Initially, I will state for the record the apologies of your
friendly, neighborhood Indiana Technology Lawyer for not posting a
blog in a while. I know that you, my loyal readers, have been
waiting with bated breath in the hope that I would again grace
cyberspace with my knowledge and wit. And, alas, I have
failed to deliver. In my defense, this little technology law
firm has been experiencing exponential growth and prosperity, which
has dictated more work for yours truly. But, that is...Read More »
As stated in Part 2 of
this series, a business’ capital strategy is both
directed by the market strategy and leadership
team required to carry out the strategy as well as
directing to the market strategy and team. A
solid capital strategy is based on understanding where you are and
where you need to go.
The first step in developing a capital strategy is to know your revenue projections. If you had the money and team you need, what can you sell and when? In developing a market strategy the...Read More »
The first step in developing a capital strategy is to know your revenue projections. If you had the money and team you need, what can you sell and when? In developing a market strategy the...Read More »
One of our
very own, Eric Davis, is being nationally recognized for his
success in the October issue of The ABA
Journal. Eric has long been a leader in entrepreneurial
expertise and business law, and is a strong exterior source
contributing to our firm, Alerding Castor Hewitt, LLP. The
article discusses about how Eric jump-started his career and
the many roads on which it has taken him. In the
article, Eric considers himself a "hybrid" because he does not
necessarily fit in just one firm....
The following is a guest post by a fellow Gravity Ventures member and
friend, Dr. Tony Ratliff:
Learning to Pitch Before You Start Raising Capital
By Dr. Tony Ratliff
It only took about six months of deal flow and a handful of “pitches” before I realized that most entrepreneurs are really, really bad at “selling themselves” and “pitching” their ideas and companies to investors.
I cringe every time I listen to a great start-up idea or read a well-written business plan, and then watch in horror as...Read More »
Learning to Pitch Before You Start Raising Capital
By Dr. Tony Ratliff
It only took about six months of deal flow and a handful of “pitches” before I realized that most entrepreneurs are really, really bad at “selling themselves” and “pitching” their ideas and companies to investors.
I cringe every time I listen to a great start-up idea or read a well-written business plan, and then watch in horror as...Read More »
I don't often re-post articles in full glory, but I couldn't resist
with this one. This is a great article from the OMMA (a
magazine of online media, marketing & advertising).
There are some great quotes from quite a few movers and
shakers in the Indiana technology area. As a technology legal
counsel located in Indianapolis, it warms my heart to see this kind
of great press for the area. Personally, I think all
technology firms should move or open offices here.
Big hat-tip to Jay Baer for...Read More »
Big hat-tip to Jay Baer for...Read More »
Once again, Alerding Castor Hewitt sent at team to participate in
the O'Reilly's Irish Bar &
Restaurant golf scramble, benefitting The Alliance for
Responsible Pet Ownership.
On Monday, June 20th, Team ACH assembled a crack team of two litigators, the client relations manager, and our Butler intern - who just happens to also be on the Butler Women's Golf Team - for an fantastic day out of the business law office and onto the links.
Maribeth, Meg, Scott, and Chris
Ready to get our Rory McIlroy...Read More »
On Monday, June 20th, Team ACH assembled a crack team of two litigators, the client relations manager, and our Butler intern - who just happens to also be on the Butler Women's Golf Team - for an fantastic day out of the business law office and onto the links.
Maribeth, Meg, Scott, and Chris
Ready to get our Rory McIlroy...Read More »
Determining a valuation for a pre-revenue company is a difficult
process. A Harvard VC formula does not make sense at this
stage as available P/E ratios essentially compare apples to
oranges, cash flow projections are too untrustworthy to use a DCF
method, and there is no such thing as a true market comp.
Investors must rely on qualitative factors in connection to
valuation formulas to determine how much they think the thing is
worth. Some qualitative factors include:
• Is the...
Read More »"A champion is someone who is ready when the gong rings - not just
before, not just after - but when it rings."
-Jack Dempsey
Tooting your own horn, ringing your own bell...We've decided to bang our own gong.
Welcome the newest fixture to the Alerding Castor Hewitt office, the official New Client/Wrapped Mediation Gong.
The litigation and transaction teams didn't have a celebration worthy of new business, so partner Michael Alerding came to me with the idea to buy a ship's bell to ring for each...Read More »
-Jack Dempsey
Tooting your own horn, ringing your own bell...We've decided to bang our own gong.
Welcome the newest fixture to the Alerding Castor Hewitt office, the official New Client/Wrapped Mediation Gong.
The litigation and transaction teams didn't have a celebration worthy of new business, so partner Michael Alerding came to me with the idea to buy a ship's bell to ring for each...Read More »
There is a new Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals opinion that is likely to have a significant impact on SaaS providers. In Digitech Computers, Inc. v. Trans-Care, Inc. (link here), the 7th Circuit focuses on a SaaS agreement for Digitech to provide certain management software licensing components for Trans-Care (an ambulance and medical transportation service). The Court ultimately upheld a breach of contract claim in favor of Digitech, significantly reduced Digitech’s damages award, and...
Read More »The Alerding Castor Hewitt faithful braved the chill and the rain
of Saturday, April 16th to participate in the 2011 Susan G. Komen
Race for the Cure. We're proud to announce that the team
surpassed its goal of raising $1000 to assist the Komen
Foundation's mission to end breast cancer forever and had a
fantastic time walking in downtown Indianapolis.
