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WHAT IS GDPR?

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is an updated privacy law for the digital age. At its core, GDPR is a new set of rules designed to give EU citizens more transparency on what data they are sharing, how it’s being used and granting more control over their personal data. The rules simplify and make clear the obligations of businesses and the rights of individuals in the digital economy. The regulation takes effect on May 25, 2018. If the GDPR applies to you, you’ll need to make sure your systems are in place immediately.

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Nearly every early tech startup at some point gets enamored with the idea of partnering with another tech company. This is usually driven by the heady, very seductive idea that a partnership will accelerate credibility, sales, and minimum viable product (MVP) quickly and more easily than doing it yourself — by using another company’s resources or by drafting on the traction of an existing platform. Those are very appealing propositions to a resource-strapped startup that is scrambling for a real, repeatable sign of product-market fit. (more…)

Let’s be honest. Legal fees can get out of control on funding rounds. I hear horror stories from friends and clients that are paying north of $100,000 in legal fees for a Series A –  although the normal range tends to be $15,000 to $50,000. It’s fairly common for the entrepreneurs to pay for investor’s legal fees as well. If you’re raising a few million dollars, covering your legal fees and the investor’s fee means that a non-trivial percentage of that raise is going to the lawyers. (more…)

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Two companies really caught my eye at Y Combinator Day this year. They are both blending profit and purpose, and if successful they will create significant impact in the sectors of health and employment. (more…)

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Deciding the best legal structure for a social enterprise can seem like a daunting, high-stakes task. 

This post is designed to help social entrepreneurs and their attorney progress through a clear process for understanding how to structure their organization to maximize their social / environmental impact. I’ve developed and refined this method by working with hundreds of social entrepreneurs, getting input from fellow attorneys in the field, research and teaching the topic since 2008. Though this decision is never simple, the goal of this process is to reduce complexity, confusion and give the social entrepreneur a few clear options.

Progressing through the process will help narrow down the potential legal structures from 7 to 2 or 3. (more…)