By: Ambur C. Smith, Esq.
Earlier this week I presented a custom presentation entitled, Startups 101: Legal Pitfalls and Parachutes to the spring '24 cohort of the Techstars Equitech Accelerator, based in Baltimore, Maryland. The following are key takeaways:
I've never been skydiving, but for those who have, nothing compares to the parachute. Without the reliable, floating apparatus, a thrill seeking adventure might quickly turn tragic.The same can be said for startups attempting to navigate the legal landscape governing early stage, scalable business ventures. From selecting the entity structure aligned with their short and long term goals, to determining which categories to trademark their brand name and slogan in, the pitfalls awaiting the under or unrepresented founder are plentiful. Check out the following list of the most common pitfalls to beware of, and our recommended "parachutes" to help founders overcome them:
Those highlighted in blue might be considered the top 3, and the latter two were honorable mentions. Yet and still, this list is far from exhaustive.
Interested in exploring other pitfalls or hiring our firm to be your startup's parachute?
In the meantime, check out additional lists of common pitfalls facing startups and small businesses below: