Starting Up
Joe Hadzima, Jr. '73, the current MIT Enterprise Forum, Inc.
Chairman of the Board, wrote a series of columns for the Boston
Business Journal called
"Starting Up." Each article focuses on a topic of recurring interest
to persons who are starting and growing new ventures.
Topics
Board of Directors and Advisors
Outside
Directors:
Do You Need Them and Where
to Find Them
The legal requirement for a Board of Directors
Don't Bore the Board of Directors
(How to Use a Board Effectively)
Some practical tips on getting the most from your Board of
Directors
A Little Advice on Advising:
Three Models of Success
Will Help
Describes how to get, compensate and effectively use outside
advisors to your venture
Employment/Employees
Seven Characteristics of Highly Effective Entrepreneurial
Employees
How to identify "right stuff" employees
Employment Pitfalls Part 1
Legal issues in employing and retaining your most valuable
assets: independent contractors, offer letters, non-competition
agreements
Employment Pitfalls Part 2
Government contracts, overtime, immigration law, employee handbooks
Do You Still Have the Right People (in the Right Job)?
Will the people who started with you make it to the IPO?
How Much Does an Employee Cost?
The "non-direct salary" cost components; some metrics on figuring
the cost of feeding and caring for employees
Legal Forms of Doing Business
Subchapter S: Some Myths, Realities and
Practical Considerations
What is a Subchapter S Corporation and why/when should you
use it?
Is an LLC For Me?
What is a Limited Liability Company and is it appropriate for
a technology growth company?
Stock and Equity
Thinking About Valuation
Pre-money and post-money valuation—some
techniques for valuing a venture
Dilution: A Primer of Stock Vocabulary
A primer on stock vocabulary relating to dilution
Take Stock When Using Stock in Trade Part 1:
Stock Basics
Covers basic terminology and concepts about stock and about
equity compensation of employees
Take Stock When Using Stock in Trade Part 2:
Stock and
Options
Some considerations for using stock and options
Employees' Stock Reward:
How Much Stock Do They Deserve?
What is appropriate stock compensation for your employees?
Steer Clear of the Tempest:
A Startup Tragedy in Three
Acts
This column discusses the importance of securities laws and
how one company's failure to comply with these laws may have
caused the company to fail itself
WHIPLASH: The Pitfalls of Acceleration
Should stock and option vesting accelerate when a company is
acquired or goes public?
Financing - Venture Capital
All Financing Sources Are Not Equal
There are differences among financing sources; pick the one
that is right for you
What Are the Terms? Part 1: A Preferred Return
First of a three-part series on the terms of venture capital
financings
What Are the Terms? Part 2: Investors Need
Some Control
After Their Checks Are Cashed
Part two in a three-part series on the terms of venture capital
financings
What Are the Terms? Part 3:
Run, Don't Walk, to the Exit
Part three in a three-part series on the terms of venture capital
financings
General Advice to Entrepreneurs
Success is No Day at the Beach
Take some time to think about your personal
goals—you
can't figure out how to get somewhere in your business if you
don't know where you want to go
The Foundation of Success:
Build Value Every Step Along
the Way
Plan your work and work your plan to achieve specific goals
which enhance the value of your company
The Business Plan
Lessons from the MIT $50K Business Plan Seminar Series
Pinpointing That Critical Entrepreneurial Spark
What makes a successful entrepreneur?
Paying the Founding Piper:
It's Not as Simple as Writing
a Check
How can you get paid (other than in stock) for your "sweat"
Ten Commandments of
How to Work Effectively With Lawyers
Practical tips about how to use your lawyers effectively
Intellectual Property
Questions of Copyright:
Another Weapon in the Property
Arsenal
Discusses basic concepts of copyright protection
The Importance of Patents:
It Pays to Know Patent Regulations
What is a patent, how do you get one, and what value are they?
Of Kleenex and Cheez Whiz:
Trademarks Are Nothing to
Sneeze At
Practical tips on trademarks
What Do Things Cost?
Adding Up All the Costs:
How Accounting
Services are Priced
Why do you need an accountant and what do accounting services
cost?
The Costs of Hunting Heads
What does it cost to recruit someone?
How Much Does an Employee Cost?
Some metrics on figuring the cost of feeding and caring for
employees
Don't I Know You From Somewhere? The Price of Fame
What does public relations cost?
Putting a Leash on Your Lease
Basic points to think about in signing a real estate lease
for your business
