On March 4, 2019, in an interview with StartupHR, our Managing Partner Erdem Mümtaz Hacıpaşaoğlu answered the question “When does a founder need a lawyer?” through practical examples.
The central thesis of the interview was clear: a founder is not legally obligated to engage a lawyer when starting up; but when the right questions are not asked at the right time, the frictions a founder thinks will “come cheap” compound into the cost of the first investment round.
The critical moments when a lawyer is needed
The reasons and costs of engaging a lawyer at critical moments — incorporation, founders’ agreement, employee option plan, first customer contract, first investment round, personal-data policy — were laid out.
The cost threshold
The moments a founder thinks are “still too early” are in fact the most critical ones; the cost of remediation later is far higher than the cost of getting the right legal advice up front.
Highlights from this interview
- Critical moments: Incorporation, founders’ agreement, option plans
- Customer and investment: First contracts, first round
- Cost: Friction compounding into later expense
You can watch the interview on YouTube.
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