We’ve learnt a lot while reading the 37signals blog, both about building a great company and also about having a blog worth subscribing to. So, taking inspiration from Signal vs. Noise, we’ll share things we learn along the way about starting a company. We hope these tips will be of some use to other start-ups, especially Biotechnology start-ups seeking to grow without losing control of company direction.
We’re happy to announce that Ginkgo is now a Delaware Corporation and certified to do business in MA. This was a new process for most of us. The key steps involved picking a corporate counsel, developing a shareholders agreement and corporate governance structure, and then setting the lawyers to work (which they did admirably). Why Delaware? Delaware corporate law is very favorable to the founders and management of a company, over 60% of Fortune 500 companies are incorporated in the state and most start-ups also.
One suggestion we want to pass along involves choosing corporate counsel. We met many great lawyers at many great firms (and learned a lot along the way), but eventually picked the first firm we spoke with. At least in the early days of a company, the corporate law services offered by most firms are similar. When we met the first firm, our instinct was that we would work well with them and we haven’t seen any evidence that we were wrong. Once you find a firm you think you can work with, pick them. You have too many other things to get done to spend time optimizing on seemingly small differences between law firms.
