Guest Post: MotorMood, Fun Small Business Start-up Orange County Attorney & Operating Agreement

The following is a guest post:

New business start-ups are a fun and interesting part of the work that most small business attorneys enjoy working with. When the business has an innovative and fun product like MotorMood of Orange in California, it is particularly rewarding to see them grow from nothing into a successful business.  Having a small business start-up attorney as part of the team to help with things such as incorporation and an operating agreement will help get your product and idea off to a good legal start as well.

           

                                                     Back to the Drawing Board

MotorMood’s initial product is a classically simple, yet great idea, being turned into a real product with effective marketing to back it up.

Visualize a fun face that lights-up in the back of your car window. You simply press a button on your sun visor and a happy face is displayed in the back window of your car!

When someone allows you to move into a lane, you can make your appreciation known to them in a fun way, sharing a bit of goodwill in the process. Next time you realize you caused another driver a problem, you have a great way to politely apologize creating a positive experience for both of you.

No wiring and easy to install in seconds, the face is turned on with a remote just like a garage door opener. After a short period the face automatically turns off after activation.

Smart Entrepreneurs

Funding is planned through the KickStarter program with a launch campaign in early fall 2014.  Based in our local Chapman eVillage Incubator in Orange, MotorMood is headed up by several very smart young people. Arman Bastani, heads up Engineering; Kina De Santis, is Director of Marketing; Jesse Kramer, is the President and Alex Sewell, is the company’s Vice President.

One of the biggest challenges they had to face this year was incorporating their company, deciding how to incorporate, where to incorporate, and who to get to do the incorporation legal stuff.

These guys are very smart and engaged with an Incorporation Attorney early to make sure their business had a solid operating agreement and was structured properly. Any small business start-up does well to assemble a team of experts to make sure their business has a solid foundation.

From a business perspective the team have, and will continue to face, many challenges. Right now they are finalizing their technical specifications for their products. They have been furiously testing some new functionally different possibilities. With each tweak though, they have to be in contact their China manufacturers and the communication process and the refining of the costings can be a lot of work with each iteration.

                 

From a marketing point of view they understand that their initial market will be based on early adopters. The more early adopters they get on their side in the beginning, the faster their success will be in the future.

Are you interested in becoming a MotorMood early adopter?

If so, pre-order and reserve your spot in line when MotorMood launches!

As California drivers we like this start-up, as soon as you see the product you can’t help but want one. It is such a simple but compelling idea!

The best thing about it is that using the MotorMood product makes the road a safer, happier place. Let’s face it anything that does that must be a good thing. We can see that this is just the first step to open communication on the road rather than people being completely isolated in their vehicles.

While some people are a little timid when first using the product, it is ideal for people who are expressive, fun and exciting. People who are adventurous and interesting.

This company gets our “great idea” thumbs up, we hope you feel the same way too.

Original post: http://www.incorporationattorney.com/orange-county-incorporation-motormood-small-business-startup

LLCs, Operating Agreements and Lawyers! OH MY!

Today’s topic is something everyone has to deal with- everyone who’s ever incorporated a company with cofounders, that is. The topic is finalizing your operating agreement. And no, this isn’t about agreeing on terms with your cofounders. It’s about what happens after you and your cofounders have everything figured out.  It’s about finding the right lawyer to help you create your own agreement. Because, really, it doesn’t matter if you all agree if you can’t get it in writing.

My cofounders and I have been working on this operating agreement for months. MONTHS. For one agreement. It has been a major pain in our heads for the longest time. We thought we would find any lawyer, get help and be good to go. We thought it would be easy to have our agreement finalized because we are all on the same page. We didn’t have to argue or deliberate on anything! All we needed to do was write it down and put it on paper. Well, we were wrong. Really wrong.

We originally had a lawyer write our agreement for us.  We didn’t do any background research into his previous work. He offered us a really great rate so we used him for the agreement.  This totally backfired.  He sent us the agreement. When we went over it, there were a ton of errors! We couldn’t even doctor the agreement to use in the future. A mentor told us that we would be better off using LegalZoom. He was right.

LegalZoom was really great for us! Really, really great. We received our document in less than two days. It was ten times better than the agreement that we had paid double for from the lawyer.  The document worked a great structure for our agreement. All we did was add in a couple of provisions. Finally, we were ready to finalize our agreement!

We sought out a lawyer mentor that we have previously met with through Chapman University’s student incubator, Andy Gale.  His specialty with startup incorporation assured us that he would be direct and helpful. I shot him an email, heard back from him immediately and set up a meeting! I couldn’t believe how easy it was! After our previous experiences, I assumed we would spend another month figuring this thing out. Working with Andy was amazing. We only met twice and finished our agreement. He went over our entire document with us and told us what we are missing and what we should take out. Finally: clarity. After months of hard work, we finally got it done.

So here’s the lesson: find a lawyer you can work with who has been validated. Don’t waste your time. Find someone who you know is reliable and get it done right the first time. Better yet, ask someone who has been through it you have been through before. But whatever you do, make sure your lawyer wrote the right agreement before you sign it!

Startups and Polygamy

I’m 18 and I’m in a polygamous relationship with three other individuals.

You guessed right. I’m working on a startup. And how did you know that? Because everyone and their mother who’s been in a startup will tell you that when you decide to start a company with someone, you’re married to them. I know, I know. Every single “10-Things-to-Know-Before-Starting-a-Startup” article you’ve already read will tell you the exact same thing. Having a Co-Founder is like being married. It's like being married with children. 

Choose your cofounder as if your life depends on it– because it will. Seriously. And not just your life. But your startup’s life, too. Let’s face the facts, now. Your startup is your life, it’s your child. And it’s you and your cofounder’s job to raise that child to be awesome and perfect and everything you’ve ever wanted your child to grow up to be.

Do you want to be driven to insanity? No. Choose a great cofounder. Do you want to spend unnecessary time squabbling over insignificant issues? No. Choose a great cofounder. Your startup is your child, raise it right. How much time do you spend with your family? Your friends? Picture the accumulation of time that you spend surfing Facebook, Twitter and Instagram combined. Visualize all the time you spend staring at the wall, picturing your inevitably successful future. Now add all that up. That’s roughly the amount of time you spend with your cofounder or cofounders. Weekdays, weekends, daytime, nighttime, conference calls, face time, group text, Facebook Chat and telepathically. No matter how you slice it, you will be in constant contact with your cofounder or, in my case, cofounders.

Sometimes, you get lucky. We got lucky. Two of my cofounders and I were not actively seeking or even thinking about bringing on a technical cofounder to our team. We thought we would figure it out ourselves (probably a dumb idea). One day, a mentor introduced us to Arman, our soon-to-be cofounder. He originally was mentoring us and helping us out with the technology side of things. He ended up working with us so much that we brought him on as a cofounder! Sometimes, you get lucky.

And sometimes, you have to go out and find that person who will complete your puzzle! Whatever the case, just remember: choose your cofounder as if your life depends on it– because it will.

Fun, random and awesome side note: Today, you can find my cofounders and I on the box of Social Life Pizza and in the near future, you can find us on Kickstarter!

What is your relationship like with your CoFounder(s)? Is this true for you? Comment below!