Start-Ups

Overview

A strong legal foundation for a new business is just as important as a sound business model. Businesses that are legally compliant from inception scale much more smoothly and realise more of their value if legally savvy from the start.

The value of a business in its nascence is disproportionately contained in its intellectual property, be it copyright in artwork and designs, the unique branding, or trade secrets that imbibe its uniqueness.

Save for occasional concessions, start-ups are subject to the same legal regime as any other business. It is therefore ironic that fledgling businesses attempt to delay their interaction with the law for as long as possible when, in fact, engaging with legal requirements at the fore will likely boost value and save resources later.

Being a Firm deeply invested in innovation, we are always excited to hear new ideas and be part of a new business’s growth story. Our start-up law practice group engages with new businesses both at the pre-funding and funding stages and ensures that they have their legal compliances in order.

Start-ups both benefit from IT and bring spontaneous innovation to the industry and beyond. Their needs though similar to established IT entities are typically at a much smaller scale and flexibility in service offerings is prerequisite. Ensuring compliance and adequate safeguard on proprietary creations is essential to sustainable growth for any nascent business.

Our intellectual property expertise makes us exceptionally suited for offering strategic copyright, trademark, patent and design related advice, including advice on protection, risk management and contentious issues. We also conduct intellectual property audits and undertake application filing, nationally and internationally.

We engage actively and wholesomely with the start-up community, organising events aimed at early stage ventures and partnering with dynamic start-up initiatives, providing a platform to interact with lawyers and discuss their legal issues.

We offer the following 360 degree services for startups

• Incorporation advice.
• Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights and Designs.
• General Corporate Advisory [e.g., drafting of employment, consulting, marketing, freelancing, revenue-share, loan, lease and other operational agreements]
• Commercial Transaction Drafting & Advisory [e.g., investment documents drafting, negotiation with investors, negotiating the structure of shareholder agreements, share subscription agreements, share purchase agreements, MoAs, AoAs etc.]
• Creating and managing Employee Stock Option Plans, and Sweat-Equity Plans
• Data Protection Regulatory Compliance – e.g., GDPR, California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA), Information Technology Act, etc.
• Due-Diligence prior to investment rounds on the potential investment and structuring of seed, and Series A/B/C rounds and beyond.