One of my favorite aspects of building a business law / private
equity firm is seeing clients set and reach business goals.
Many clients face complicated issues that need careful legal
analysis and creative planning. Unfortuantely, most attorneys
focus on the problems with the complicated deals and have trouble
finding creative ways to navigate the legal minefield.
Alerding Castor Hewitt takes a unique approach on business law in
that we consider ourselves "deal makers" rather than what...Read More »
This
morning I attended the Techpoint event: What it Takes
to Lead a Successful Entrepreneurial Venture Today and was
reminded of some fundamental leadership qualities that I see in
many of the successful business owners we work with as a business,
entrepreneurial and information technology law firm.Speaking today were Daniel DeHayes, a Professor Emeritus of Business Administration with the Indiana University Kelley School of Business and Delphia Croft, the Managing Principal of...Read More »
I read many business plans for early stage companies - most of whom
are seeking some sort of seed or early round capital funding from
private equity investors. One of the largest discrepancies
I see in plans is in the expense models regarding allocation
of salaries.
Post-revenue, most businesses will find salaries (including benefits) falling somewhere between 30% and 55% of their net revenue. But what about pre-revenue companies that are looking to use early capital to launch? I read a...Read More »
Post-revenue, most businesses will find salaries (including benefits) falling somewhere between 30% and 55% of their net revenue. But what about pre-revenue companies that are looking to use early capital to launch? I read a...Read More »
The post below is fantastic. It is by Michael P. Alerding,
CPA (my business partner's father) at his accounting firm's new
blog site. He gave me permission to re-post it here (thank
you Alerding & Co.). Check it out:
Alerding & Co. Blog
What Happened to Business
Ethics?
By: Michael P. Alerding, CPA
Every time I get a contract to sign, I find it almost impossible to spend the time reading the fine print and trying to understand all of the future implications of the agreement. As my son,...
Read More »By: Michael P. Alerding, CPA
Every time I get a contract to sign, I find it almost impossible to spend the time reading the fine print and trying to understand all of the future implications of the agreement. As my son,...
One of my favorite movie scenes is from The Jerk.
Navin Johnson is working at a carnival guessing peoples
weight. He is talking to Frosty, his boss:
Navin R. Johnson:
[bleakly] I've already given away eight pencils, two hoola dolls,
and an ashtray, and I've only taken in fifteen dollars.
Frosty: Navin, you have taken in fifteen dollars and given away fifty cents worth of crap, which gives us a net profit of fourteen dollars and fifty cents.
Navin R. Johnson: Ah... It's a profit deal. Takes the...
Read More »Frosty: Navin, you have taken in fifteen dollars and given away fifty cents worth of crap, which gives us a net profit of fourteen dollars and fifty cents.
Navin R. Johnson: Ah... It's a profit deal. Takes the...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 23, 2010
Contact: Lainey Scheetz
317.403.9012
lscheetz@alerdingcastor.com
ALERDING CASTOR HEWITT, LLP CLIENT NAMED 10TH FASTEST GROWING PRIVATE COMPANY IN INDIANA FOR THIRD TIME
Indianapolis, IN – Iasta, the leading provider of eSourcing software and solutions, was titled as the 10th Fastest Growing Private Company in Indiana for 2010 by the Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ). A third time honoree, Iasta boosted its three-year growth rate at 134 percent.
The report...
Read More »There is a great article in the July-August edition of the Harvard
Business Review entitled The Early Bird Really Does Get the
Worm. The article summarizes a study which found a
correlation between "morning people" and career
success. This is based on a number of traits which are
commonly found in morning people.
Traits
Agreeable
Optimistic
Stable
Proactive
Conscientious
Satisfied with Life
Being a morning person, of course I loved this! Most days I am the first in the office. I love getting...Read More »
Traits
Agreeable
Optimistic
Stable
Proactive
Conscientious
Satisfied with Life
Being a morning person, of course I loved this! Most days I am the first in the office. I love getting...Read More »
Be
prepared: I'm going to get on a bit of a soapbox. I
read a recent article at WSJ.com entitled "Using Social Networking
as Legal Tool" (Linked Below). There is
nothing wrong with this article. It very succinctly and
pleasantly explains how certain law firms are using social
networking and the Web to find clients for high-value plaintiff
cases. And I don't disagree with that approach. As an
attorney posting on a blog, I too hope to use social networking to
get business, and would be...Read More »I'm going to cheat a little on this. I read a great blog post
by Jeff Ready over at the McStartup blog (www.mcstartup.com).
The blog post is all about the importance of radical
innovation. I have a place in my heart for radical innovation
because I believe that in the legal community, we are the radical
innovators. ACH strives after its goal to be an information
technology law firm, a venture capital law firm and a business law
firm, but we go about it in a way that is radical to many...Read More »
Your friendly neighborhood technology counsel here: So,
Mexico recently passed a new data protection law. On April
27, 2010, Mexico passed the Federal Law for the Protection of
Personal data, which is likely to be signed into law by the
President in the near future. This law not only allows for a
mind-boggling $1.5 million penalty for violation, but it also
applies to the private sector. Private and public entities will
need to protect themselves from privacy litigation.
