Accredited Investor Rules: What Founders Must Know in 2026
Accredited investor rules decide who can back your raise. Learn the 2026 income and net worth tests, verification traps, and how founders stay compliant.
Equity for Services: 7 Costly Tax Traps to Avoid
Paying with equity for services is the oldest trick in the startup playbook. Cash is tight, talent is expensive, and a slice of ownership feels free to hand out. It is not. The moment you trade stock for work, you create tax consequences, dilution, and a relationship that needs real paperwork, and skipping any of […]
Authorized and Outstanding Shares: 5 Costly Mistakes
Few things trip up new founders faster than the difference between authorized and outstanding shares. The terms sound interchangeable, they show up on the same cap table, and getting them backwards can lead to bad math on ownership, dilution, and even your tax bill. They are not the same thing, and the gap between them […]
Non-Disclosure Agreement: 7 Costly Mistakes to Avoid
A non-disclosure agreement is the quiet workhorse of business law. It sits in the background of almost every deal, hire, and partnership, and nobody thinks about it until information they cared about ends up somewhere it should not be. By then the agreement either does its job or exposes how badly it was drafted. The […]
LLC Operating Agreement: 7 Critical Clauses to Protect You
Think of your LLC operating agreement as the company’s prenup. Nobody signs it expecting a fight, and everybody who skips it regrets that choice when the fight finally arrives. The document decides who controls the business, who gets paid, and what happens when a member wants out, dies, or simply stops pulling their weight. Draft […]
Governing Law and Court Selection: 5 Costly Errors
The two clauses most people skim at the end of a contract—governing law and forum selection—quietly decide who wins when a deal goes sideways. The governing law clause picks whose rules interpret the contract; the forum (or court) selection clause picks where the fight happens. Get them wrong and you can lose a strong case […]
409A Valuation vs. Preferred Stock: 5 Critical Facts
Every startup that grants stock options eventually collides with two very different numbers: the price investors pay for preferred stock, and the fair market value of the common stock set by a 409A valuation. Confusing the two is one of the most common—and expensive—mistakes founders and employees make. A 409A valuation is an independent appraisal […]
Outstanding vs. Fully Diluted Ownership: 5 Costly Myths
When a founder says they own “40% of the company,” the real question is: 40% of what? Your outstanding-share percentage and your fully diluted ownership are two different numbers, and the gap between them decides how much of the business you actually keep after options, warrants, and convertible notes come home to roost. Fully diluted […]
Product and Service Warranties: 7 Costly Mistakes to Avoid
Product and service warranties are among the most underestimated legal exposures a growing company carries. Every promise you make about a product’s quality—or a service’s outcome—can become an enforceable obligation, whether you wrote it down or not. For business owners scaling past their first big contracts, getting product and service warranties right is the difference […]
Trademarks Built Through Use: Why Your Brand Has Rights Already
Trademarks built through use, not just registration, create real brand rights. Learn how common-law rights work and the 5 ways to protect your mark.