ScaleUp Speaker Series 2024

This cycle of Morrison Foerster’s ScaleUp Speaker Series provided a deep dive into the legal side of founding a startup. Participants gained the knowledge needed to manage the legal aspects of launching, funding, and growing a startup, along with practical insights on how to avoid common mistakes that can have serious consequences down the road.

Incorporating a Startup – February 9, 2024

Participants learned the 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.

Intellectual Property Basics – February 23, 2024

Participants learned the basics of the different types of intellectual property, how they add value to a startup, and common missteps to avoid that could prevent them from protecting their intellectual property.

Raising Angel Investment (Including Convertible Note Financings) – March 1, 2024

Participants learned about the most common angel investment structures and practices in seed-stage investing (including debt, equity, and hybrid approaches) and received an introduction to the preferred stock terms that form the basis of venture capital investments.

Raising Venture Capital Investment (Deal Terms and Structures) – March 15, 2024

Participants learned the basic concepts, structures, and mathematics behind venture capital investments, including capital structures, term sheets, and capitalization and liquidation models.

Most Common Legal Mistakes of Startup Entrepreneurs – March 22, 2024

Participants learned about more than a dozen common legal mistakes, their impact on startups, and strategies for avoiding them.

Startup Equity Incentives – March 29, 2024

Participants learned the fundamentals of customary equity incentives and how they are used to attract and retain top talent in a competitive market. The session covered founder vesting, restricted stock, and stock options, including ISOs and NSOs.

Follow-On Venture Financing Complexities – April 5, 2024

Participants learned how startups and investors manage down rounds, recapitalizations, pay-to-play financings, and other complexities that arise in the second and subsequent rounds of financing.

Selling Your Startup – April 12, 2024

Participants learned about the differences among acquisition structures, mastered fundamental mergers and acquisitions (M&A) terms, and received an overview of definitive M&A agreements and processes.

Initial Public Offerings – April 19, 2024

Participants learned about the steps involved in considering an IPO, including the process, timing, and life as a U.S. public company.

Open Forum Recap – May 3, 2024

Participants joined an interactive open forum where they asked Morrison Foerster’'s startup attorneys questions about topics covered during earlier sessions and startup legal issues more broadly.

Bonus Session: Antitrust Issues for Startup Companies – May 10, 2024

Participants learned about basic antitrust laws and principles, the current antitrust enforcement landscape, antitrust risks in interactions with peers and competitors, and other topics relating to antitrust and competition in the startup space.

For more information about ScaleUp programming offered in Austin, Boston, New York, and Palo Alto, please visit MoFo ScaleUp.