StartupSchool - Page Mailliard
Page Mailliard from WSGR (Wilson Sonsini et. al) came up next. The big screen had issues and she was bit shaky in the start (stage fright?), but the talk became lively very quickly.
Here is the summary:
- Do it right the first time
- Don’t use other lawyers :p
- WSGR will give you the best stuff from their experience
- Focus on business, let W-s provide you with best legal stuff
- What does it take to set up company
- deleware corp
- Simple is better
- You need C-Corp over S-corp or LLC
- Steps
- 20M common, 5 or 10M preferred
- File papers
- Establish board. Be careful who you get on the board.
- alternate: use board of advisors
- enter into stock purchase agreement with founders
- Set up Vesting
- even for founders set up vesting plan
- examples of partners falling out, circumstances change
- Acceleration of vesting for founders not everyone
- Who owns the technology
- the company owns the technology
- make sure you don’t have conflict of interest with former employer.
- Even the possibility of former employer suing sets the investors scurrying
- the microsoft intern? Don’t talk to microsoft people before incorporating
- Genentech material transfer agreement (they provide stuff and in exchange get everything)
- Who owns the company
- No napkin promises
- No Tithing ? what is tithing?
- Write stuff down
- Financing
- Financing stages
- 4-5 stages,
- Types of equity
- Founders get common
- Preferred goes to investors (they get board seats, so refer back to value of board)
- take less money. Remember to consider option pool before funding.
- First term sheet
- Value proposition and market opportunity
- short presos
- Be credible
- Bring A Players
- Listen to others - revise presos, learn from each interaction
- Listen to yourself
- BEst leverage is another term sheet
- Get the best business partner you can, not best valuation, not best board representative (?)
