- Stock classes: What are the typical classes? I've heard of founder class with more voting rights, etc. What about the classes for early employees or friend investors? How are they typically structured?
- How many authorized and issued shares typically?
Is it critical to do it right from the outset so us founders couldn't be screwed later on?
Thanks
Your stock classes question is complex and depends on a lot of factors (sorry to give a typical lawyer answer but it's true here). If you just have founders and no investors, just common stock can be typical. If it's seed investors and founders, it usually breaks down into preferred for investors and common for everyone else. Authorized and issued shares varies depending on these factors too. Definitely critical to do this right the first time.
Even if you have incorporated, it is possible to do a NewCo later with a different structure and roll the startup business into the NewCo.
Your company incorprated name does not have to be the name that everyone knows you by (trading name/site name).
Isn't this what Facebook did when they needed to bring in further investors way back when?
I know there are some template documents available on the web but they are in legalese. There are founder class F but I am not sure if they are typical and usable in practice. I know the best way is to consult a lawyer but I also want to do my own due diligence and hear from HN's collective wisdom.