ScaleUp Speaker Series New York - Structuring Your Venture and Protecting Its Assets – Incorporation and Intellectual Property

You’re invited to Morrison Foerster’s ScaleUp Speaker Series New York, a complimentary 5-part series that will provide a deep dive into the legal side of founding a startup, now presenting in New York City.

These weekly seminars will arm you with the knowledge needed to manage the legal aspects of launching, funding, and growing a startup, with insights on how to avoid common mistakes that can have serious consequences down the road.

Lunch will be provided.

Topics covered by this one-hour session include:

• Choosing the right form of legal entity (e.g., corporation or LLC?)

• Incorporation process and key documents

• Organizational matters (including founder stock issuances and assignment of IP)

• Post-incorporation concerns (including aggregation of IP and creating equity incentives)

• Patent basics

• Trade secret basics

• Copyright basics

• Trademark basics

• Selected IP issues at formation, business development, financing and acquisition

For an overview of the topic, kindly view our brief videos: MoFo ScaleUp: Incorporating a Startup - YouTube & MoFo ScaleUp: IP Basics - YouTube

Lunch will be provided.

Please register for each session you would like to attend by clicking the title of the session (in orange text) below. You must register for each individual session. Space is limited; registrations will be accepted until capacity is reached.

1. Structuring Your Venture and Protecting Its Assets – Incorporation and Intellectual Property - October 30, 2024: Learn key differences between types of legal entities and how they impact the ability to raise capital, build a workforce, and achieve a successful company exit. Explore the basics of the different types of IP, how they add value to your startup, and missteps to avoid that may prevent you from protecting your IP.

2. Operating – Equity Incentives & Later Stage Complexities - November 6, 2024: Learn the basics of customary equity incentives and how they are used to attract and retain top talent in a competitive market. We will discuss founder vesting, restricted stock, and stock options (including ISOs and NSOs). As well as how startups and investors manage down rounds, recapitalizations, pay-to-play financings, and other complexities that arise only in the second and subsequent rounds of financing.

3. Fundraising – Angel Capital, Venture Capital and Beyond - November 13, 2024: Learn the most common angel investment structures and practices in seed stage investing (including debt, equity and hybrid approaches) and an introduction to the preferred stock terms that form the basis of venture capital investments. As well as the basic concepts, structures, and math behind venture capital investments, including capital structures, term sheets, and capitalization and liquidation models. 

4. Exit – M&A, IPOs, Winddowns and Beyond - November 20, 2024: Learn the differences among acquisition structures, fundamental merger and acquisition (M&A) terms, and an overview of definitive M&A agreements and processes. As well as about the steps necessary when considering an IPO, including the process and timing, and life as a U.S. public company.

5. Pratfalls and Pitfalls – Most Common Legal Mistakes and Open Forum - December 4, 2024: Learn more than a dozen common mistakes, their impact on startups, and how to avoid them in the first place. In addition, join our interactive open forum where you can ask startup expert attorneys questions on topics raised during earlier sessions or startup legal questions generally.

For more information on our ScaleUp programming including our Pitch Days offered in Austin, Boston, New York, and Palo Alto, please visit us at MoFo ScaleUp.