Early Stage Archives - Wiss & Company, LLP

How To Distribute Authorized Stock to Startup Stakeholders

Written on January 19, 2022. Posted in Early Stage, General Business.

It’s not often that you hear entrepreneurs tell the truth about what it takes to get a startup rolling, especially about the nitty-gritty details of how to authorize shares of stock. In this article, we’re taking away the mystery of share distribution. If you’ve already decided to set up a C corporation and learned about initial valuation, the next step is to figure out how to split shares of the company fairly amongst stakeholders — and wrestle with the math behind those decisions. Determining...

How To Raise Capital Without a Startup Valuation

Written on January 11, 2022. Posted in Early Stage, Tax.

An exciting part of early-stage startup ownership is bringing on investors who believe in your mission. But before you offer them equity in your business, you have to figure out how much it’s worth. Every startup is unique and, as with many other factors of entrepreneurial life, there’s no one-size-fits-all way to complete a valuation. However, there are some best practices you should follow when assigning a reasonable value to your company and appealing to investors with convertible...

Incorporation 101: C-Corp vs. LLC

Written on January 5, 2022. Posted in Early Stage, General Business, State & Local Tax Services, Tax.

So you’ve decided to start a business. Once you get past the initial excitement of throwing ideas around with your co-founders, it’s time to make your first big decision: how you’ll structure your organization. Choosing a corporate entity type can feel overwhelming if you’ve never done it before. And even if you have, each industry and business has unique needs. In this article, we’ll break down some important details you need to know about the two most common types of entities:...

Storytelling is Serious Business for Businesses Serious About Reaching Goals

Written on October 21, 2021. Posted in Early Stage, General Business, Small Business, Startups.

Serious business people often think they have to stick to serious business facts to make their points. But introducing storytelling to presentations and meetings is an effective way to deliver a message to an audience rather than lecturing them. Think about your business goals and choose stories that support what you want to do right now. They have to be true, though. As with any other business skill, you can learn to tell stories. There are eight questions to ask yourself to help...

What type of entity should my startup be (a C-Corp or LLC)?

Written on February 1, 2021. Posted in Early Stage, Financial Planning, General Business, Small Business, Startups.

CPA and Partner at WISS & Co., Matt Barbieri discusses the reason he’s doing this podcast (basically to answer all those questions he gets over-and-over) and then answers a question he gets ALL THE TIME from startup founders, which is, What type of entity should our company be? Listen to the episode here… Still need more guidance? No problem! Reach out to a Wiss expert for answers. Contact Us

The 5 Proofs to Ensure Investment Readiness

Written on June 16, 2020. Posted in Early Stage, General Business.

By Mark Brenner, CEO and Co-Founder, WEST Growth 1. Progressive milestones Most early-stage companies don’t have much money unless the founders are independently wealthy. So when most companies come to us, they have maybe ten different things they’re working on, but they don’t have the resources to do those ten things. It’s a priority to identify how much the next raise should be and what needs to happen to get that raise. Those raising capital will need to tell that group of investors...

Launching A Business: What to Consider When Beginning Your Startup

Written on June 13, 2017. Posted in Early Stage.

By Wiss Associate The first step toward launching your own business is having an idea. But even if you have an idea for a business, you may have no idea about the legal and tax obligations that await you should you put that idea into practice. Here are several things to keep in mind before getting your startup off the ground. Separate yourself from the business Running your business through your personal bank account might seem easy and convenient, but unless you keep your business...

3 Reasons Why It’s Important to Understand Your Cap Table

Written on November 1, 2016. Posted in Early Stage.

By Ryan S. Silva Very often some of the most promising early stage growth companies find themselves challenged when asked about their cap table. Simply put, the cap table should list all the securities of the company (i.e., stock options, warrants, convertible debt, SAFE, etc.) and who owns them. This isn’t difficult when it’s just a few people, but as the capital structure becomes more complex from financing transactions, the cap table usually does as well. This is generally because...

A Startup’s Guide to Seeking Investments

Written on October 27, 2015. Posted in Early Stage.

By Matt Barbieri Updated 7/30/2019. With every investment deal comes risks and questions waiting to be answered. If you are seeking investments, it is important you are as prepared as possible when it comes time to present your case. The following recommendations will increase confidence, but more importantly, make sure you are prepared for anything investors throw at you. Be prepared to discuss the numbers To an investor, your story matters, but ultimately every investment boils...

Choosing the Entity that’s Right for your Startup

Written on July 7, 2015. Posted in Early Stage.

By Wiss Associate As a startup business, one of the most important decisions you have to make is under what type of corporate entity you’ll operate. There are three basic choices of entities. S Corporations Characteristics. This entity is only for corporations with 100 or fewer individual owners and no foreign shareholders are permitted. S Corporations can issue common stock, not preferred, and there are no corporate taxes paid at the entity level. Advantages. S Corporations are...