In this blog post, I've compiled sources where people get their news. What sort of people? People who work at startups, and work with their lawyers to make startup decisions. People who are lawyers at law firms working with their startup clients. People who are founders and employees at startups, or lawyers representing startups. These sources cover the day-to-day business of running a startup. Enjoy, and let me know if in the comments section if you think I’ve missed any good sources.
Newsletter - Legal Deals
The daily Fortune Term Sheet. Whether you’re a lawyer working with startups, or you’re a startup leader, you’d better be up on your news. If you don’t want to be the last one at the water cooler to find out that Saudi Arabia invested in Uber, subscribe to the Fortune Term Sheet. They don’t mess around, and they don’t waste your time. Clear, concise news every morning. This is the only newsletter I never regretted signing up for.
Newsletter - Reading List
Scroll down a bit in this edition of the Harvard iLab Newsletter. It has a lovely “Good Reads” section with further reading—to do in all that extra free time you have. If you're interested, you can subscribe at the top of the page!
Blog - This One
Out of the Bx, the Fidelity blog. Yes, the one you’re on. I’ll admit, I may not seem like the most reliable narrator here but hear me out. All Fidelity does, all day, is listen to CEOs, HR VPs, CFOs, employees, investors, board members, and lawyers of startups. Just startups. Startups of all sizes that are at all different stages who run into similar roadblocks and questions at the same points. We not only build a product to solve this, but we also offer blog posts written by our experts on these topics. If you’re tired of pithy blog posts about “listening to your customers,” and you need actual substance about single trigger v double trigger acceleration, what a cliff is, or how to manage your bridge note closings, you know where to go: the Fidelity blog!
Blog - Accelerator
The Y Combinator blog is an industry favorite. It’s filled with How-Tos, guides, and tales from the frontlines that are invaluable to startups.
Industry News - General
If you don’t read TechCrunch, you should. You’re probably thinking that you’re an exception. There are no exceptions. Seriously—you should read TechCrunch.
Events - Local
If you happen to be a Boston startup, you might be interested in what’s going on locally. The VentureFizz Calendar is your definitive guide to all the Boston-based events to go to. Most “innovative” cities have similar sites that aggregate local events.
Events - General
Eventbrite. How do you find out that a “Future of [insert your industry here]” conference is happening tomorrow at MIT? How do you find great startup events? All in the same place: Eventbrite. It’s more than just startup stuff, and learns from your quirky taste in events. If you sign up for workshops on how to build a bike in three hours, and run every 10k with free donuts at the finish line, Eventbrite will keep you posted on related events!
e-Journal - Legal Trends
The Practice, published by the Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession. If your startup is large enough to spend a significant amount of money on legal services and law firms, then this online journal is for you. The Practice covers things a founder should be reading in order to be an educated consumer of legal services. More experienced lawyers will appreciate how invaluable this one is too. A law firm is a business—run by lawyers, but a but a business, nonetheless. This publication helpfully talks about the state of the legal industry, and new trends coming. If you’re a lawyer or a startup and want to understand the broader legal industry, it’s definitely worth the subscription fee ($195 at the time of writing). This is so under the radar that, at one point, even Harvard Law School didn’t subscribe. A hidden gem!
Books
I recommend Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist, by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson. I also love The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Business Law, by Constance Bagley and Craig Dauchy. If you’re an entrepreneur looking to educate yourself and be able to talk intelligently with your lawyers, these are really accessible and easy to read. They will help think through the business implications of your legal decisions.
Television
I’ll probably lose all credibility by saying this, but I’m going to say it anyway: You should watch Silicon Valley. But it’s an HBO show, you say, that’s ridiculous! Yes, it is. And so are startups. Entrepreneurs—no matter how hard running a startup is, you’ll feel better that you’re at least not having that hard of a time running your startup. Lawyers—watch it not just because a lot of your clients will be watching it, but because they will be experiencing it. The CEO of a startup will be wondering (just like Richard Hendricks) why they have to be a Delaware C corporation—what’s so special about Delaware? How are they going to hire good talent with no money? How can they avoid getting kicked out of their own company? They’ll go on the awkward VC tour begging for money…and they might even learn the hard way that you represent the company, not them personally.
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