

Hyper-Practical Tips on Starting Your Own Company - slapshot
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/08/fifteen_hyper-practical_tips_o.html

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RiderOfGiraffes
Here are the highlights:

* Use Quickbooks.

* Make it a Delaware C-Corporation.

* Put 100% of expenditures on a single credit card.

* Practice interviewing.

* Let the law firm handle your cap table

* Print long emails. You'll actually read them.

* Get Errors & Omissions (E&O) insurance early.

* Buy a computer and chair you like.

* Pay yourself something.

* Always get Proprietary Inventions Agreements from every employee and contractor.

* Never ask for an NDA from third parties, (with three exceptions)

* ... decide when your company's "day" starts

* Rent month to month.

* Get good t-shirts.

* Pick a company name based on URL availability.

Now if you care, go read the article.

~~~
pella
> Print long emails. You'll actually read them.

It is working ?

~~~
RiderOfGiraffes
Why are you asking me? I'm just summarising the article to help save people
time.

~~~
fgf
other people will read that question too..

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RiderOfGiraffes
I can't parse that. What question will other people read?

I summarised the article - if you want to know more, go read it - the
justifications are there. I don't understand why people should ask me the
questions.

~~~
RiderOfGiraffes
OK, color me deeply confused. I provided a summary so people could decide
whether they wanted to go and read the article. Then I get asked a question:

    
    
      Article> Print long emails. You'll actually read them.
      Pella> It is working ?
    

Why ask me? I didn't write the article, I just read it and provided the bullet
points. If you want to know more, go to the original. For one thing, I
personally don't print long emails because I don't usually get long emails.
For another, I'm not the original author.

So when I asked why I'm being asked the question, the reply comes:

    
    
      fgf>  other people will read that question too..
    

Well, I don't understand that comment. People will read _what_ question?

So I say that, asking for clarification. And both comments get down-voted?

I just don't understand. Please, if someone can enlighten me on this issue I'd
appreciate it.

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mildweed
We need more posts like this. The nuts and bolts of bootstrapping. Too many
articles talking about what to do at step 43, need more about steps 2-5.

Speaking of, has anybody had success with rather than dumping the 9-5 and
jumping straight into your startup, tried going contractor for a while and use
the down time to work on the start-up?

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c1sc0
I didn't find the article particularly helpful actually. Didn't learn anything
new. But maybe in the sense of the author pushing his own opinion/bias it was
useful: if you trust him, it makes decisionmaking earier. Things like "Use
Quickbooks", "Do the Delaware Dance" are just opinion.

~~~
po
I agree. He makes it sound like a Delaware C corp a no-brainer, but it's a lot
more complex than that. Delaware is geared toward larger companies but and is
great if you plan to get acquired. the legal system in Delaware is very
favorable to corporations. I don't think it's right for every business, or
every businessperson.

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Jetlag
If Quickbooks really is the best thing going then somebody should invent a
better Quickbooks. It really is a terrible piece of software with terrible
support.

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sinamdar
This link already submitted. <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1612299>

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skowmunk
Quite insightful compared to your run-of-the-mill checklists. I guess it
wouldn't have come up on hbr.org otherwise. Its nice it covers some really
diverse aspects of a business.

I am glad I have followed some of them which I was already aware of and gotta
agree, definitely got some new things to think about from this list.

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Concours
what do you need to make it a delaware C-Corporation? any source or url?

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icey
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware_General_Corporation_La...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware_General_Corporation_Law)

