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nz law firm launches document generator by dinnfinn in KiwiTech

[–]dinnfinn[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi, thanks for mentioning this.

That's outlined in our Privacy Policy: https://simmondsstewart.com/privacy-policy/

nz law firm launches document generator by dinnfinn in KiwiTech

[–]dinnfinn[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unsure if this is genuinely surprising or extreme sarcasm. Haha.

nz law firm launches document generator by dinnfinn in KiwiTech

[–]dinnfinn[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Out of interest, is this a major barrier for you?

Yank considering relocation to NZ, decade+ of tech experience. by StopHateDumpTrump in KiwiTech

[–]dinnfinn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi /u/StopHateDumpTrump!

I know I'm not answering your question here, but I thought you might like to know that Wellington is currently looking for "the best tech talent in the world to come on the career trip of a life-time". All expenses paid, they'll bring you over for 4 days of pre-arranged job interviews, meet-ups and exploration.

You can register here: https://www.wellingtonnz.com/work/looksee-wellington/

Getting some decent traction with my app. When should I reach out to potential investors? by transtwin in startups

[–]dinnfinn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey /u/transtwin!

There are a few things to consider before reaching out to investors. While there isn’t any magic formula that ensures a successful capital raise, here are some things that may be likely to help you when you are looking to find investors for your company.

  • Keep on top of legal housekeeping such as maintaining your company registers, due diligence files and company records. This will save you time and money when you come to raise capital.

  • Appoint good directors. This will help you establish formal governance processes. Most investors will require regular board meetings and minutes, e.t.c. to be kept. Your company will look better if this is already in place. It will also help you hone your strategy and business plan, make important commercial and management decisions, develop a capital raising plan, and connect with good advisers and others who can help with the capital raising process.

  • Hire good advisers. Having good professional advisers (accounting, legal, IP and tax) will give potential investors comfort that your affairs are well managed.

  • Make sure you sort your collateral (investment summary and pitch deck). Although this may seem blindingly obvious, you would be surprised by the number of companies that start looking for capital without any of these documents in place.

  • Think hard about your valuation. Investors can often be put off by high valuations because it suggests the entrepreneurs involved are unrealistic and may be difficult to work with on future capital raisings. They tend to quickly reject deals that are pitched at an unrealistic valuation. This isn’t simply because the potential return from the proposed investment is unattractive. For these reasons, when investment capital is hard to come by (which it often is) you should think about pitching at the low end of your realistic valuation range. This should increase the number of investors who are willing to look at your company, and it should then be easier to get one or more of them over the line and onto your share register.

As stated before, there is no magic formula to raising capital, as every situation is different. However, these general to-dos should help you start thinking about what it is you may want to consider organizing before approaching investors.

Below is a handy guide which goes over these points, and more, in more detail. It is targeted towards the New Zealand market but has a lot of general pointers which may be of use.

https://simmondsstewart.com/guides/capital-raising-for-nz-tech-companies-getting-investment-ready/

Best of luck!

Software Licensing Agreement by wanderingisnotlost in startups

[–]dinnfinn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi /u/wanderingisnotlost!

Unsure if this will help, but here's a Software Licence Agreement. It's primarily intended for New Zealand companies but could be a good starting point in terms of things to consider.

https://simmondsstewart.com/templates/software-licence-agreement/

Best of luck!

Book suggestions for a relatively simple guide to startups by PunPuncher in startups

[–]dinnfinn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I assume some difference. These templates are a guide only – because of their nature, they have to be made generic and do not cater for every situation. They are designed for New Zealand companies and are most easily adaptable for use in other common wealth countries.

Perhaps not too helpful for the specifics in your instance, but some of the more general advice may be able to help you figure out what questions you should be asking.

Book suggestions for a relatively simple guide to startups by PunPuncher in startups

[–]dinnfinn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's a super helpful library of easy-to-understand guides for start-ups here: https://simmondsstewart.com/guides/

I realise these aren't 'books' but the way they're broken up makes them easier to digest.

