In this podcast, we have a chat with Rustam Roy, Commercial Law solicitor and founder of Legalistic, a company which offers commercially relevant legal advice to small businesses, start-ups, and SMEs about the main legal questions that all start-up founders, and anyone who owns and manages a business, should know the answers to.
We discuss the best ways to protect initial ideas and the importance of approaching investors or any other party with NDAs if you are trying to keep your idea secret as well as what to say if investors refuse to sign them, making sure that anyone you approach can prove that they have the resources or skills they are promising to deliver before you confirm equity or funds in exchange, and the different types of tech contracts and knowing exactly what you are allowing the other party to access and use.
Before you begin starting up your business, be clear on exactly what your aims are but more importantly, where is your money coming from to start this venture and if someone else is contributing towards it, what exactly are they expecting to receive once things get going? If there are other founders or contributors, decide on who owns how much of the business and what contingencies will be followed if anyone decides to leave further down, and have this written down clearly once agreed upon before you start doing anything else.
Main Topics
- Legal Advice for Start-Ups
- Investor Negotiation Tips
- Managing Disputes Between Founders
- Protecting New Ideas and NDAs
- Key Elements of Tech Contracts
Guest
- Rustam Roy – Commercial Law solicitor, founder of Legalistic
Main Questions
- What are the key things founders need to think about when setting up a business?
- If something goes wrong between founders what is a sensible course of action to take?
- Lots of founders want to protect their ideas, what is the best way to do this?
- What negotiation tips do you have for founders that are trying to negotiate with investors?
- What are the key elements of a tech contract that founders should have written in?
An Interesting Point
- When trying to raise funding and approaching investors for the first time, put yourself in their position and think about what you would like to know and be told in order to willingly invest your money. Tell them exactly what you plan to do with their money, what you can do with it, and how long it will take for them to start seeing a return on their investment.
If you like what you hear and want to speak to Rustam directly then you can reach him via the Legalistic website
While you’re reading, if you are thinking about how you can use technology within your business to drive growth, save costs or even optimize your processes, please reach out to us.