We did it. $3.1 million in the bank to change college advertising.

I’m really psyched to announce that Highland Capital Partners and Charles River Ventures have invested $3.1M in CampusLIVE. In just a few short years the CampusLIVE team has grown from 1 to over 15. This is by far the most exciting time of my life. Thanks to all who have been a tremendous help to me and the rest of the CampusLIVE team.

TechCrunch: CampusLIVE Raises $3.1 Million To Help Brands Connect With College Students

 

 

Posted in Business, Entrepreneurship

HBS: Top Ten Legal Mistakes Made by Entrepreneurs

A great article was just posted on the Harvard Business School website (http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/3348.html), listing out the most common legal mistakes made by entrepreneurs. I thought it would be worthwhile to see how many of them I’ve personally experienced – the answer is many more than I’d like. The good thing is, it just takes one time to learn these things. My future ventures will benefit from not having to learn all these mistakes.

The one that really bit my ass was #7. If there is ONE thing you do right in your startup, file the 83b election in a timely manner. If you don’t, you will get screwed, intensely hard by by the IRS – in the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars kind of screwed.

The List:

(mistakes i’ve personally been through are underlined)

#10: Failing to incorporate early enough.

#9: Issuing founder shares without vesting.

#8: Hiring a lawyer not experienced in dealing with entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.

#7: Failing to make a timely Section 83 (b) election.

#6: Negotiating venture capital financing based solely on the valuation.

#5: Waiting to consider international intellectual property protection.

#4: Disclosing inventions without a nondisclosure agreement, or before the patent application is filed.

#3: Starting a business while employed by a potential competitor, or hiring employees without first checking their agreements with the current employer and their knowledge of trade secrets.

#2: Promising more in the business plan than can be delivered and failing to comply with state and federal securities laws.

#1: Thinking any legal problems can be solved later.

 

Posted in Business, Entrepreneurship