The entrepreneur's guide to business law
by Constance E. Bagley · first published 2012
10mentions
8recommended by
8HN commenters
2007–2020first – last mentioned
100% recommend
Why HN recommends it
Practical overview of business law for founders, covering entity choices like LLC vs S-Corp vs C-Corp, founder equity, and financing basics; helps non-lawyers prepare sharper questions for their attorney.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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You're most welcome. The best entrepreneur's legal guide is called "Entrepreneur's Guide to Business Law" published by Thompson / West Law written by Bagley and Dauchy. I bought it when I was doing my first start-up and I'm sure they have an updated version. I just found one at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Entrepreneurs-Guide-Business-Law/dp/03...…
on “Inc. or LLC?” ↗…repackaged for Wiley as the Lifecycle book, it was much streamlined and became eminently more readable. Lots of good detail here - very helpful for entrepreneurs. 2. Constance Bagley and Craig Dauchey, The Entrepreneur's Guide to Business Law - Ms. Bagley is a former Bingham McCutchen partner who went on to gain distinction at Harvard Business School. Mr. Dauchey is a partner at Cooley Godward in Palo Alto and a veteran startup lawyer. This…
on “Ask HN: What Tech Startup Law Book can you recommend?” ↗…Technology Company: Step-by-Step Legal Background and Practical Guide from Startup to Sale (http://www.amazon.com/Lifecycle-Technology-Company-Step-Step...) Constance E. Bagley and Craig E. Dauchy, The Entrepreneur's Guide to Business Law (http://www.amazon.com/Entrepreneurs-Guide-Business-Law/dp/03...) Both of these do a good job of delineating startup issues from a legal perspective. They do so from what I would call a "big firm" perspective,…
on “Ask HN: US business law books” ↗For anyone with concerns about business structure, I highly recommend "The Entrepreneur's Guide to Business Law"--while it doesn't cover all of the tax implications of each structure, it is a great general reference for LLC vs. S-Corp vs. C-Corp (and a myriad of other topics). http://www.amazon.com/Entrepreneurs-Guide-Business-Law/dp/03...
on “What’s wrong with an LLC?” ↗The Entrepreneur's Guide to Business Law: http://www.amazon.com/Entrepreneurs-Guide-Business-Law/dp/05... It's the only one you'll need - it basically covers everything required to jump into an intelligent conversation with your attorney.
on “What law books should an entrepreneur read?” ↗…scheme that was carried out by underlings without their knowledge. In the U.S., the company (and its officers) are liable for the actions of employees. There is a book by Constance Bagley called The Entrepreneur's Guide to Business Law, 4th Edition (ISBN 9780538466462) that covers this and other issues (contracts, incorporation, fiduciary responsibility, etc.). It's a great resource for anyone running their own business.
on “CEO” ↗Link dead for me. Found the list republished here: http://thenextbigtechthing.com/10-books-every-entrepreneur-s... "The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Business Law" -- LLC vs C-corp vs S-Corp? Founder’s vesting? Liquidation Preferences? Equity vs Debt financing? This book will educate you enough to be able to answer these and many other important questions. "Bootstrapping…
on “Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read” ↗I read the book: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Business Law Great read with a lot of practical advice - This really helped me discuss issues with potential attorneys. In addition, after selecting our attorney, we were able to lower our cost by asking more pointed…
on “Ask YC: Story for Forbes - How do you spend zero on legal fees?” ↗The book: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Business Law Helped me tremendously - I was in the same boat as you and gave this book a shot - Easy to read, good as a reference as well;
on “Ask HN: Coders' guide to the investment lingo” ↗…such as allocating initial founder equity, tax issues associated with equity incentives, etc. For a deeper dive into the legal issues frequently encountered by venture backed start ups - check out the Entrepreneur's Guide to Business Law: https://www.amazon.com/Entrepreneurs-Guide-Business-Law-eboo...
on “Free Startup Legal Document Generator from Cooley Law Firm” ↗