How to start a company

1. Initial thoughts...

• Are you ready?
• When you have questions…
• "More reading": the tag cloud
• Glossary

2. Get Educated

• Courses, Workshops, Coaching

3. Get Networked

• Get Networked in Oregon
• Check our Entrepreneur Events calendar

4. Test your Business Model

• Before you code - test
• Complete & test a 1 page canvas
• Understand the unfilled need
• Verify the need
• Understand your advantage
• Research the Competition
• Focus - don't "boil the ocean"
• Develop an Elevator Pitch
• More reading - biz model

5. Build a Team

• Build your Founding Team 
• Build a management team
• About Stock
•    Founders Stock
•    Stock Options
  
•    Stock Buy-Back Provision
•    83(b) Election
•    Common vs. Preferrred Stock
• More reading about Teams

6. Protect you Company

• Start with a Clean Sheet
• Choose a name & Trademark It
• Choose a Business Structure
• Create  a Legal Entity
• Get Legal & Accounting Advice
• Protect your IP
• Nondisclosure Agreements
• Contractor agreements
• Employee Agreements
• About Patents
• Trade secrets
• About Trademarks 
• Copyrights 
• 10 Lessons from a CFO
• Top 10 Legal Mistakes
• 18 Mistakes that Kill Startups
• More reading: protect your company

7. Get Organized

• Register your Business
• An incomplete new-biz checklistet
• Administrative operations

8. A Realistic Funding Plan

• A Realistic Funding Plan
• How Much will you Need?
  
• Bootstrap (Why you Must)
• How to bootstrap
• Sources of micro-funding
• About Angel Investors
• About Venture Capital
• About Accredited Investors
• About Convertible Notes

9. Prototype and Test

• Prove you have a business

10. Raise Money from Angels

• What Investors Want
• About fund raising
• Raise Money from Angels

11. The Business Plan

• Business Plan - Do you Need One?
• Cover Page
• Table of Contents
• Executive Summary
• The Problem/Opportunity/Need
• Your Solution
• Business Model
• Your Advantage
• Market Size
• Marketing and Sales Strategy
• Competitive Strategy
• Strategic Partners
• Funding Requirement
• The Team
• Operations
• Exit Strategy
• Financial Statements
• Elevator Pitch

12. Raise Venture Capital

• About Raising Venture Capital
• Fund Raising is a Sales process
• Sales Tools for Fund Raising
• Creating the Investor Presentation
• Investor pitch video series
• What NOT to Say
• Find and Qualify Prospects
• Manage your VC Sales Funnel
• Getting the First Meeting with a VC
• Things to Remember at the First Meeting
• Getting the Second Meeting
• Develop a Syndicate (not just one VC...)
• Due Diligence
• The Term Sheet
• Term Sheet Anatomy 
• Valuation and Control
• How Many Stock Options should you Allocate?

13. Tools and Documents

• Investment documents (term sheet, etc.)
• Tools for entrepreneurs

14. Food for thought...

• Are you Ready for a Startup?
• Start with a Clean Sheet
• Guy Kawasaki's 10 Lies
• 10 Lessons from a CFO
• Top 10 Legal Mistakes