Year in Review: Tips for Start-Ups In New York & New Jersey

Entrepreneurs know first hand that getting start-ups off the ground can be a monumental task, especially start-ups in New York & New Jersey .

In fact, 8 out of 10 entrepreneurs who start businesses fail within the first 18 months. As business lawyers, we regularly work with entrepreneurs with start-ups in New York & New Jersey to address the legal obstacles that start-ups face. Below are several tips that we provided throughout 2015.

• Investor Due Diligence When launching a new venture, it can be tempting to accept start-up financing from anyone who offers it. However, entrepreneurs should always take the time to get to know their potential investors when it comes to start-up financing. Given that you will likely be married to them for several years, it is important to ask: are these the type of people you want to work with?
• Innovative Ideas To obtain funding, start-ups and other growing businesses need a unique business concept to stand out from the competition. In most cases, it’s even better when the business idea is so novel that there is no competition, at least not yet. From drone racing to car vending machines, we highlighted several companies that are capitalizing on groundbreaking ideas.
• Hiring Employees Once your startup is ready to hire employees, it is important to do it right. A written employment contract is recommended to establish and structure the legal relationship when you start hiring employees. Issues to address include wage/hours, equity grants, benefits, non-disclosure of confidential information, termination, and non-compete/non-solicitation.
• Hot Industries To boost the probability of your start-up’s success, it helps to enter a “hot” industry where there is room for new businesses to flourish. We highlighted several “hot” industries in 2015, from food e-commerce to legal marijuana to “gamification” services. Several common themes unite these industries, including the innovative use of technology in new fields.
• Founders Agreements Young entrepreneurs are often so excited to bring their idea to market that they shun the typical formalities of forming a new business. However, as tech start-ups like Tinder and SnapChat have learned the hard way, handshake agreements and napkin contracts can lead to nasty lawsuits among business co-founders. To avoid legal headaches, it is advisable to execute a written partnership or founder’s agreement.

To learn more about the start-up business law tips discussed above, we encourage you to click through to the relevant blog post. You can also contact a member of Scarinci Hollenbeck’s corporate transactions and business practice regarding your specific concerns.