Category Archives: Startup
What Is a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?
If you are raising money, somebody is going to ask whether you have an MVP. Here is what they actually mean. An MVP — minimum viable product — is the smallest functional version of a product that allows a startup to test whether users actually want it. Not a polished launch. Not a perfect… Read More »
How to Start a Startup
Starting a company is easy. The hard part is the first ninety days. That is when founders make decisions about entity structure, founder equity, fundraising, IP ownership, and governance — all while trying to build a product at startup speed. Most founders trip over the same early issues. Step One: Decide What You Are… Read More »
Startup vs. Small Business: What’s the Difference?
“Startup” and “small business” get used interchangeably all the time. They should not be. The difference is not size. It is intent. A startup is designed for rapid growth and scalability. A small business is usually designed for stability, profitability, and long-term operation. Those goals lead to completely different decisions about financing, hiring, structure,… Read More »
Accredited Investors: What That Means and Why It Matters
You’ve got a great pitch and a friend who wants to invest. Sounds simple. It isn’t. Whether you can actually take their check — and how much paperwork comes with it — depends on whether they’re an “accredited investor.” That term is buried in securities law, but it shapes almost every early financing decision… Read More »
What Are the Pros and Cons of Accelerator Funding?
Getting into Y Combinator or Techstars is, for some founders, the validating moment that makes them feel like a real startup. It’s also a transaction. You’re selling roughly 6–7% of your company for a check, a network, and a Demo Day. Whether that’s a great deal or a bad one depends entirely on what… Read More »
What is the Difference Between a Startup Accelerator and Incubator?
The words “incubator” and “accelerator” get used as if they meant the same thing, but they don’t. They’re different programs serving different stages of company, with different trade-offs — one of which is whether you give up equity. Picking the wrong one wastes a year you don’t have, or costs you a chunk of… Read More »
How Does Venture Debt Financing Work?
Venture debt gets pitched to founders as the holy grail of fundraising: capital without dilution. That’s mostly true, with an asterisk the size of a small comet. Venture debt is real, useful, and often the right move for a growth-stage company. It is also more expensive and more constraining than founders realize when they… Read More »
Raising Capital from Friends and Family
Your first check often comes from someone whose number is in your phone. A parent, a former boss, a college roommate who did well in crypto. It feels less formal than a real fundraise, and that’s the problem — friends and family money is real money, with real legal consequences, and the casual posture… Read More »
Choosing a Legal Structure for Your Startup
One of the first things you’ll do as a founder is choose a legal structure for your business. It’s not glamorous, but it matters — your entity type affects your taxes, your liability exposure, your ability to raise capital, and how much it’ll cost to change your mind later. Here’s how the four main… Read More »
C-Corp vs. S-Corp: Which One Is Right for Your Startup?
Most founders know they want to incorporate. Fewer know which kind of corporation they actually need. The two options — C-Corp and S-Corp — look similar on paper, but they’re built for very different kinds of businesses. The short answer: if you’re raising venture capital, it’s a C-Corp. If you’re running a profitable business… Read More »