For the past two years I have been assisting a number of new and emerging companies who are raising funds via an “equity crowdfunding” (or investment crowdfunding) offering under the SEC’s Regulation CF exemption. A byproduct of the 2012 JOBS …
One of my continuing frustrations as a business attorney is the availability of online forms and canned document services that purport to be able to provide the necessary structure and assistance to a small business owner. It is a …
A business plan is an essential roadmap for business success. This living document generally projects 3-5 years ahead and outlines the route a company intends to take to grow revenues. Executive Summary The executive summary is often …
NOTE: Through the course of representing over two dozen breweries in Minnesota and beyond, I’ve learned a little about what it takes to start a brewery. No matter where you look in researching your plans, you will come …
Gap Financing for Breweries – Special Guest Post by Annie Deckert, Decklan Group Read more »
Continuing with this month’s theme of alternative uses of one’s retirement funds, this week Kevin Hunter and I discussed the use of 401(k) plans to fund a new business, a practice commonly known as “Rollover Business Startups” or “ROBS” Attorney Thomas …
Rollover Business Startups: The Business Forum Show, May 28, 2014 Read more »
In my most recent appearance on The Business Forum Show, Host Kevin Hunter and I discussed the basics of raising equity capital and recent efforts to make “crowdfunding” legal for for-profit businesses. You can listen to the show here. Background …
Raising Equity and Crowdfunding: The Business Forum Show, January 22, 2014 Read more »
Trademarks are an important legal tool for businesses seeking to protect and expand a brand of products or services. Preventing one’s competition in perpetuity from marketing a competing product or service under a similar name can be crucial to establishing …
Trademarks: The Business Forum Show, November 7, 2013 Read more »
Comedian Ron White made famous the phrase “You can’t fix stupid.” In the film Parental Guidance, Billy Crystal’s character remarked that his mother always told him that “there’s no cure for dumb.” Either of those phrases are apt descriptions of …
Minnesota Estate Tax Changes Close the Border on Small Business Investments Read more »
Last year, much fanfare was made over the Jumpstart Our Businesses Startup Act, or “JOBS Act” for short. The JOBS Act’s intent was to create more funding opportunities for startup businesses by easing securities regulations; specifically, the JOBS Act permitted …
Beyond Crowdfunding: What New Businesses Need to Know About Securities Law Compliance Read more »
“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers” The above, often quoted (or should I say, misquoted) line from William Shakespeare’s Henry VI is a blunt summation of how most business owners feel about those of us …