Innovation and start-ups
So, you’ve had the idea, perhaps you’ve also built the web-site and chosen a name – but how are you going to turn those initial steps into a business? Some things you might want to consider:
- Who are you going into business with? Can your business take the form of a partnership – or do you need to constitute a company? If a company, who will initially own the shares and in what proportion?
- Where will you look for funding? Will you be seeking capital from venture capital funds or business angels – or will a business loan from a bank be sufficient. Do you have already have the business plan ready so that you are able to make approaches for funding effectively?
- Are loans and grants available, would they for example, allow you to take on an employee on advantageous terms – or perhaps help with renting premises?
- You may need a Director’s contract yourself – and what about the employment contract for the first employee?
- You need to protect precious intellectual property but what about know-how or trade secrets that are not registrable as such? How do you register a design?
- Will you be licensing technology or do you need contracts with terms and conditions for the sale of your products or services?
- If you’re selling online, what steps must you take to be compliant with on-line sales law and data privacy laws?
Having a checklist is useful – but a conversation with a FLINN lawyer will be more effective – and we will not charge you for the first hour.
