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 »
Over the last three weeks I have visited the west coast twice and
Toronto once to help clients work through funding rounds and
strategic acquisitions. I also visited with two angel
investment groups which I work with. The primary purpose of
each trip was to help clients develop and realize their capital
strategy for growth. While most of these entrepreneur clients
are in technology fields, others include a tax planning firm and a
Bollywood project out of Toronto.
It does not matter what world...Read More »
It does not matter what world...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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
Indianapolis, IN – Mike Alerding, founding partner of Alerding Castor Hewitt LLP, is slated to teach Business Law at Harrison College this spring. The course combines the understanding of legal theory with the acquaintance of the various forms of contracts. Students will be taught the essentials of the legal environment of business, tort law, contracts, commercial transactions, government relations and property.
“I am teaching because I enjoy the process of observing the improvement and...
Read More »Your friendly neighborhood litigation attorney at Alerding Castor Hewitt, LLP with a final post for the year to all of our business, Indiana internet litigation, and technology law clients. Saturday, December 25th will no doubt be a date of celebration in many homes. As you spend time with your family, remember how special the day is and all of the changes that have taken place in the last 20 years.
Some of you might wonder what I mean exactly. I’m not referring to Christmas. And for those...
Read More »I hope that you all had a thankful and fulfilling turkey day.
Your friendly neighborhood technology legal counsel stuffed
himself horrendously. But, I digress. I know that I owe
you all part 2 of my discussion of the legal landscape of corporate
blogging, and I promise that I will get that posted in the near
future, but two recent opinions in some non-Indiana Internet
litigation piqued my interest and I had to talk about them.
Both rulings involve application of the liability...Read More »
It has been said a million times already on this blog – a CEO,
especially one which is seeking funds from private equity
investors, needs to understand finance. Often a basic
knowledge of sources and uses and cash flow analysis is enough, but
in many early stage investment rounds, savvy investors expect the
CEO to know the company's internal rate of return (IRR) - and
why it matters.
I meet many entrepreneurs who have served as VPs or middle managers before embarking on their entrepreneurial...Read More »
I meet many entrepreneurs who have served as VPs or middle managers before embarking on their entrepreneurial...Read More »
Here at Alerding Castor Hewitt, LLP, one thing that we are called upon to do as business law, SaaS law, and technology counsel for our clients is collect on a judgment. I have previously posted on other topics in the collections world, which you can find here and here. Today’s topic is in answer to the question we sometimes get: how long is my judgment good for?
A decision today by the Indiana Court of Appeals in the estate case of In the Matter of the Unsupervised Estate of Dwight M. Wilson...
Read More »I can read your mind. You are thinking, "oh, great and
insightful technology legal counsel, what do you mean by a 'legal
landscape' and what does that have to do with blogging?" My
initial response is that, (a) you've asked two questions and (b) if
you plan to use blogging as a component of your business model, you
need to know what potential pitfalls exist. That is the legal
landscape of blogging. It is made up of the hills and valleys
that must be overcome or avoided to reach blogging...Read More »
Thanks to the wonderful folks over at Compendium Blogware, I
presented a fun webinar last week on the Legal Landscape of
Corporate Blogging. Don't fret, dear reader; I intend
to put together several posts over the weekend that hit the
highlights of my presentation. Overall, I discussed topics
like privacy litigation, copyright, defamation, Section 230
protections, etc. The fun stuff of blogging.
One area that I discussed and have had several questions about is Creative Commons. For those of...Read More »
One area that I discussed and have had several questions about is Creative Commons. For those of...Read More »
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