Five expert business and legal insights help college students form and finance businesses
MENLO PARK, CA – Founders Workbench, a free online legal and business resource for entrepreneurs from leading national law firm Goodwin Procter, today released the Founders Workbench High Five for Startups. The checklist provides essential tips to help college entrepreneurs navigate the legal and organizational challenges of starting and running a business.
“Undergraduate entrepreneurship is on the rise, but undergraduate students often don’t have the same access to capital and advisory resources as career entrepreneurs,” said David Van Horne, Goodwin Procter partner and Founders Workbench contributor. “We created the High Five for Startups to help student entrepreneurs save time and money, and overcome some of the initial challenges often faced by first time founders.”
Founders Workbench High Five for Startups
1) Choose the Appropriate Legal Structure – Corporation or LLC? One of the first and most important steps in creating a company is choosing a legal structure that best suits the long-term needs of the business and its owners.
2) Use Trusted Legal Documents – While they may appear to save time and money, random legal documents found on the Internet may not be accurate, complete or appropriate. Identify a trusted source for legal documents when starting a business.
3) Protect Your Intellectual Property – With this year’s changes to the intellectual property laws, entrepreneurs need to move faster than ever to protect their key intellectual property. When launching a business, founders should research common intellectual property problems, patents and trade secrets, and trademarks.
4) Understand Financing Options – This year’s dramatic additions to crowdfunding laws have created new options for financing a business. Before rushing into a Kickstarter campaign or deciding to pursue angel funding, take the time to understand the startup financing options available.
5) Brush Up on Startup Jargon – Even before you start a business, it’s never too soon to research and absorb the key terms and jargon regularly used by investors and legal counsel. Founders Workbench Deal Dictionary app is an ideal primer on key deal terminology.
About Founders Workbench
Founders Workbench is a free online resource that helps entrepreneurs navigate the legal and organizational challenges faced by startups and emerging companies. Originally launched in 2010 with free legal documents for C-Corporation formation, the site has been redesigned and enhanced with Document Driver, a comprehensive set of legal documents for establishing Limited Liability Companies (LLCs), and two new web apps: Capital Calculator, which allows founders to instantly calculate dilution and liquidity under different financing and exit scenarios, and Deal Dictionary, which introduces founders to the often obscure legal and financial terms used by venture capitalists and angel investors. For more information, visit www.foundersworkbench.com.
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Media Contact
Alex Parks
gp@daviesmurphy.com