What's THE legal issue that might kill your startup?

A couple of weeks ago, I got invited to run the StepFWD workshop on term sheets & other legal issues for the founders in the latest cohort (thanks Liviu & Gege for facilitating).

It was a pleasure

I ended it with question in the title.

Most new projects don't survive their initial year. And most could increase their chances if they took a hard look at the problems they have:

Lack of founder alignment on objectives
Bad equity allocation
Not understanding legal terms of commercial or investment deals they got into - and their impact
Not knowing where their IP is - or what IP means for them

and the list goes on.

StepFwd Demo Day happens next Tuesday, you can register here to join in person.

6 of the startups will move to the Growth phase happening in 2024.

The full cohort:

AltReal - Transforming Solar Energy Accessibility

Blume -  Enhancing Traffic Safety with AI

BusinessVerse - Unlocking Qualified Leads for B2B

Cars Central - Digitalizing the Automotive Industry

Conta25 - Empowering Accounting Companies

ERDA - AI-Driven Customer Support Efficiency

Extracta - Harnessing AI to Extract Data

iCamin - Digitizing Nursing Home Management

Legali - Revolutionizing the Legal Sector

MonadFidelity - Boosting Sales Through Loyalty Programs

OneSyncs - Optimizing IT Performance Management

Ordonat - Revolutionizing Home Maintenance

Pocket IP - Global Trademark Portfolio Management

QuickLegal - Simplified Access to Legal Services

Respiro - Prioritizing Mental Health

ROCCO - Enhancing Quick-Service Restaurants

SnowMania - Elevating Outdoor Sports Experiences

tiny.ERP - Revolutionizing SMB Operations

Ulpia - AI-Driven Healthcare Transformation

VOLLM - Revolutionizing Customer Support with AI

One year from now, we'll see how many of them have asked themselves this question in time.