We'd like to send a big 'Thanks!' to those who donated to the team's efforts and share a special 'Way to go!' with the team members, along with...Read More »
We'd like to send a big 'Thanks!' to those who donated to the team's efforts and share a special 'Way to go!' with the team members, along with...Read More »
All securities offerings fall into one of three classes:
1. Registered,
2. Exempt, or
3. Illegal.
Private offerings of securities are just that – “private”. The key for any private offering is that the offerer may only solicit investors through private methods. There are all sorts of rules around what constitutes private solicitations and to whom the solicitations can be made, but in general "private" means that which is not public. If a business attempting a private offering makes a...Read More »
1. Registered,
2. Exempt, or
3. Illegal.
Private offerings of securities are just that – “private”. The key for any private offering is that the offerer may only solicit investors through private methods. There are all sorts of rules around what constitutes private solicitations and to whom the solicitations can be made, but in general "private" means that which is not public. If a business attempting a private offering makes a...Read More »
Very
interesting article from CNet regarding the proposal to be made by
Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill). The article can be found
here. Basic point of the article is
that Senator Durbin wants to add sales taxes to on-line sellers
like Amazon and iTunes (although I would note that I think
iTunes already has a tax component) for all purchases. The
idea being that brick and mortar stores in a given state shouldn't
have to foot the bill for these new-fangled on-line
superstores. They should have to...Read More »The end is finally nigh for the ongoing litigation roller coaster
that is the Facebook/Mark Zuckerberg v. Cameron and Tyler
Winklevoss saga. This has always been an interesting piece of
software litigation based upon (a) the personalities involved and
(b) the scale. It is safe to say that when you are one of the
fastest growing companies in the country, you are going to face
litigation. In fact, that's why you call me. And it is
equally logical that when you are creating a website or working...Read More »
It isn't often that business law firms have the opportunity to
really celebrate the success of clients. Typically, the day
to day is more about filing regulations with the SEC, setting up
corporations and the like with the IRS, and drafting contracts,
agreements and subscriptions.
Always out to break the law firm mold, Alerding Castor Hewitt, along with KSM Consulting, had the privilege of hosting a launch party for our client, Gauge Telematics, last week to both honor their success to date and...Read More »
Always out to break the law firm mold, Alerding Castor Hewitt, along with KSM Consulting, had the privilege of hosting a launch party for our client, Gauge Telematics, last week to both honor their success to date and...Read More »
Last night I lectured on this topic to my entrepreneurial capstone
class at Purdue. It is possibly the most basic question for
any startup looking to raise capital, but it is often not
approached correctly. In my experience most entrepreneurs
take a wild guess at their number.
The correct approach is to look at your cash flow projections and determine it from there. For a new startup the goal is to get to breakeven and beyond. For later stage companies the projections may address strategic...Read More »
The correct approach is to look at your cash flow projections and determine it from there. For a new startup the goal is to get to breakeven and beyond. For later stage companies the projections may address strategic...Read More »
Agreement titles are funny things. In their best use they
quickly describe the general subject matter of the contract.
For most situations a simple title is helpful. E.g.,
"Services Agreement" helps differentiate between a contract for
services and one for goods. That is helpful. Many
contract titles are more descriptive (e.g., "License Agreement",
"SaaS Agreement" or "Software Service Level Agreement" to describe
the technology nature of the agreement).
Where a client is using form...Read More »
Where a client is using form...Read More »
I know there will be an "official" congratulatory press release in
the near future, but I thought I'd take a moment to congratulate
the Alerding Castor Hewitt partners on being included in the 2011
Indiana Super Lawyers.
Brian Hewitt received the nod as one of the Top 50 Super Lawyers in the state. This is, of course, a recurring honor for Brian, who has been a Super Lawyer for the past several years. Brian's practice focus is on business and probate litigation and mediation.
The voters...Read More »
Brian Hewitt received the nod as one of the Top 50 Super Lawyers in the state. This is, of course, a recurring honor for Brian, who has been a Super Lawyer for the past several years. Brian's practice focus is on business and probate litigation and mediation.
The voters...Read More »
In the words of Schoolhouse Rock, “three” is the magic
number. That is not what I am talking about. Every
business model has some number milestone that must be met to ensure
a basic level of success for the business. This can be number
of customers, revenue, user seats, market share, marketers’
requirements, sales reps, break even...
Good market research can predict this number. Unfortunately, most business plans either ignore the number or use wild a** guesses (WAGs) to predict the number....Read More »
Good market research can predict this number. Unfortunately, most business plans either ignore the number or use wild a** guesses (WAGs) to predict the number....Read More »
I have said it a million times since learning the lesson myself in
a failed entrepreneurial effort a couple of years ago, the CEO of
any entrepreneurial venture must understand the importance of
managing cash flows and how to use cash flow analysis for the
strategic growth of the company.
Trust me, I am all into the Six Sigma approach of throwing a couple of innovators together, rolling out a v1 product as quickly as possible, and slowly scaling the company from hobby phase to a successful...Read More »
Trust me, I am all into the Six Sigma approach of throwing a couple of innovators together, rolling out a v1 product as quickly as possible, and slowly scaling the company from hobby phase to a successful...Read More »
The first caveat is that I'm sorry I haven't posted anything
recently. Work here at Alerding Castor Hewitt has been going
like gangbusters and yours truly has been up to his distinguished
eyeballs in work. Trust me, however, I'm now dutifully
committing myself to continue providing insight and humor as your
Indiana Internet Litigation guru.
Second caveat is that this post actually has nothing to do with privacy litigation, software litigation or really any other technology law issues. ...Read More »
Second caveat is that this post actually has nothing to do with privacy litigation, software litigation or really any other technology law issues. ...Read More »
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