Resources

COVID-19 Resources for Entrepreneurs

We understand our small business owners and entrepreneurs are experiencing undue stress. Please visit our Accelerate Montana COVID-19 resource page to go over the latest resources in a somewhat digestible format.

If you're looking for interviews from entrepreneurs who are innovating during this pandemic, check out our Indoor Innovator Interview Series on Youtube.

Accelerate Montana COVID-19 resource

covid-high5

 

Resource Links

Intellectual Property

Basic Information Regarding U.S. Patents

Courtesy of Dorsey and Whitney, Missoula

Basic information regarding U.S. patents. This guide is a brief introduction to the law and considerations surrounding the decision to file a U.S. patent. It may not address your particular situation. We urge any inventor, or employer of an inventor, making such a decision to consult with a patent attorney for specific advice.

Strategy

The following Crowdfunding PowerPoint discusses Federal Crowdfunding as well as Montana Crowdfunding. In addition, it contains information related to Potential Business Implications of Crowdfunding and alternatives to Crowdfunding.

LLC Formation
Document Driver

Some materials that may help startup businesses think about LLC entity formation.

 

Multi Member LLC Formation Checklist

A checklist to reference for starting LLC's of different types and to keep you on track.

 

12 Reasons for a Startup to not to be an LLC

For tech or growth companies planning to follow the traditional path of regular and ongoing equity grants to employees, multiple rounds of financing, and reinvestment of as much capital into the business as possible, with the goal of an ultimate sale to a big, maybe public, company in exchange for cash and/or stock, LLCs are typically not the way to go. There are a number of reasons.

Legal

The following are documents generated by Founder’s Workbench for a plain vanilla multi-member LLC that also includes vesting and contribution of IP from at least one member. Feel free to downlaod and use these as guidelines.

 

*Please note that there are lots of situation-specific legal issues to think about when forming a business and when choosing and forming a business entity.  The Founder’s Workbench forms are generally tailored to companies that intend to bring on outside investors in order to facilitate rapid growth.  This is not the case with many/most Montana startups.  But these forms can be a good starting point for discussion.