EP #29 - Christian Meisser: Legal Advice For Early Stage Startups

Timestamps:

1:50 - What mistakes do Swiss startups make repeatedly when it comes to the legal aspect?

10:54 - How to get out of a tricky contract

26:30 - How to handle investors

40:00 - HR: attracting and retaining talent

48:50 - Should you have a strong legal partner on your side?

The Episode In 60 Seconds

There are 5 legal areas every startup should have covered:

Corporate law

• Have a clear agreement in place of how the departure of a co-founder would be handled.
• Critically look at shareholders agreements and make sure you understand the implications in case of an exit.

Contract law

• Make sure that any IP produced for you by a third party will also belong to you.
• Always read contracts before signing. In the B2B business, there is no 30 day return policy.
• Ensure liability caps on sales contracts in case your product causes unintentional harm to your client.

Regulations

• Be aware of how tougher privacy and data protection laws affect you and your business model.
• Know which sectors you need special licenses for.

HR law

• Make sure your employee contracts contain a provision for IP created by employees.
• Sign any employee contract by hand.
• Consider employee stock option plans.

Intellectual property

• Software is usually protected by copyright rather than patent law. The only way to effectively protect your code is by not disclosing it.
• For hardware, be aware of existing patents and consider patenting yourself.
• Consider protecting your company name if it is crucial for your business.