I'd recommend using a service like ZenBusiness, LegalZoom, or Rocket Lawyer to make incorporating a breeze.

The legal structure you select is huge - it protects your personal assets, impacts taxes, and determines how flexible your operations can be. This is not a decision to take lightly, so let me break down the most common options:

Sole Proprietorship: This is the easiest - you own and run the whole show yourself. Minimal registration required and you're the boss. Downside is your personal assets aren't protected.

LLC: The Limited Liability Company is a happy medium - you get liability protection like a corporation, but taxes and operations are more streamlined like a partnership. This is a sweet spot for many small-to-medium businesses.

Corporation: This gives you the ultimate liability shield with your personal assets 100% separate from the business. But it's more complex and pricey to set up. There are C-corps and S-corps with different tax structures. If you plan on raising Venture or taking on investors, even Angels from your friends and family network, become a C-Corp. Here are the different types of corporations.

C-Corporation (C-Corp) - choose this if you plan to get funding from Venture Capitalists, Investors, or Crowd-Fund

❥ This is the standard/default corporation structure

❥ Owners/shareholders have limited liability protection -Orporate profits are taxed separately from shareholders' personal income (double taxation)

❥ No restriction on number of shareholders

❥ Potential for lower tax rate on corporate profits compared to individual rates

❥ More complex accounting and reporting requirements

S-Corporation (S-Corp

❥ A special tax election that allows a corporation to be taxed similarly to a partnership

❥ Company profits/losses pass through to shareholders' personal tax returns

❥ Avoids double taxation of C-Corps

❥ Maximum of 100 shareholders

❥ All shareholders must be U.S. citizens/residents

❥ More flexible for reinvesting profits compared to C-Corps

B-Corporation (B-Corp)

❥ A relatively new corporation type focused on using business as a force for good

❥ Must meet strict standards for social/environmental performance, transparency and accountability

❥ Certified by non-profit B-Lab organization

❥ Can be either a C-Corp, S-Corp or LLC

❥ Perceived as more socially conscious which can attract better talent/customers

❥ No special tax treatment, follows underlying entity structure

Non-Profit Corporation

❥ Formed specifically for charitable, educational, scientific or religious purposes

❥ No shareholders/owners - any profits must be reinvested into the organization

❥ Tax-exempt status avoids corporate income taxes

❥ Can apply for 501(c)(3) public charity or 501(c)(4) social welfare designation

❥ Board of directors provides oversight rather than owners

❥ The optimal structure depends on your specific goals - limiting liability, flexibility for profits, number of shareholders, appetite for paperwork, and company mission. It's wise to consult an attorney or tax expert to choose the right corporation type for your business needs.

Okay, you've picked your structure - now it's time to make it official with some key registrations. Most states and counties have a simple website for handling these registrations, or use something like ZenBusiness or LegalZoom to do the heavy lifting.

Business Name: You'll register your business name with the state, usually through the Secretary of State's office. If using a trade name or "Doing Business As", you'll likely need a DBA filing too.

Get an EIN: Don't sleep on getting an Employer Identification Number from the IRS - this is crucial for taxes, payroll, and opening a business bank account.

Permits & Licenses: Depending on your industry, you might need specific licenses or permits to legally operate - think food service, construction, etc. Don't skip this step!

State/Local Registrations: You may also need to register for things like sales tax, payroll tax, and other state/local requirements.

Business Bank Account: Open a SEPARATE account just for your business - don't combine personal and professional funds, trust me. I recommend Mercury Banking - Super easy to setup

Accounting System: Whether it's old school pen and paper or cloud accounting software like QuickBooks, you need a system for tracking income, expenses, profits, etc. Consider hiring an accountant, at least at first.

Business Insurance: What types of risks does your business face? You'll likely need some level of liability coverage - general, professional, product liability etc. An insurance broker can guide you here.

Embark on your journey with confidence, armed with the best knowledge and insights from leading experts in the field. Whether you're exploring how to start an AI company, how to create an AI business, or looking for innovative ideas using AI, the path ahead is bright for those prepared to innovate and lead.

Grants

Yeah, free money without giving away a huge percent of your company! Research grants available through federal (grants.gov), state, and local/economic development programs. The National Science Foundation has SBIR grants for R&D focused businesses. I personally got the NSF SBIR Grant for my IoT company and it was a huge help. They don't take equity and give up to $2M for seed funding.

Nerdwallet is a good resource for finding both grants and loans.

Here is a list of current grants available for startups:

Federal Grants:

❥ Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program - Provides over $3 billion annually for small businesses engaged in R&D across a variety of tech and science areas. Administered by agencies like NSF, DOD, DOE, NASA, etc.

❥ Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program - Similar to SBIR but requires collaboration between a small business and a non-profit research institution.

❥ U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Grants - Various grants for businesses in agriculture, food production, renewable energy, and more.

❥ National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grants - Opportunities for startups working on biomedical and health-related innovations.

❥ Grants.gov: This is the comprehensive database of federal government grants, including many for small businesses and startups.

❥ National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Grants: NIST offers grants for small businesses in science and technology fields

❥ Department of Education Grants: The Department of Education has several grants available for education-focused startups

❥ EPA Grants: The Environmental Protection Agency provides grants for small businesses working on environmental innovations

❥ Economic Development Administration (EDA) Grants: The EDA offers grants to help improve community infrastructure for small businesses.

State/Regional Grants:

❥ State Small Business Credit Initiative - Federal funding distributed to states to support lending and investment programs for small businesses.

❥ Economic Development/Innovation Grants - Many states and cities offer cash grants to attract entrepreneurial activity and job creation. Examples: California Competes Tax Credit, Pennsylvania Business Opportunity Fund.

❥ PRIME Fund (PR, HI, VI, Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands) - Supports product/service research and commercialization.

