jd_illa

if you don't mind sharing, why did you file the complaint?

ooh i love this!

Following! Would love to know what you learn and if you are willing to share somewhere.

This would be great!

Hi I've done two of these and generally think they are worth it if the time commitment is manageable:

Pros: Community (always good to connect with other founders), some value in "brand" of parent company (if it's Google), PR opportunities, opportunities to network with folks in Google

Cons: No equity --> no stake --> limited incentive for the accelerator to provide you with tailored advice/mentorship, can be very time-consuming (and that's time you could be spending on your product), the "one size fits all" approach can lead to bad advice

Overall, I still think pros > cons, so long as the time is manageable. I think it would be great to have a Google stamp and meet other founders in the same space. I would also look into what the program commitments are (i.e. can you miss out on program talks/sessions without consequences?)

check with a lawyer, but I suspect the answer is no. Visa rules tend to be very restrictive in the US and as noted on this thread, those restrictions usually say you can only work for your sponsoring employer and no third party. I don't know if it's possible to amend a L-1 visa so you're working part-time at two different companies (FAANG + your startup). Perhaps that's not something you want to do in any case.

There is a question of risk allocation: if you hold unvested equity, you probably aren't paying taxes on it until it vests or you exercise it (depending on the equity), so would USCIS (who issues visas) know if you are working part-time if there's no cash component? I don't know. But the risk is really high for you and the startup bc if the government does find out that you're violating your visa rules, they can deport you (potentially permanently) and also subject the startup to consequences.

If you are really excited about the startup, it's probably not a bad idea to check with an immigration lawyer about your options (this is something that they could probably answer quickly in a free consult).

Ah OK, if you don't want to transfer your work before you see outcomes, I think it makes sense to hold off on starting a new company with them, especially since they are a consulting company (which is a totally different business). I would probably engage them as contractors initially -- if the relationship is going well, then perhaps you can create a new company. I'm having trouble understanding why you would roll your product into an existing consulting company.

This is so true!

(Not legal advice). What does your business do? What stage are you in (e.g. pre-revenue)? And what data are you collecting from your customers?

If you are very early-stage and not collecting sensitive data, one place to start is looking at the TOS & Privacy Policies at similar companies. While you should not copy these exactly (which could trigger a claim of copyright infrigement), you can make changes that make sense for your business. If you are collecting sensitive data (financial info, SSN, etc.), then you may want to engage a lawyer, especially if you are in California.

This situation is a bit confusing. From your summary, it sounds like you have an idea and product you are building and you need some help with sales. It sounds like you only have a prototype at this stage. It feels very early to me to join an existing company with a prototype just for their sales consulting. Is there a reason that you won't hire this company as a freelancer first and then maybe consider a partnership if it works out?

What does this other company do? Is it just sales consulting? Or do they have a product?

I don't like it for bulk sends. As a lawyer, if I need to get a lot of shareholder docs signed, DocuSign is def better than nothing, but not a great user experience. Also, always interested in alternatives even if it's just intellectual.

Another thing I really don't like is how it "forces" signatures by it's labelling system. People should read contracts, not just sign them.

What is a good alternative? Would like something that works well with scale and bulk sends (e.g. where the doc is the same but name is different for each recipient)

Is this true? I don’t think their product offering varies by jurisdiction. At least not in my experience as an attorney.

if a community is well-run and offering specific benefits, I'm open to paying. I used to subscribe to Everything Marketplaces because it was really well-run, had great speaker chats and I got great advice from other marketplace founders.

I was thinking of applying, but didn't realize you had to pay to get in. Has anyone participated and enjoyed the program?

Opening up my community, paying attention to conversations and writing down things that interest me.

I've heard of this happening. A friend of mine recently hired a candidate, but the candidate that actually "showed up" (it was a remote company) was completely different. It took his company 3 months to realize they had been duped by a scam out of India.

How did you due diligence the candidate? Background check? Docs to confirm they are US based?

super interesting - thank you!

I think the answer to your questions is no, but why does it matter? It sounds like you are on the path to creating a great product that people want. I'm sure YC would be a helpful boost, but ultimately creating an awesome product for people who want it is the most exciting aspect of the startup journey. Traction > accelerator prestige!

yeah, i generally agree with this advice. Although testing pricing is its own challenge, so can be hard to validate demand + pricing in the same launch.

definitely makes sense. even if you intend to become a paid product, it's hard to figure out the right pricing in the early days.

what are your takeaways from stable diffusion vs. Open I?

I think it would be helpful to add an "about" -- I was a little confused by the product. If a type in "remote jobs", does that mean the job boards produced specialize in remote jobs or have remote jobs posted (or both)? Also, it looks like you can only search existing tags, which is fine but the search bar graphic makes it look like you can type in anything you want. I think a "how this works" or "about" would make a big difference!

as an attorney, I can attest to the fact that 83(b) elections are one of the most unexpected but important issues that come up in legal due diligence for financings and future M&A! It can be a huge pain for founders and companies when these aren't filed properly. Thanks for the great explanation!

thanks!! Yeah I'm aware of them, they're so expensive tho! Probably worth the price.

this is super helpful! are you an attorney? I'd love to connect if so!

i actually don't mind playing the therapist role! so many people come to lawyers when they are overwhelmed or in a bad spot. If you can help them out, whether that's by actually solving the problem or by being a smart/aligned sounding board, that's a huge bonus. A lot of lawyers don't like playing that role though (understandably so, since it's not technically "part" of the job).

Thanks for this! What tools does she use, other than her network and Lexis-Nexis? I'd love to be able to access those. In terms of hubris/specialty, that's a great point. Law can be really specialized but unless you're in a big firm, it can be hard to find good specialist legal partners, so learning how to tackle new topics (while acknowledging your limits) is a critical skill.

interesting story! I'm a transactional attorney, not very familiar with plaintiff attorneys in court but there are clients who really like aggressive plaintiff attorneys! And there is plenty of predatory players in the field as well.

I second this!