With the widespread adoption of the limited liability company as a preferred entity format for non-public entities, business practitioners are forced to grapple with provisions in operating agreements that adopt detailed accounting and tax treatments generally beyond the traditional expertise of non-tax lawyers. These accounting and tax issues are not present in forming a standard corporation, but are thrust on the practitioner anytime even the most basic multi-member LLC is formed. While the “standard” LLC operating agreement approaches to these matters are at this point generally familiar (though perhaps less well understood), ...read more]]> http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/2010/08/what-does-that-operating-agreement-mean-a-primer-on-llc-capital-accounting-for-the-non-specialist/feed/ 0 http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/2010/05/the-new-high-tech-startup-hot-spot-boulder-co/ http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/2010/05/the-new-high-tech-startup-hot-spot-boulder-co/#comments Sun, 16 May 2010 15:09:49 +0000 mbower http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/?p=345 article profiling Boulder, Colorado's high-tech startup scene.  So, what makes Boulder so great?  From the article:

The recipes of other cities for creating the next Silicon Valley usually leave out a few main ingredients. Richard Florida, who wrote “The Rise of the Creative Class” and studies why certain cities foster creativity, cites three crucial factors: talented people and a high quality of life that keeps them around, technological expertise, and an open-mindedness about new ways of doing things, which often comes from a strong counterculture. “Boulder has reached this beautiful sweet spot, where it has many advantages of a university town — tech and talent and openness — but without many of ...read more]]> http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/2010/05/the-new-high-tech-startup-hot-spot-boulder-co/feed/ 0 http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/2010/05/ann-arbor-new-tech-may-meetup/ http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/2010/05/ann-arbor-new-tech-may-meetup/#comments Sun, 16 May 2010 14:47:15 +0000 mbower http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/?p=344 Ann Arbor New Tech, brought to you by a2geeks, is a group of people from various industries and backgrounds (e.g., entrepreneurs, technologists, investors, lawyers, marketers, students, etc.) interested in fostering local technology startups by organizing events, sharing resources, and building a supportive community. Ann Arbor New Tech’s signature event takes place on the third Tuesday of each month, at 6:30 p.m., at Blau Auditorium, UM Ross School of Business, 701 Tappan Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104.  The monthly event features three to five companies who are each given five minutes to demo and five minutes to answer questions.  Open announcements and networking follows. This month’s meetup (Tuesday, May 18th) features:

• Allen Kim & Luis Calderon, Gugued - the "Netflix" of ...read more]]> http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/2010/05/ann-arbor-new-tech-may-meetup/feed/ 1 http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/2010/05/lean-startups/ http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/2010/05/lean-startups/#comments Sun, 02 May 2010 13:13:07 +0000 mbower http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/?p=343 article on lean startups in the The New York Times a couple of weeks ago but a client was good enough to pass it along.  Here's a excerpt:

  ERIC RIES and Steven Blank think they have a better way to build a start-up, one that takes less time and money to try new ideas and find paying customers. They are leading proponents of the “lean start-up” — a fresh approach to creating companies that has attracted much attention in the last year or so among Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, technologists and investors. .... The term “lean start-up” was coined by Mr. Ries, 31, an engineer, entrepreneur and blogger. His inspiration, he says, was the lean manufacturing process, fine-tuned in ...read more]]> http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/2010/05/lean-startups/feed/ 0 http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/2010/04/ann-arbor-new-tech-april-meetup/ http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/2010/04/ann-arbor-new-tech-april-meetup/#comments Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:59:15 +0000 mbower http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/?p=342 Ann Arbor New Tech, brought to you by a2geeks, is a group of people from various industries and backgrounds (e.g., entrepreneurs, technologists, investors, lawyers, marketers, students, etc.) interested in fostering local technology startups by organizing events, sharing resources, and building a supportive community. Ann Arbor New Tech’s signature event takes place on the third Tuesday of each month, at 6:30 p.m., at Blau Auditorium, UM Ross School of Business, 701 Tappan Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104.  The monthly event features three to five companies who are each given five minutes to demo and five minutes to answer questions.  Open announcements and networking follows. This month’s meetup (tomorrow, April 19th) features:

  • Jon Carender, Project Clarity - predictive analytics for ...read more]]> http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/2010/04/ann-arbor-new-tech-april-meetup/feed/ 0 http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/2010/04/clients-in-the-news-nextep-systems-2/ http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/2010/04/clients-in-the-news-nextep-systems-2/#comments Thu, 01 Apr 2010 16:58:21 +0000 mbower http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/?p=338 Great Lakes IT Report and how their self-serve kiosks are giving Subway franchisees a positive return on investment within 24 weeks of installation. --Matt]]> http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/2010/04/clients-in-the-news-nextep-systems-2/feed/ 0 http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/2010/02/safford-baker-joins-tech-brewery/ http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/2010/02/safford-baker-joins-tech-brewery/#comments Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:35:40 +0000 mbower http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/?p=329 This notice is a little late in coming (and didn't make it into our Year in Review post last week) but, let it be known, that Safford & Baker has taken a desk at the Tech Brewery in Ann Arbor (1327 Jones Dr.). What is the Tech Brewery exactly?  It's a self-described "community of technologists, entrepreneurs, and startups."  It started as a small group of individuals but eventually desks got pushed together, companies formed, and the place now boasts eighteen full or part-time tenants.  A complete list can be found on the website and include startup guru/serial entrepreneur Dug Song's newest venture Scio ...read more]]> http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/2010/02/safford-baker-joins-tech-brewery/feed/ 0 http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/2010/02/ann-arbor-new-tech-february-meetup/ http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/2010/02/ann-arbor-new-tech-february-meetup/#comments Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:20:28 +0000 mbower http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/?p=327 Ann Arbor New Tech is a group of people from various industries and backgrounds (e.g., entrepreneurs, technologists, investors, lawyers, marketers, students, etc.) interested in fostering local technology startups by organizing events, sharing resources, and building a supportive community. Ann Arbor New Tech’s signature event takes place on the third Tuesday of each month, at 6:30 p.m., now at Blau Auditorium, UM Ross School of Business, 701 Tappan Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104.  The monthly event features three to five companies who are each given five minutes to demo and five minutes to answer questions.  Open announcements and ...read more]]> http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/2010/02/ann-arbor-new-tech-february-meetup/feed/ 0 http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/2010/01/best-practices-for-capital-fundraising/ http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/2010/01/best-practices-for-capital-fundraising/#comments Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:17:04 +0000 mbower http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/?p=321 panel discussion on best practices for startups and early-stage companies in raising investment capital.  Most entrepreneurs find capital fundraising to be daunting and a huge strain on the already difficult task of launching a new product or service.  Even when potential funding sources are identified, there can still be painful negotiations concerning valuation, price, and terms.  The whole process, however, can be made streamlined and accelerated by developing and following a capital fundraising plan.  Don has developed a program to help entrepreneurs develop just such a plan. The panel discussion will take place on February 9, 2010 at 6:00 p.m.  South Oakland County location to be determined.  The cost $20 in ...read more]]> http://www.saffordbaker.com/writings/2010/01/best-practices-for-capital-fundraising/feed/ 0