This law is much akin...Read More »
This law is much akin...Read More »
I am an Indianapolis Attorney here at Alerding Castor Hewitt LLP. This is my first blog post – so bear with me. As a brief introduction, my role at ACH is working on our litigation team, both at trial and on appeal if necessary, on issues related to business law, probate litigation, SaaS litigation, and other technology litigation – just to name a few of the areas.
One area often overlooked in the litigation process is the area of collections. Some lawyers might look upon the collection process...
Read More »
Your
friendly neighborhood technology counsel here: As you likely
know, my goal is to become THE Indiana technology lawyer;
however, technology is not my only area of interest. Like
many of the folks at Alerding Castor Hewitt, technology law
is a passion, but we all strive to be a full service law firm for
all businesses. Thus, in addition to tech stuff, I also
litigate matters for several banking and business clients.
And, as any good lawyer does, when I see changes in the law
that may...Read More »I recently read a summary of a lecture on applying the seven deadly
sins to software development. The sins are:
The idea is not to sell products leading to the sins themselves...
Read More »
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Lust
|
Obsessive or excessive thoughts
|
|
Gluttony
|
Over-indulgence, over-consumption
|
|
Greed
|
A sin of excess like lust and gluttony, but in reference to
wealth
|
|
Sloth
|
Laziness, indifference, apathy
|
|
Wrath
|
Uncontrolled feelings of hatred and anger
|
|
Envy
|
Resenting another because they possess something you do
not
|
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Pride
|
Excessive love of self
|
The idea is not to sell products leading to the sins themselves...
I have heard this "problem" stated several times from private
equity investors angel investment groups over this past year, "We
are just not seeing any good deals lately." The Halo Group,
an Indianapolis-based angel investment group focusing on emerging
technology companies, canceled its March meeting due to a stated
lack of deal flow.
Halo members, like most private equity investors, want to invest in businesses with proven markets and executives. They, like most investment groups, also want...Read More »
Halo members, like most private equity investors, want to invest in businesses with proven markets and executives. They, like most investment groups, also want...Read More »
This is the third post in a series on developing a good business
model for an early stage company.
2. Solid Management Team
I have heard it said that more businesses fail due to cash flow than anything else. I completely disagree. I say that more businesses fail due to management team issues than any other reason. If a company dies because of cash flow, it is usually because the wrong person was at the helm and poorly planning and/or making bad decisions – either market opportunity was not...Read More »
2. Solid Management Team
I have heard it said that more businesses fail due to cash flow than anything else. I completely disagree. I say that more businesses fail due to management team issues than any other reason. If a company dies because of cash flow, it is usually because the wrong person was at the helm and poorly planning and/or making bad decisions – either market opportunity was not...Read More »
I had the privilege of speaking
at the Rainmakers Incubator event this morning. I
thought the Rainmakers team did a nice job organizing the event -
even with a last minute change in location due to factors outside
of their control. Thank you guys for the opportunity to join
you this morning!The topic given to me was "Three Things Every Entrepreneur Should Know." My legal practice focuses on entrepreneurial law, funding law, SaaS business law and securities law. In these fields I see a lot of...Read More »
Last week I wrote a post entitled
What Your Company Needs for Execution which addressed a
business' ability to seize opportunities when they arise. In
this months Harvard Business Review, Donald Sull addresses seven
points to consider on whether your company has good business
execution practices. Last weeks post addressed the first
three. Here are the next two:
4. Core
values with teeth. Assess whether your business
leaders articulate values that underpin agility and drive...
Read More »
Does your business take advantage of
opportunities when they arise? Or, like most businesses, do
you watch competition seize opportunities before you consider or
execute on them? There is a good article in this months Harvard Business Review by Donald Sull on a business’s ability to execute on opportunties. It is a worth while read, but I will summarize the key points in the next three posts.
What your company needs for execution:
1. The ability to spot new opportunities. This requires...Read More »
Your friendly neighborhood
technology legal counsel here to discuss with you the hidden
dangers lurking in your unassuming (and unread) terms of service
agreements. Janet Croswell, one of our fabulous tech lawyers,
posted back on February 10, 2010 about the pitfalls that businesses
face related to the clickwrap agreement (here's a link for those
playing along at home blog.alerdingcastor.com/blog/alerding-castor).
Now for those of you scratching your head and wondering what a
"clickwrap...Read More »
There is a good
article on the Mercury News Blog today on How dot-com
start-ups have changed 10 years later. The article
addresses the maturity of both technology companies and
US private equity investors over the last decade. It is
an interesting read.There has been a lot of activity in angel investor groups and venture capital investments in Indiana technology companies over the last few months. 2010 has definitely started with a bang at Alerding Castor Hewitt where we have helped five...Read More »
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