Today’s guest, Derrick L. Maultsby Jr., serves as a business advisor and corporate transactional lawyer to startups, small to mid-sized businesses, and Fortune 50 companies in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions, helping them grow intelligently and effectively. 

The startup world is one of “nuances and details,” and numerous important legal elements need to be taken into consideration when founding a business. In this episode, Derrick explains where founders and founding teams often go wrong from a legal perspective and offers his sound advice on the steps that should be taken in order to give a startup the best chance of success. 

From deciding on the type of legal entity that best suits your needs and attracting the right investors to ensuring that your IP is adequately protected, the wealth of knowledge that Derrick shares during this episode will broaden your understanding of what is involved in navigating the startup journey!  

In This Episode:

[00:36] Introducing corporate attorney and business advisor Derrick Maultsby Jr. 

[02:14] Areas within which Derrick works.

[02:44] Elements that all startup founders need to be aware of.   

[03:46] The most effective ways technology transfer offices can support startup founders and founding teams. 

[06:00] Examples of the different entity structures and advice for choosing the best one for your business. 

[10:01] External legal building blocks that every startup founder needs to consider.  

[13:01] Some of the most common legal mistakes made by startup founders and founding teams that lead to huge liabilities. 

[18:16] Key practices that are correlated with success in the startup world.  

[21:46] Factors that commonly cause a startup to fail. 

[23:35] How to ensure that your IP is adequately protected. 

[26:29] Derrick’s advice for attracting potential investors. 

[28:28] Understanding why “not all money is good money.”

[30:33] Why Derrick cautions against founding a startup without legal counsel. 

[33:19] The importance of investing in the minority innovation ecosystem. 

Resources:

Derrick Maultsby on LinkedIn