San Francisco Startup & Business Law Blog

It’s a common scenario for start-up founders: a few friends join together to build a company, each working long hours without pay in exchange for a promise - or at least a hope - that the company will be successful and they will be paid back tenfold for their initial time and sacrifice. However, even though this is common practice, it may violate California law and has the potential to be very costly for the company and the directors personally if things turn sour.

When a small business or startup considers offering an employment position to a candidate, it’s common practice to create an employment agreement, or offer letter, which stipulates the general terms of the relationship

Nearly all startups and small businesses must consider raising capital at some point. To ensure you’re best suited to take full advantage of a potential opportunity, work hard to avoid these common pitfalls.

When two trademark owners have developed rights to identical or similar marks, they might enter into a coexistence agreement in order to resolve a potential trademark dispute. The agreement must clearly state in detail the rights of the respective parties and how confusion in the marketplace will be avoided. Typically, the goods and services are unrelated, sold in different geographic areas, or utilize different trade channels.

When deciding how to incorporate a business entity, it helps to know how each entity is taxed at the state and federal level.

All shareholders, no matter the size or jurisdiction, are granted some limited rights when investing in a company. However, shareholders in a small business are wise to negotiate and draft contractual protections in addition to these limited rights.

You've hatched an idea, formed a team and now you're ready to raise private capital to jump start your new company. One of the keys to success is understanding the general process a startup will go through as it continues to grow and expand its operations. Below you'll find an overview of the three stages we see most of our startups go through on their way to raising multiple rounds of capital.