Guest Posts | Startups San Antonio

Top 5 IP Mistakes Startups Make — and How to Avoid Them

12Jun

By Guest AuthorNo Comments

Top 5 IP Mistakes Startups Make — and How to Avoid Them

Samar Shah is a patent attorney at Outlier Patent Attorneys, PLLC, where he represents startups and enterprise companies on patents in the AI, robotics, cybersecurity, SaaS, and health-tech sectors, as well as advanced tech for medical devices, mechanical devices, and biotech applications.Startups often make costly intellectual property (IP) mistakes due to inexperience, lack of resources, or simply not addressing IP ownership and protection in agreements. Here’s a guide to help you understand what IP is, what to avoid, and the best practices you can implement as a startup navigating a seemingly daunting legal landscape. What is Intellectual Property or IP? IP generally covers creations of the mind but, more practically, can refer to a product idea, software, song, or even custom...

Hiring a Part-time or Fractional CTO for Your Startup

14Mar

By Iris GonzalezNo Comments

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Hiring a Part-time or Fractional CTO for Your Startup

Brandon Howard founded his software development agency Zelifcam to help businesses with software development, project management, and information technology. He discusses how startups can leverage a part-time or fractional chief technology officer.Have you considered hiring a fractional CTO?Starting a new business can be an expensive undertaking. One of the high costs can be hiring a full-time Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Some tech startups need a CTO in the early building stage of the company but decide to do without one and struggle as a result. A Fractional CTO is an experienced technology executive who can deliver high-impact advice to startups that may not need a full-time executive but are looking for help in a specific area of expertise. Fractional CTOs have a wea...

How Startups Can Weather Challenging Economic Times

8Nov

By Guest AuthorNo Comments

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How Startups Can Weather Challenging Economic Times

Andi Littlejohn is chief of the EPIcenter Energy Incubator and Accelerator (EEIA). EPIcenter is a nonprofit organization propelling energy innovation and thought for our global future with a think tank, incubator and accelerator, strategic partnerships, and critical conversations about energy, with the aim to support startups in all phases of development to incite the energy evolution.Startups and small businesses will always fight an uphill battle when innovating and commercializing technologies, regardless of the external economic conditions. More established enterprises have advantages that startups do not – more financial resources, larger teams with more diverse areas of expertise, and more robust legal teams to protect innovations, to name a few.In an economic downturn such ...

Here’s 8 steps to prepare your startup for acquisition

2Mar

By Guest AuthorNo Comments

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Here’s 8 steps to prepare your startup for acquisition

Matthew Duke is a San Antonio-based transactional business attorney specializing in mergers and acquisitions. Follow Duke on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn as @Stxbusinesslawyer and @STXbusinesslaw on Twitter.Financial professionals and lawyers like me can negotiate every detail of your proposed deals. But how exactly can a founder ensure that their startup is ready for an acquisition? This simplified checklist can guide you on what it takes to be acquisition-ready. What exactly is M&A? Mergers and acquisitions (often referred to as M&A) is an approach startups can use to buy cash flow, revenue, and other companies’ traffic. Founders can potentially gain a larger share of markets with the right kind of M&A deal. It’s also a way entrepreneurs can pivot, consolidate, and...

Raising capital for your startup? Here’s a funding checklist

28Jan

By Guest AuthorNo Comments

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Raising capital for your startup? Here’s a funding checklist

Matthew Duke is a San Antonio-based transactional business attorney specializing in mergers and acquisitions. He (and law clerk Connor McQuage, a student at St. Mary’s School of Law) shares a checklist for startups looking for funding. Follow Duke on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn as @Stxbusinesslawyer and @STXbusinesslaw on Twitter.Getting funding for your business can be a daunting task. You’ll be quizzed by funding sources with no guarantee of an agreement. Investors will ask for equity in your business, and lenders will pressure you with interest.Lawyers like me and financial professionals can negotiate every detail of your proposed deals, but where should a founder focus if your startup needs funding? This simplified six-step checklist can guide you through the most signifi...