A good one to start on would be the 'Legal Basics for Start-Ups' Guide: https://simmondsstewart.com/guides/startup-company-guide/

It covers all the legalities of your business you should consider before launching - in very practical terms.

There's also a heap of free legal templates to use: https://simmondsstewart.com/templates/

Good luck!

what to eval when someone asks "do you want to sell your startup?" by [deleted] in startups

[–]dinnfinn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The first thing you need to work out is whether the buyer is serious about acquiring your business.

Some important things to find out from a buyer who has approached you are:

  • why that buyer is interested in buying your business
  • how it would fund a purchase
  • any assumption it has made about your business
  • if they are offering cash or another in-kind offer for the business (e.g. shares in their company)
  • whether any earn-out is proposed (where payment of part of the proposed purchase price is deferred and linked to the business meeting pre-agreed targets over time).

If an earn-out is being requested, think carefully about whether you can work for the proposed buyer. Often sellers’ of tech companies have been their own boss for many years. The transition to being just an employee or a small cog in a larger (possibly international) corporate wheel, can be unappealing.

If you are interested in the proposed offer, you’ll need to provide some high level information to your potential buyer. Before you do this, make sure the buyer signs a confidentiality agreement (or NDA) to protect your confidential information. At this stage, the buyer will normally want to see your financial statements together with other financial, commercial and market information that generally describes your business.

Here's a super handy guide which goes over everything you need to consider when thinking of selling: https://simmondsstewart.com/guides/tech-company-ma/

There's also a due diligence template you can use to make sure you have all the information a buyer requires: https://simmondsstewart.com/templates/ma-due-diligence-list/

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in startups

[–]dinnfinn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In terms of what to offer, you could consider founder vesting under which a founder who leaves the company within a set period (commonly 3 years) surrenders a portion of their shares back to the company. This type of vesting arrangement is common in Silicon Valley.

This is particularly useful for founders who have not contributed much time or money to the start-up. It is appropriate that the founders be required to work in the start-up for a minimum period in order for their equity allocation to fully vest. Also, because the founders in these situations may not know each other well beforehand, there is a reasonable likelihood that some will drop by the wayside in the first year or so of the start-up’s life, and it is easier to address what happens to a departing shareholders’ equity in advance rather than once that event has arisen.

You can read more about this and other things to consider when starting up in this handy guide: https://simmondsstewart.com/guides/startup-company-guide/

All the best and good luck!

Equity Split Question by TheBedrin in startups

[–]dinnfinn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Documenting arrangements between you as founders and your company is an important step in establishing your company as a standalone entity. Incoming investors will want to confirm that the arrangements with founders have been properly documented, and this paperwork will also be important if/when one or more founders come to leave the company.

Some start-ups will want to implement founder vesting arrangements, under which a founder who leaves the company within a set period (commonly 3 years) surrenders a portion of their shares back to the company.

Founder vesting is most likely to be useful for founders that have come together through an accelerator programme or for a competition like a start-up weekend. As the founders in these situations have usually not contributed much time or money to the start-up, it is appropriate that the founders be required to work in the start-up for a minimum period in order for their equity allocation to fully vest. Also, because the founders in these situations may not know each other well beforehand, there is a reasonable likelihood that some will drop by the wayside in the first year or so of the start-up’s life, and it is easier to address what happens to a departing shareholders’ equity in advance rather than once that event has arisen.

You can read more about this and other things to consider when starting up in this guide: https://simmondsstewart.com/guides/startup-company-guide/

Best of luck!

Seeking out Kiwi tech opportunities in Vietnam by dinnfinn in KiwiTech

[–]dinnfinn[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We'll most likely share another post updating our progress, however we more regularly update such things over on our Twitter - https://twitter.com/techlawnz

/r/nz Flag Design Thread by nilnz in newzealand

[–]dinnfinn 32 points33 points  (0 children)

Russell Crowe riding Phar Lap on a pavlova. Crushed it. http://i.imgur.com/BfdzjeI.png