The Entrepreneur's Guide to Business Law

I've been a CEO for 17 years, and recently became involved with another startup company. Although there was an attorney on the board, I wasn't certain that the corporate form that had been selected was optimal. This book was recommended by the Stanford Center for Entrepreneurship as a great resource, so I picked it up. It has turned out to be very valuable. After reading the chapter on corporate form we switched from an LLC to a C Corp. I found myself advising some pretty smart lawyers on this issue. The book covers many other topics relevant to startup companies, such as selecting an attorney, forming a board, and developing a stock options plan. What I like most is the authors' ability to provide just the right amount of background information (unavoidable when discussing legal issues) and immediately demonstrating practical implications. There are some useful charts outlining various approaches and their pros and cons: for example, I found the chart on corporate forms (LLC vs. C corp. vs. S corp., etc.) terrific. The authors use numerous real-life case studies to bring concepts to life. Also, a very nice feature of the book is a substantial fictitious case study that is advanced at the end of every chapter, illustrating that chapter's key points. The chapter organization of the book by topic makes it easy to pick and choose the sections you want to read. The order of the chapters is a good roadmap for the order in which an entrepreneur would want to consider the issues. The chapter on choosing and managing a lawyer will itself save you far more money than you'll spend on this book.

Any person beginning a new start-up should pick this up before they get much further than an idea. Though geared towards the major legal issues involved in starting a company, this book covers many of the essentials of beginning and structuring a business far better than most of the other books on financing or building start-ups. I've at least looked through a dozen books on the subject and none has had better, more explicit guidance on dividing founder's equity, options, funding relationship and so much more. I cannot recommend this book highly enough; you'll be at a disadvantage without it. You can view other reviews of entrepreneur books via my reviewer profile.

highly readable and informative primer on basic business law principles and their application within the context of early stage and maturing companies (from day one of the business to ipo). its use of examples is also excellent. chapter 13 (Human Resources) was particularly helpful -- the information on employment issues and the sample work agreement forms are enormously helpful. i recommend reading this book before quiting your corporate job and starting your own company -- the 2nd chapter of the book, "Leaving Your Employer," highlights certain legal restrictions that may save the entrepreneur from potential headaches in the future involving their former employer.

This book is such a fabulous resource that I use it as my primary textbook for the M.B.A. course I teach at Kellogg entitled "Business Law for Entrepreneurs." All my new client entrepreneurs receive a hearty recommendation, and if that doesn't work, a plea, to read this insightful and practical guide.Craig C. Bradley, Senior Partner/Co-Leader, Technology Group, Freeborn & Peters, Chicago, Illinois, Adjunct Assistant Professor, J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Business, Northwestern University

This book is a great reference that touches everything, taking the reader through the steps in the formation of a new company. And there are a lot of steps. But my favorite feature of the book is that it is easy to browse. Any page you open to has something interesting on it, and you can start reading there without needing to read everything that comes before. The book is stocked with short real-life examples (with the names changed) taken from the authors' own experiences as business lawyers. Separately, it has a running story of a fictitous start-up going through each of the stages dicussed. My idea of what's interesting may be influenced by the fact that I work for an eight-person start-up.