Jon Davage, Head of Corporate and author!

Some of you may be aware that Jon Davage is head of our corporate team but did you know he has also contributed a chapter to a book?

Working with our clients, Guy Remond and Ian Brookes from The Start Up Factory, they developed an idea to share their experience of the journey from founder to exit in a tech-based business. They are also involved in Manchester’s first potential “unicorn” business Bankifi.

The Start Up Factory has been set up to provide an eco system to accelerate startup growth and innovation, and mitigate the risk of startup failure.  They use their technical know-how and business expertise to help startups and investors fulfil their potential.  This can be developing the clear scope of the product for MVP (minimum viable product) or operating as a Chief Technical Officer (CTO) to help deliver the solution.

The book aims to capture the Entrepreneur’s essentials, helping entrepreneurs launch and build better and more successful tech startups. It’s a narrative, providing insight on the how, what and why to focus, prioritise, manage and do stuff for startup ventures.

Jon provided a chapter about carefully building legal blocks and how to go about it.

A few early things to take note of in the early stages of business

1. Do not be scared of professional fees – choose your team wisely as they will add value to the journey
2. Assuming trust/competence – work with people for a period of time before committing fully or giving away equity.
3. Google law! – avoid downloading documents from the internet they can store up future issues
4. Intellectual Property (IP) – Make sure founders assign IP and protect the business asset(s)

He provided some advice on setting up the company and share structure and cited some common mistakes to avoid. This includes giving away equity too easily and disorganised share tracking and documentation.

There is also a section on Shareholder Agreements and Articles of Association and why its important these are reviewed at each stage of the business’s lifecycle.

“Correct legal structure and corporate governance is essential to attract investment and to hedge against the “unknowns” and “What-ifs” – prioritise and review your legal framework at each stage of your business’s life cycle”

Jon Davage, Partner & head of Corporate

There are also interesting chapters in the book from the founders and their journey from prototype to exit, as well as content from other advisers including accountancy and financial advice.

Receive a FREE copy of the book “From the Factory Floor”

We still have around x50 copies of the book available to give away on a first come first served basis.

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