You have done your customer research, developed your business plan and honed your initial product offering accordingly and are ready to launch a new venture. Should it be registered as a C-corp or LLC? How do you protect your intellectual property? What are the legal aspects of raising capital?
Those are just a few of the questions you will confront when starting up.
For more than five years, the Innovation Institute and the Big Idea Center for student innovation, both part of the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, have partnered with the Pitt School of Law and Carnegie Mellon University's Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship startup accelerator program to offer the Start Smart Legal Series. Presented in conjunction with attorneys from the law firm K&L Gates, Start Smart covers a wide variety of topics in 1.5 hour sessions.
David Lehman from K&L Gates, who conducts many of the sessions answered a few brief questions about the series:
- Who can benefit from participating in Start Smart?
Folks who are considering starting a company or commercializing a technology can benefit from the Start Smart sessions. They give a good topline overview on many legal issues that a startup founder will face as they seek to get their company up and running. - What topics are covered in the Start Smart Series?
We cover all aspects of starting and growing technology-oriented companies, including formation, capital raising, exits, employment matters, retaining experts and addressing intellectual property protection. - Is there a cost to participate?
The program is free. Start Smart is open to faculty, students and staff from both Pitt and CMU, as well as the general public. - How long are the workshops?
Each workshop runs from 5-6:30 p.m. Sessions are still virtual. Two of the workshops are held over two sessions, so you must attend the first session in order to participate in the second. - How do I register?
Click on the link below to register. The first session, Introduction to Startup Law, is this Tuesday, September 14.