How Many Shares Should Your Startup Authorize Upon Launch?

8Nov

By Jose PadillaNo Comments

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How Many Shares Should Your Startup Authorize Upon Launch?

José Padilla is an attorney and the owner of Padilla Law PLLC, where he represents startups and investors. His practice focuses on the formation, seed and VC financings, private equity, acquisitions, strategic corporate transactions, and general advisory regarding corporate and financing strategy. New startups often launch with 10 million authorized shares. Founders often ask me, “Why 10 million shares?”Before answering how many shares of stock a new startup should issue, founders must first understand the difference between authorized, issued, and outstanding shares. What is the difference between authorized, issued, and outstanding shares? The number of authorized shares is the maximum number of shares that a corporation is legally allowed to issue to its investors and stockhol...

San Antonio’s Newest Business Incubator Emerge and Rise Teaches Small Businesses How to Succeed

22Sep

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San Antonio’s Newest Business Incubator Emerge and Rise Teaches Small Businesses How to Succeed

Lina Rugova is the founder of the nonprofit Emerge and Rise business incubator, while John Knotts is the co-founder. Their guest post shares about Emerge and Rise incubator resources available for small business owners.New businesses are the economy’s lifeblood, but starting one can be difficult for entrepreneurs who have big ideas but little experience or funding. For starters, service-based businesses are not the same as product-oriented businesses and require different strategic thinking. A service-based business is one that provides an intangible product performed by a team or an individual.To support these small business owners, San Antonio's Emerge and Rise nonprofit small business incubator offers training in business skills, marketing, legal issues, and accounting to give t...

Why It Matters: SEC Modernizes Its Definition of an Accredited Investor

1Jul

By Jose PadillaNo Comments

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Why It Matters: SEC Modernizes Its Definition of an Accredited Investor

José Padilla is an attorney and the owner of Padilla Law PLLC, where he represents startups and investors. His practice focuses on the formation, seed and VC financings, private equity, acquisitions, strategic corporate transactions, and general advisory regarding corporate and financing strategy. In August 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) amended the definition of accredited investor. The SEC developed qualifications and rules under the Securities Act of 1933 to protect individuals from risky investments.Accredited investors can more freely invest in hedge funds' lucrative and risky world, private equity, venture capital, and equity crowdfunding. Private or unregistered securities are considered inherently riskier, so the Securities Act empowered the SEC to creat...

Why Startups Need a Content Marketing Flywheel

13Dec

By Guest AuthorNo Comments

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Why Startups Need a Content Marketing Flywheel

In the modern digital landscape, successful marketing isn’t just advertising. As people become increasingly ad-savvy, it requires thoughtful strategy and humanization. While the most common digital marketing visual is the funnel, which moves website users from awareness to interest to consideration to conversion, a newer alternative is also worth consideration.Instead of being confined to the funnel, businesses should consider adopting the marketing flywheel model.An effective flywheel utilizes two or more marketing practices to make the process of gaining customers, conversions, and revenue progressively easier. Not just for established businesses with big marketing budgets, this relatively low-cost strategy can also work for startups that are willing to invest a bit of money and ...

IPSecure Scales as it Strategically Supports U.S. Cyber Defenses: Port San Antonio’s Tech Innovation Series

9Dec

By Casey Kelly-BartonNo Comments

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IPSecure Scales as it Strategically Supports U.S. Cyber Defenses: Port San Antonio’s Tech Innovation Series

Port San Antonio’s tech innovation series features local technology innovators and explores San Antonio’s growth as a major tech and cybersecurity hub. Learn more here.Local cybersecurity companies such as IPSecure are growing rapidly to meet the global demand for cyber innovation, cementing San Antonio's place among the world's top 10 hubs for cybersecurity talent. IPSecure is the latest cybersecurity company to be featured in Port San Antonio's latest Building Futures on the Leading Edge of Innovation program.IPSecure provides comprehensive network cybersecurity for government and commercial clients and cybersecurity software development, training and simulation, and risk management services. The company was founded in 2000 by former Air Force civil employee Jesse Rodriguez and ...