From the Blog

Statistics show that fully 10% of all Americans eventually have their own small business. Because investment capital is generally the biggest issue in starting a business, many new businesses also start up through “family” investments. When asked to “invest,”...

What should you do if you are having trouble with a co-founder? Usually founders begin a venture with high hopes and a good working relationship, but just like in any relationship, there is always the chance that things may...

We are often asked about why we recommend imposing vesting on shares that are issued to founders, advisers and service providers, as opposed to granting stock outright. Imposing vesting on stock simply means that the recipient earns his or...

If you have an LLC, you’ll need an operating agreement, which functions a bit like the bylaws of a corporation. The difference is that LLCs are generally much more flexible than corporations, which means there is more wiggle room...

The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the JOBS Act), which was signed into law earlier this month, set the stage for a major expansion in crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is a means by which people can collectively invest small amounts of...

The constitutionality of the individual mandate, which is the heart of the 2010 federal health care reform law, is currently facing tough scrutiny by the justices of the Supreme Court. On day 2 of oral arguments, the government faced...

Kiva, a non-profit that empowers entrepreneurs around the world by providing micro-loans, is currently offering new users a free $25 loan.  Research has shown consistently that micro-loans are a powerful engine for economic growth in developing countries, and micro-lending...

On Thursday, February 23 the Obama administration released a “Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights” and called on Congress to pass strong legislation to enforce the proposal. The Bill of Rights proposes new technical and legal tools to protect the...

It’s not surprising that bankruptcy filings increase in a down economy, but probably few people expected the rate of filings to triple in just a four-year period. Our recent in-depth analysis of Northern District of California bankruptcy filings over...

New employment laws that went into effect on January 1 will impact California startups and small businesses. One of the new laws that businesses won’t want to ignore is SB 459, which imposes heavy penalties of between $5,000 and...