 Exchanges: Rollovers of Gain from QSBS
You might have heard of tax free rollovers. And you might be familiar with Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code, which allows you to...
- 3 min
Setting up an S Corporation? Watch Out How It Affects Your Founder Stock
If you are starting a business, be careful not to rush to set your company up as an S corporation without first considering the qualified...
- 3 min
Pass-Through Entities: New 20 Percent Qualified Business Income (QBI) Deduction
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) added a new tax deduction for owners of pass-through entities – a 20 percent deduction of qualified...
![Employer’s Legal Guide to Stock Option Grants [Checklist]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/931ec0_8d507f3579b44ea280f2a0b0ce4520f9~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_305,h_229,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/931ec0_8d507f3579b44ea280f2a0b0ce4520f9~mv2.jpg)
- 4 min
Employer’s Legal Guide to Stock Option Grants [Checklist]
If you want to grant stock options to employees, consultants and advisors, you will want to take the time to do this right. It is easy to...
- 4 min
The Startup’s Guide to Hiring a Lawyer
Startups tend to have “DIY” in their DNA. Founders are likely to find themselves changing the copier toner or fixing a leaky faucet in...
- 3 min
Legal Guide to Revenue Loans
Revenue loans are an increasingly common way for businesses to fund their growth. You might be wondering, from a legal perspective, how...
- 1 min
The Law of Startups podcast features BJ Lackland
Our CEO, BJ Lackland, was recently featured on the Law of Startups podcast with Joe Wallin, Principal at Carney Badley Spellman, and Mike...
- 3 min
4 Things to Know About VCs and Non-Disclosure Agreements
You’re a tech entrepreneur at an emerging startup. To date, you’ve bootstrapped your company, but now you’re at the stage where you’re...
- 3 min
6 Hidden Risks of Startup Fundraising
When you’re looking to finance your startup’s growth in the most cost-effective way, you have to think about the true cost of capital...
- 3 min
A Hidden Pitfall of Convertible Debt: Full Ratchet Anti-Dilution Rights
What are anti-dilution rights? And what is a full ratchet? Here's what startups need to know about convertible debt terms.
- 5 min
Liquidation Preference Multiples: The Hidden Trap of Convertible Debt
What are liquidation preference multiples and how can startup founders avoid deals with early investors that can cause big headaches later?
- 4 min
Why VCs Only Invest in C Corporations
Not all corporations are created equal. Learn Why VCs prefer C-Corps and explore funding alternatives if you're startup isn't one.
- 3 min
Why you need to have a founders’ agreement in place
One business risk many startups overlook is the relationship between cofounder(s). They assume formal agreements are unnecessary. Big...
- 4 min
4 Reasons Your Startup Shouldn’t Be an LLC
In the frantic life of a startup, founders often find themselves making countless decisions, day in, day out. The rapid-fire nature of...
- 3 min
Valuation Caps: Necessary or Evil?
What's a valuation cap? Learn what it is and how it works before you consider convertible debt for your startup's next fundraising round.
- 3 min
7 Mistakes Startups Make with Taxes
If you’ve only recently started up, you might think that worrying about and planning for taxes is something you can do later, when your...
- 2 min
Warrants vs. Options: Legalities and Tax Implications for Startups
Startup warrants and options are similar. See how they're used and structured differently, and how they're also taxed in in different ways.