Founder’s Friday: Startup Law for Entrepreneurs
On a Friday afternoon in mid-April, one of our student partners, Startup Exchange, hosted a panel discussion for local community members regarding a topic that is top-of-mind for many new entrepreneurs.
The Founder’s Friday: Startup Law for Entrepreneurs event invited students and professionals to hear from two local experts regarding their experiences advising entrepreneurs, how to navigate the startup law/intellectual property (IP) ecosystem, and key things that founders should know before seeking legal guidance.
Prior to the discussion starting, Varoon Kodithala, Director of Partnerships of Startup Exchange introduced the group’s mission and focus and thanked Tech Square ATL (TSQATL) for being such a valued partner.
Nikhil Uppal (Membership Division, Startup Exchange) took the stage next, serving as the moderator that afternoon. Nikhil then introduced the guest speakers:
Joe Berklund, Co-Chair of the Emerging Companies/Venture Capital practice at Morris, Manning, & Martin, LLP, whose practice includes representing venture-backed and backable emerging companies, private equity-backed companies, and leading venture, growth equity, and private equity funds in financing and M&A transactions.
James (Jim) Schutz, Partner and Intellectual Property Practice Group Leader, who specializes in drafting and negotiating technology, IP, and software agreements at Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders, LLP.
The discussion that ensued was centered around the basics of term sheets, IP, and other law-related topics that are essential for entrepreneurs to understand. Immediately following, we opened up the floor to questions, which was incredibly interactive.
Gera Baano-Stewart II, a student-entrepreneur from Morehouse University who founded SimpNow and is currently working on a sports betting app called CrowdPlays, asked a question about how much code his developer owns. Jim and Joe responded, saying that contractors own 100 percent of the code that they write unless they sign a CIIAA agreement prior to working (which is essentially a confidentiality agreement).
Another student asked about avenues to secure a patent/ask about IP on campus. The two panelists recommended Georgia Tech's Office of Technology Licensing (OTL) as a great avenue for this.
In response to another question about how much equity to give to new hires, Jim and Joe advised attendees to use a vesting schedule when awarding shares to employees, which essentially rewards employees that stay with the company for longer with more shares.
One of the best highlights of the afternoon was one of our coworking members, Jon McKinley, attending the event since his membership includes access to events at The Clubhouse. This was vital for Jon, as he is the Co-Founder of a new sports marketing startup and it was great information for him to learn as he plans for the future in regards to IP and trademarks. This perfectly embodies the essence of TSQATL – connecting our members with other innovators in the surrounding community!
Do you have any startup law-related questions for our panelists? Let us know in the comments below.