Start Smart is a series of legal education seminars for entrepreneurs.  It is year-round, free, and open to the public.  It is hosted by the University of Pittsburgh Law School,  CMU Project Olympus, and Pitt's Big Idea Center for Student Innovation.
 

The Start Smart Legal Series hosts various seminars and workshops throughout the semester that cover a wide range of legal topics for startup businesses. During each event, you will be able to learn from K&L Gates' startup lawyers and gain valuable insight on how to legally start/run your startup.

All Start Smart sessions will be held from 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. EST via Zoom. Dates, times, and presenters are subject to change.

INTRODUCTION TO STARTUP LAW

Tuesday, September 14, 2021

5:00 - 6:30 p.m., Zoom

Join us for a lightning round of Q&A with top startup and intellectual property lawyers.  We will kick off the evening with a quick overview of the most common startup legal issues: contract law, IP protection, raising capital, entity formation and employment law and exit planning.   Then you’ll get to ask YOUR most pressing legal questions.

Presenters:

David Lehman, K&L Gates & CMU's Reed McManigle

HOW TO STRUCTURE YOUR CAPITAL RAISE, PART 1: THE FUNDAMENTALS

Tuesday, September 28, 2021

5:00 - 6:30 p.m., Zoom

Learn about the legal and economic/business issues associated with raising capital through Friends and Family, Seed Funding and Series A rounds. This session is a prerequisite to understanding and participating in Part 2 - Negotiating the Term Sheet.

- Structuring investments to maximize growth

- Funding from incubators/accelerators, angels, VCs, government, and foundations

Presenter:

David Lehman, K&L Gates

HOW TO STRUCTURE YOUR CAPITAL RAISE, PART 2: NEGOTIATING THE TERM SHEET (STARTUPS V. INVESTORS)

Tuesday, October 5, 2021

5:00 - 6:30 p.m., Zoom

Join us for a fun negotiation exercise in which you’ll play the role of startup or investor. We’ll begin the evening with a quick overview of the legal issues associated with investing in startups.  We’ll then divide into investor and startup groups, who will meet separately with lawyers to decide on the terms they want. We’ll end the evening with a negotiation led by workshop volunteers playing the part of founders and investors and two of Pittsburgh’s top startup lawyers.

Presenters:

David Lehman, K&L Gates & Adam Kelson, K&L Gates

HOW TO FORM YOUR STARTUP COMPANY, PART 1: THE BASICS

Tuesday, October 19, 2021

5:00 - 6:30 p.m., Zoom

Learn the basic legal issues involved with new company formation, including choice of entity (LLC, C-corp, social enterprise options such as non-profit (501c), Benefit Corporation, B Corps certification, and other company structure alternatives), founders agreements, splitting equity and employee vesting. We’ll start the evening by hearing from lawyers and a startup who will share their experiences forming startup companies. This session is a prerequisite for participating in How to Form Your Startup Company, Part 2.

Presenters/Participants:

David Lehman, K&L Gates
Stephanie Dangel, University of Pittsburgh Law School

• University of Pittsburgh Law School Students

HOW TO FORM YOUR STARTUP COMPANY, PART 2: WORKSHOP

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

5:00 - 6:30 p.m., Zoom

Your team will be matched with one or more law students to design a “legal roadmap” that will recommend the best entity option for your startup and the basics of a founders agreement – all under the supervision of experienced startup lawyers!  This workshop fills up quickly, so if you want to work with a law student, please send a description to sad111@pitt.edu by Friday, October 22.

Presenters/Participants:

David Lehman, K&L Gates
Stephanie Dangel, University of Pittsburgh Law School
University of Pittsburgh Law School Students