The Entrepreneur's Guide to Business Law

Craig C. Bradley, Senior Partner/Co-Leader, Technology Group, Freeborn & Peters, Chicago, Illinois, Adjunct Assistant Professor, J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Business, Northwestern University


Passed the acid test of negotiating venture capital   March 31, 1999
11 out of 11 found this review helpful

I'm a Silicon Valley executive and entrepreneur. I had to negotiate a term sheet to raise a venture capital round for my company, having never done so. The clear, concise, "human readable" advice in the book gave me all the juice I needed to swing a great deal. What's the ROI on that? And it was a hell of a lot easier and cheaper than iterating with my lawyers.

If you're starting or running a small company, BUY THIS BOOK. It's a must-have!


great book -- excellent overview of business law   June 10, 2000
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

highly readable and informative primer on basic business law principles and their application within the context of early stage and maturing companies (from day one of the business to ipo). its use of examples is also excellent. chapter 13 (Human Resources) was particularly helpful -- the information on employment issues and the sample work agreement forms are enormously helpful.

i recommend reading this book before quiting your corporate job and starting your own company -- the 2nd chapter of the book, "Leaving Your Employer," highlights certain legal restrictions that may save the entrepreneur from potential headaches in the future involving their former employer.


Practical and readable   August 19, 2006
Mark R. Zitter (Northern New Jersey)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

I've been a CEO for 17 years, and recently became involved with another startup company. Although there was an attorney on the board, I wasn't certain that the corporate form that had been selected was optimal. This book was recommended by the Stanford Center for Entrepreneurship as a great resource, so I picked it up. It has turned out to be very valuable. After reading the chapter on corporate form we switched from an LLC to a C Corp. I found myself advising some pretty smart lawyers on this issue.

The book covers many other topics relevant to startup companies, such as selecting an attorney, forming a board, and developing a stock options plan. What I like most is the authors' ability to provide just the right amount of background information (unavoidable when discussing legal issues) and immediately demonstrating practical implications. There are some useful charts outlining various approaches and their pros and cons: for example, I found the chart on corporate forms (LLC vs. C corp. vs. S corp., etc.) terrific.

The authors use numerous real-life case studies to bring concepts to life. Also, a very nice feature of the book is a substantial fictitious case study that is advanced at the end of every chapter, illustrating that chapter's key points.

The chapter organization of the book by topic makes it easy to pick and choose the sections you want to read. The order of the chapters is a good roadmap for the order in which an entrepreneur would want to consider the issues. The chapter on choosing and managing a lawyer will itself save you far more money than you'll spend on this book.