Employers Beware: Minnesota Increases Enforcement and Penalties for Wage Theft

On August 1, 2019, Minnesota added new laws, and amended existing laws, to curb wage theft. In addition to increasing the penalties for wage theft, the changes require employers to provide specific notices to their employees and to maintain additional records in their personnel files. These new laws also provide $3.1 million in funding to… View Article


10 Common Items to Consider When Exiting a Business

Exiting or selling a business can be a risky and uncertain endeavor. There are myriad advisors, consultants and other service providers around to give you advice. A wise seller will always consider the source to make sure the advice provided is in the seller’s best interests. Also, because advice can vary between different types of… View Article


Funding Sources: Differences between Venture Capital and Angel Investors

For startups it’s important to understand the differences between funding from venture capital firms and angel investors. This article takes a look at these differences and discusses some of the mistakes that startups make when securing funding. The differences between VCs and angels are nuanced, but typically, there are some fairly common differences between these… View Article


83(b) Elections for Startups (avoiding ordinary income tax)

Most startups don’t have the need to wrestle with the problem of having too much cash. Usually, quite the opposite is true – they have too little. To compensate for this lack of cash, startups may try to pay employees and contractors (“service providers”) using equity incentives instead of cash. For example, let’s say a… View Article


The Perils of Disclosure for Startups

Startups generally have an idea, connections, or talent, or some combination thereof. To be sure, there are plenty of startups out there doing what everyone else is doing – another landscaping company, another food truck, etc. But there are plenty of startups that are experimenting with disruption and “something different.” These latter startups have greater… View Article


Letters of Intent – Don’t Give Away More than You Bargained For

When I was younger, I believed letters of intent were a waste of time. I would say “just give me a purchase agreement with all of the proposed terms so we know the full scope of the deal.” I’ve since come to realize that a comprehensive letter of intent or “LOI” is a great way… View Article


Employers – Know Your Data Breach Laws

Almost every state in the United States has a data breach notification statute. Minnesota created data breach notification statutes some time ago, which provide, in part:Any person or business that conducts business in [Minnesota], and that owns or licenses data that includes personal information, shall disclose any breach of the security of the system following… View Article


PCI Compliance Update – New PCI Data Security Standard Version 3.1

The new version 3.1 of the PCI Data Security Standard (“PCI DSS”) is now available and provides clarifications and guidance on a number of PCI DSS requirements. For example, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) are no longer considered strong cryptography and cannot be used for new implementations and cannot be used… View Article


Cap Tables and Why They Exist

Essentially a “cap table” is a list of a company’s securities (in the form of stocks, warrants, options, etc.) and the holders of such securities. At the most basic level, a cap table shows who has an ownership interest in, or rights to an ownership interest in, the company. Many cap tables provide further detail… View Article


Forming a Corporation or LLC is Important

In light of the well-known costs of litigation, personal exposure to debts and various liabilities, and myriad statutory, administrative and other laws to comply with, why do so many sole proprietorships and general partnerships still exist? Because of the relatively low cost of forming an LLC or corporation when compared to the potential risks, the… View Article