Successful Startup 101: September 2014 Successful Startup 101: September 2014 | Page 25

Get a lawyer
As soon as you start your company, you need
to start looking for a lawyer. I’ve seen many
entrepreneurs try to shortcut this by printing
documents they find on the Internet. Most times,
it ends up being a disaster. As you continue down
this path, you’ll start trying to make major contract
edits yourself. By the time you get a lawyer, you’ll
have to go back, pay a fortune, and fix all your
damage.
Instead, find a lawyer who has experience in
startups. When we started Alumnify, we didn’t have
enough funds to afford a lawyer. So, we gave up a
few shares of our company for deferred legal fees
until we raised our seed round. This is a great way for
you to make sure your legal work is in order without
using all your initial cash.
If you do go this route, make sure you are
c