Well, nobody seemed to care about the potential renewal of section 215, so...
Burn it all and start over, I say :)
114 karma · joined July 11, 2010
Burn it all and start over, I say :)
Education and clarity is important in any new business venture, especially one that involves multiple parties. If nothing else, a good buy-sell agreement is crucial in avoiding misunderstanding and back blood if one party wants out.
Liability protection is also hugely important. What startup doesn't need a bank account? Separation of entity an personal assets and liability is a big deal and should be meticulously maintained and documented from inception. This discipline is hard to pick up late in the game, and there's no reason for it.
Also, if your attorney is recommending a C corp as your best choice of entity, you either have a very unusual situation or a bad attorney.
As awareness of startup culture grows, it is necessarily going to attract some goofiness. That's OK. Not every idea is a good one, and not every good idea is going to work. We need these stories to make the successes stand out so much brighter.
You may be right, but I hope you're not. I see things like Pebble's success on Kickstarter, Amanda Palmer bringing more attention to the idea of crowdsourcing funding for something that is every bit today's poetry, and see the spread of the paradigm shift we all already value (or else we wouldn't be here). I think it's right to be nervous, but I am cautiously optimistic that hacker/maker/startup culture is an attractive alternative to the existing production model.
I always appreciate your thoughts, but nowhere near as much as I would appreciate a new Laundry novel. Thanks for the good times.
and why the EFF [Subpoenadefense] list is basically dead.
The best and most valuable experiences I had in law school, bar none, were participating my school's clinic and volunteer income tax assistance site. I graduated in 2008, and still learn something new every day about how to be a good lawyer. If that doesn't continue for the rest of my career, it's my own damn fault.
The transition from a passive search service requiring a user's input to an active provider fulfilling a variety of online needs is something that Google has clearly been working on from some time, and something they're good at. Still, the shift from "you might be interested in these shoes based on your search history" to "you might be interested in not having a computer infected with malware" seems pretty significant and bold to me. I really admire their vision and execution, but it still frightens me when I consider how much access I give Google to a large portion of my personal and professional life.
When Google becomes self-aware on August 29, 1997, I am really going to be screwed.
first of all, there are preparer regulations that require - well, lots of things. this system could run afoul of those quickly and easily.
secondly, the interview process is crucial for me. it can be driven by a form, but it's extremely important to talk with folks about what happened during the taxable year to identify not only potential pitfalls and ensure that everything gets the right treatment, but also to talk about planning opportunities that can save them big $$$ down the road.
for people that are foolish enough to go to H & R Block anyway, maybe this would be a valuable thing - but it's not a cookie-cutter process and treating it as such can result in serious fines and/or jail time for taxpayers and preparers.
my thoughts: make sure you find yourself a tax law badass to make sure you're doing things right. it will be complicated, and costly - but if you don't get it right out of the gate it's not even worth doing.
If you're not serious enough about your new business to pay for professional advice - you're not serious enough to start it.
I have a hard time focusing on pdfs on a desktop or laptop when distractions like reddit are so easily accessed - but if I can keep myself focused on the content at hand I can have a portable copy of important references with me at all times for a small price.
I don't see the excessive billing as a matter of efficiency, but then again I'm not seeing the billable hour statements you get. I see it as a symptom of the bloat that has created a huge crash in the legal marketplace, but I may be wrong.
I think you have the power to create the change you're looking for, perhaps just by starting this dialogue - but I know you could do it by finding a young lawyer to engage with personally as well.
Let me say that again. I will probably be able to pay my student loans off in 30 years or so. I have an LL.M. in tax and am hustling for every dime I can get.
The lawyers you're working with in a transaction like this are doubtless badasses. They work for a big firm, in a tall shiny building, with sexy secretaries and bookish paralegals. They have continuously updated libraries, and conference rooms, and expensive subscriptions to LexisNexis and Westlaw. They wear $1000 suits and fly to meetings on a private jet. These things cost money... lots of it.
As a VC investing in startups, you know you have the choice in which companies you trust. The same can be said for attorneys. If you choose flash over substance, you're going to end up paying big bucks every time.
Should it cost $17,000 for a transaction that probably didn't take more than a few hours of an attorney's time? Nope. Whose fault is it that it did? As with any product, the lawyers you've selected are charging what the market will bear and billing you what they know you'll pay.
Spend some time finding an attorney that you can trust that cares more about doing quality work than a fancy office. In NYC, there are some really amazing LL.M. programs - find a recent grad from a tax program. They're certainly able to put together a 'standard' deal and incorporation, and are better equipped to help a startup plan intelligently anyway. They'd be thrilled to have the business and the experience, and you'd get much better service at a reasonable price.
And if you ever decide to invest in an Indiana company.... look me up.