Five-minute general counsel: What’s in a seed round termsheet?

By Rick Colosimo / February 1, 2011 / Comments Off on Five-minute general counsel: What’s in a seed round termsheet?

Here’s a common set of angel-investor questions regarding a standard seed round term sheet for a tech company: Why are the shares divided into preferred and common? Why does the preferred stock have a limited “1x” return? What will happen with liquidation preferences in future rounds? What will happen with dividends? Does the preferred stock…

Five-minute general counsel: Why legal advice is always custom

By Rick Colosimo / January 30, 2011 / Comments Off on Five-minute general counsel: Why legal advice is always custom

I recently came across a LinkedIn question asking about entity selection for a social enterprise. The generic question for a generic business is what people often conceive of as an “easy question” with a simple answer. Here’s my answer: Laura, the question you ask is only properly answered in light of more important questions. I’ve…

Five-minute general counsel: how to structure a board meeting

By Rick Colosimo / November 22, 2010 / Comments Off on Five-minute general counsel: how to structure a board meeting

Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures wrote about his board meeting and ugly travel schedule some time ago. It’s refreshing to hear him talk about being excited to go to board meetings. I’ve sat in too many where a VC (even a monster big-name guy) ended up talking about the format of financials being presented…

Great lawyers don't sell forms

By Rick Colosimo / November 17, 2010 / Comments Off on Great lawyers don't sell forms

Here’s a LinkedIn question about LLC operating agreements. The poster wonders whether the operating agreement he received from the entity formation company is a little “generic” and asks the forum for specific advice about what should be included. The answers point to some provisions that should be included (division of gains and losses, breakup/buyout/dissolution schemes,…