Legal Services for Startups & Savvy Businesses in Colorado
Most business owners and many lawyers underestimate the nuances of how state and local laws can affect the purchase or sale of business. While many of the laws and legal boilerplate that you might see in a purchase transaction will be consistent across state lines, there are some critical ways in which they differ. Understanding […]
I grew up in good living conditions, in suburban Denver. But my parents grew up in poor conditions in rural Ireland. And my grandparents grew up in very, very poor conditions in rural Ireland. My great-grandfather was beaten to death by the British army during the Irish revolution on Christmas Eve in 1921. This left […]
To the untrained eye, letters of intent may seem like the least important part of a business agreement. After all, they’re usually non-binding. And many people equate non-binding with inconsequential. But nothing could be further from the truth. In a deal where the parties sign a letter of intent, letters of intent are where nearly […]
I’ve found that while entrepreneurs have an excellent sense of the law when it comes to term sheets and venture deals, they have a much more limited understanding of securities laws. What’s worse, many lawyers I’ve talked to aren’t aware of the details of Colorado’s securities laws, either. Most competent attorneys know about the basics […]
The type of investors you have drastically changes what you need to do to raise capital, the risks your company will incur, and how much it all costs. Understanding the difference will save you money and a lot of wasted energy. This effect is so drastic that—depending on the amount collected from an unsophisticated, or […]
Businesses do not decide whether a person is an independent contractor or an employee. Whether a person is an employee or an independent contractor is a legal question—based upon how a person interacts with your company, performs work, gets paid, and other factors. And unfortunately, there is no clear-cut test on what determinates whether a […]
I once heard a mentor at an accelerator say, “NDAs are worthless and if you see a founder trying to get someone to sign an NDA, it’s a clear signal that they’re a startup amateur. Ideas are worthless. I should be able to tell everyone in the world my idea, and if someone beats me […]
The first thing to remember when you’ve received a cease and desist letter, or any other threatening letter from a lawyer: Don’t panic. You’ve developed your business to the point that you’ve ended up on someone’s radar. These things happen. The important thing now is to weigh your options and figure out how to respond. […]
In business negotiations, it’s critical to develop a reputation as someone who will cooperate and get things done. But business is competitive and occasionally aggressive, and there’s a fine line between having a desire to cooperate and ending up a pushover to more aggressive competitors. So where does one strike a balance between the need […]
[This is a parody inspired by Robert Pirsig’s wonderful classic, from the perspective of a man that’s seen a lot of startups come and go, some succeeding and some failing. For the real thing, please go to Amazon and purchase Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.] I can see on my iPhone, without taking […]