March In The Room Recap: Entity Structure
“In The Room” is our monthly investor series where leaders, entrepreneurs, and network partners gather for a discussion with Gera, fostering lively conversations on the month’s topic..
In January, we covered “Let’s Make a Deal,” reviewing all the different kinds of deals, whether they involve angel investors, friends and family, private equity, or selling/acquiring a company. There were also quite a few horror stories shared to caution against “gotcha” moments in deal-making. February’s topic was “Life Cycle of a Deal,” with a significant emphasis on selling a company. In our last session, we covered entity structure – what you need to know about selecting your initial entity type (C, LLC, S, LLP, sole proprietorship, etc.), considerations influencing this decision (such as taxes, liability, extra filings, etc.), and tips on how to navigate and how it might change over time (including avoiding costs and frustration).
Gera founded Grinberg Law Offices in 2007, a full-service practice representing businesses, boards, and individuals. Gera serves as a fractional General Counsel and business consultant, and provides leadership development and practical training for in-house legal departments as well as executive coaching for C-Suite and boards of directors. Grinberg has represented Fortune 100 companies, international media and technology companies, the largest healthcare company in the world, and he has managed mergers & acquisitions totaling over $1,000,000,000,000.
The resources shared last month were too good to not share. We covered the types of entities that you can file a business as and what to consider while filing, as well as the liability that might be able to pierce the corporate veil. Check out the slides used below.
One of our favorite parts of the series is how we open the session up with the Hot Seat!
We have had 3 local entrepreneurs pitch to Gera since starting this program. Gera uses his experience doing deals with Goldman Sachs to take on the role as the investor. Everything is fair game from the moment the founders walk through the door to their professional and personal online presences. Gera has been teaching us how VERY prepared to be before walking in the room to make your pitch.
Siobian Jones, Founder of The Mighty Wig took the Hot Seat last month. If you have been In the Room with us, you know that Gera really dishes it out to these founders as a teaching tool. Siobian definitely dished it back to him and had this to say about her time in the Hot Seat:
“Today I walked away knowing more about who I am in my business, how other people view me in my business and what I am willing and not willing to compromise on to grow my business. I think the “In The Room” sessions are a must for anyone trying to decide on what avenue they may want to take to accomplish the growth they want in their business.”
We want to give a big shoutout to the other two companies who were brave enough to take the Hot Seat in January and February. Kate and John from Primeaux were the very first to take the stage and Wade from Farm Grub pitched for his company in February. Both of these businesses are great local companies and we would love for you to check them out!
We also want to thank our event sponsor Insperity for always supporting In the Room and K Brew for supplying coffee and bagels each week.
Up next we are covering Entering (and Exiting) Partnerships:
What should you think about as a “prenup” of sorts for entering a partnership, including who (which partner) is going to do the work, can you have another job, who is going to manage the company, who is going to own the IP, can you bring others into your “marriage” / partnership, etc. And, of course, what happens when a “divorce” occurs.
Don’t miss out on being In the Room with us!
If you have any questions about our our programs or how to structure your business entity, reach out to Hello@knoxec.net.
You can find information about upcoming programming for entrepreneurs at our website and a full list of the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center’s monthly events HERE.
