The co-founder conversations you need to have before you incorporate
Equity, vesting, roles, money and the exit nobody wants to picture: the five talks that decide whether a founding team survives its first real disagreement.
Legal
Contracts, company structure, compliance and the legal basics for founders.
The real cost of incorporating your startup in the wrong place
Where and how you form your company decides who can invest, what you owe each year and what it costs to undo later.
How founders build a public reputation journalists can actually verify
Reporters, investors and search engines all check the same things before they trust a founder. Here is how to make sure those checks come back clean.
What technical due diligence really checks before an acquisition or round
Buyers and later-stage investors look past the demo to your code ownership, licenses, security record and cloud bill. Here is what they examine and how to prepare.
How to run a layoff legally and humanely, including the WARN Act rules
A practical walk-through of the notice rules, severance releases, final pay and benefits steps that decide whether a layoff is handled well or becomes a lawsuit.
Before you sign that AI contract, read these data clauses line by line
AI vendors handle your prompts, files and customer data under terms that vary widely. These are the clauses that decide what happens to your company's information.
How tariffs reach a small company's margins, even if it never imports
Duties are paid at the border by the importer of record, but the cost travels down the supply chain to businesses that have never filed a customs entry.
The FTC shipping rule every online store is already bound by
If you sell physical goods online, a federal rule governs your shipping promises, your delay notices and how fast you refund. Most founders have never read it.
How influencer deals work, and what the FTC expects you to disclose
Paying creators to talk about your product is an advertising deal with legal strings attached. Here is how to structure one and keep the disclosure right.
The commercial lease clauses that cost startups the most money
The rent figure gets negotiated. The clauses that decide the real cost, from operating expenses to personal guarantees, often do not. Read these first.
How to buy an existing small business without buying its problems
Acquiring a running business can be faster than starting one. The diligence questions below separate a solid company from a seller's well-presented exit.
SAFE or convertible note: what you are actually agreeing to
Both instruments postpone the valuation argument, but they treat time, debt and dilution very differently. How each one works and the clauses to read twice.
What actually happens at your first priced round, step by step
From the term sheet to the wire, a priced round converts old instruments, resizes the option pool and rewrites your charter. Here is the sequence and the traps.
The term sheet clauses that matter more than your valuation
Liquidation preferences, anti-dilution, board seats and protective provisions decide who gets paid and who decides. What each clause does, and what diligence follows.
How bootstrapped founders pay themselves without starving the company
Owner draws, payroll salaries and the S corporation reasonable-compensation rule work very differently. How each works and how to avoid a surprise tax bill.
Acqui-hire or acquisition: who actually gets paid when you sell
How deal structure, the preference stack and retention packages decide where sale proceeds go, and why an acqui-hire can leave common holders with little.
How founder secondary sales work, and why the company gets a say
Selling some of your shares before an exit is possible, but transfer restrictions, approval rights, valuation knock-on effects and tax rules shape every deal.
Before you build a startup on the side, reread your employment agreement
The invention assignment clause you signed on your first day may decide who owns your side project. Here is what to look for and how to protect yourself.
How to pick a company name you can actually own and protect
A state filing, a domain and a trademark are three different things. Founders who confuse them often end up renaming the business after they have built a brand.
How founders should run a board meeting that actually decides things
A good startup board meeting is built in the week before it happens. The pre-read, the agenda, the minutes and the closed session all have jobs to do.
The solo founder's continuity file: what happens if you can't work tomorrow
When one person holds every password, signature and relationship, a single illness can stop the business. A continuity file keeps it running without you.
The rules every family business needs before hiring a relative
Hiring family can build loyalty or quietly poison a workplace. Written rules on roles, pay, reporting and exits make the difference, along with the payroll tax details.
Using AI to screen job candidates? Your company still owns the legal risk
Resume screeners, video-interview scoring and recruiting chatbots can create discrimination exposure for employers. Here is how the risk works and what to check before you deploy.
How to raise prices on existing SaaS customers without a churn wave
A price increase is often the fastest revenue lever a software company has, and done carelessly it accelerates churn. Here is how to plan, announce and measure one.
The fake invoice scam that drains small companies, and how to stop it
Business email compromise relies on a convincing message and a rushed payment. These are the controls that stop it, and what to do if money has already left.
Your company just got breached. What to do in the first 48 hours
The earliest decisions after a security incident shape the legal, financial and customer fallout. Here is the order of operations for a small company without a security team.
SOC 2 for startups: what the report proves and when you actually need one
Enterprise buyers increasingly ask for a SOC 2 report before they sign. Here is what it covers, how Type I and Type II differ, and how to time the work.
How to get through enterprise security reviews without stalling the deal
Security questionnaires and procurement reviews can add months to an enterprise sale. These are the steps that shorten them, from answer libraries to contract positions.
Exchange, wallet or custodian: where founders should keep crypto
Who holds the keys decides what happens when something fails. How exchange custody, self-custody and qualified custodians differ, for individuals and companies.
Accepting crypto as a business: the tax and accounting mechanics
Taking payment in digital assets creates income, basis and a second taxable event when you sell. What changes for your books, payroll and risk controls.
C corp, S corp or LLC: how your entity shapes what you personally pay
Entity choice decides whether profit is taxed once or twice, whether you owe self-employment tax, and which investors and exits remain open to you.
Contractor or employee? The classification test that trips up startups
Calling someone a contractor does not make them one. How federal and state tests actually work, the red flags auditors look for and what misclassification costs.
What has to be in place before your first employee starts
The registrations, forms, insurance and agreements a founder needs before the first person joins payroll, and the order to tackle them in so nothing is missed.
The hidden paperwork of hiring a remote employee in another state
Hiring someone who works from a different state brings new tax accounts, insurance and employment rules. What changes, what to check and how to stay on top of it.
Write your startup's employee handbook before you actually need one
A startup handbook is where culture becomes specific and policy becomes enforceable. What belongs in the first version, what to leave out and the rules that catch founders off guard.
What founders should know before writing a company travel policy
Your first travel policy sets how much admin, friction, and tax exposure every trip creates, so here are the parts that matter and what to ask your accountant.
Company car tax basics every founder should understand before buying
A car used for business brings real deductions and real record-keeping duties, so here is how the main rules work and what to ask your accountant.
Leasing vs. buying a business vehicle: how the math actually works
The cheaper monthly payment is rarely the whole story, because cash flow, ownership, mileage, and tax treatment all differ when a business leases or buys a car.