Private Grants:

❥ FedEx Small Business Grant Contest - Annual competition with a grand prize of $50,000 plus $9,000 in FedEx services.

❥ Halstead Grant - Up to $25,000 for innovative businesses run by entrepreneurs age 18-35.

by entrepreneurs age 18-35.

❥ Cartier Women's Initiative Awards - Annual $100,000 prize for women-led companies from Cartier.

❥ Visa Everywhere Initiative: The Visa Everywhere Initiative is a grant competition that offers free capital to tech-forward startups across five different regions around the globe. Applicants must show how they've developed a product or service that creatively involves Visa's products. The overall winner of the competition is awarded a $100,000 small-business grant.

❥ H&R Block - $100,000 in grants for women-owned businesses

Local grants may also be available through community development organizations, chambers of commerce, and economic development corporations in your city/region. Networking locally is key to uncovering all opportunities.

Also known as the F&F round, aka the Friends & Family round. These are your biggest supporters and they will believe in you and your idea to back you. This is often a startup's first outside funding after bootstrapping with personal savings.

Friends & Family Round

Your inner circle can provide that crucial first influx of capital to really get things off the ground. But you'll want to make it official:

SAFE Notes: A SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) is ideal for early stage fundraising. Investors provide money in exchange for future equity once your startup brings in priced rounds later. No set valuation at this point. Popular with angels and crowdfunding campaigns.

Convertible Notes Similar to SAFEs, these are short-term loans that convert to equity in the next priced round based on a discount rate. Represents debt that "converts" to ownership.

Both options allow you to raise capital without settling on a premature valuation. The investments automatically convert to real shares during a Series A or later rounds.

Be Strategic Don't just hit up anyone for cash! Identify friends/family with income to risk and genuine interest in your vision. Overcommunicate and set expectations - this is high-risk investing where they could lose it all.

Pros of F&F:

❥ Money with no immediate valuation

❥ Supportive early evangelists

❥ Practice for bigger fundraising

Cons:

❥ Mixing money & relationships

❥ May only provide limited $

❥ Learning curve doing it properly

Raising an angel round from your personal network can provide vital seed funding. But be diligent about making it official and setting expectations appropriately.

Outside of your typical F&F, networking locally and joining pitch competitions can connect you to Angels in your community who are eagerly looking for new entrepreneurs in their community to support. Some like me are old timers who want to support new founders and will write checks to participate in the journey. To meet Angels, join your local startup network. For example in Oregon we have OEN (Oregon Entrepreneurial Network) which makes investments, does pitches and connects founders.

Regardless of which direction you choose F&F or local Angels, Official Terms & Paperwork, use proper paperwork for SAFE/convertible note terms, cordial investor updates, handling distributions or exits later. This stuff gets messy without process.

Here are some of the best places to get templates for SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) notes and convertible notes when raising an angel/friends & family round:

Y Combinator SAFE Note template is one of the most widely used for early stage startups raising from angel investors. You can get a copy of the standardized SAFE note and instructions directly from YC:

Clerky is a platform that provides affordable legal services and documents for startups. They have an online tool to easily generate a SAFE note customized for your deal.

Gust offers comprehensive uploading of angel fundraising materials including SAFE notes, convertible notes, cap tables and more. You can find their template documents here:

AngelList has document templates including SAFE notes, convertible notes, and other fundraising resources in their instructions section:

Cooley GO The law firm Cooley has a free resource called Cooley GO with SAFE note and convertible note templates you can access.

Using a reputable, standardized template can help streamline the SAFE or convertible note process when raising an angel round from friends, family and other individual investors. Just be sure to review with a lawyer.

If your startup is going to operate in a high-growth, innovative industry like tech, biotech, green energy etc., you may be able to attract investment from venture capital firms. VCs typically invest in exchange for equity and board representation in companies they believe have huge scaleup potential.

Getting on the VC radar requires a combination of the right connections, a killer pitch deck that sells your vision, and ideally some solid traction already. Here are some tips:

Network, Network, Network

VCs are inundated with pitches, so warm intros from folks they trust carry a lot of weight. Attend startup events, join accelerator programs, connect with entrepreneurs in your local ecosystem to try to get that warm referral.

Polish Your Pitch Deck

This is your make-or-break sales tool. Outline the problem you're solving, your innovative solution, the massive market opportunity, your rockstar team, traction metrics, financial projections, and a compelling ask. Study pitch deck examples from successful raises.

Nail the In-Person Pitch

When you get that meeting, be prepared to tell a compelling narrative and handle tough questions. Practice extensively with mock investor panels to tighten your delivery.

Resources:

• AngelList - Huge database of angel/VC investors to research and get intros

• Crunchbase - Browse startup profiles, funding rounds, press to identify good targets

• DocSend - Create pitch deck analytics so you know which VCs are engaging

• Fundable Startup Resources - Pitch deck examples, due diligence document templates

The VC fundraising process is an uphill battle, but proper prep, the right messaging, and perseverance can help you stand out and land that game-changing round of financing.

Crowdfunding: Sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo let you raise funds by pre-selling products or offering backer rewards. Built-in marketing too!

Loans: Good ol' debt financing through small business loans from banks, credit unions, online lenders or SBA loan programs. Manageable if revenues are stable.

Create a Crypto Token: I am not recommending this route unless you are well versed in the world of blockchain and crypto and understand the risks and rewards . Fundraising with a crypto coin involves creating your own digital token and selling it to investors. Think of it like issuing stock, but on the blockchain. It can attract a global audience of crypto enthusiasts, potentially generating significant capital. However, crypto markets are volatile, regulation is still evolving, and the space is crowded with competition. Before taking the plunge, weigh the potential benefits against the risks and ensure it aligns with your company's goals and expertise.