Hey everybody welcome back to this week in startups. We're doing our

legal basics, startup basics, so that you do not have to email me

the same questions over and over again

and I tell you, get a great lawyer.

Because I happen to have one of the world's greatest startup lawyers

with me.

Becky DeGrais here from Wilson, Sancini, and we are going through the questions that

you and I get asked over and over again, week after week, just so we have a starting point for

people, right?

Becky, I mean, that's what these videos are intended to be just a starting point

that first conversation you would have absolutely yeah and you know covering the basics is so

important to to get it right it's so costly if you if you don't.

Yes and perhaps I'm trying to think if there's anything you could screw up more than the basics of an employment agreement because if this

goes wrong you have somebody on the other side the employee who can feel wronged and

they will take action if they feel wronged.

And if you get it right, then you can have a reasonable discussion with somebody.

But if you are just going on a handshake agreement or an email agreement, you know, this, an oral agreement, these things are not really legal, legally binding and they're very nebulous, correct?

Correct. And people's memory differs quite often without something in writing as to what the real agreement was.

Right, and there's so much nuance.

You and I say we're going to start a company and we'll be partners.

And then one person says, yeah, we'll be partners, but you never talk about how much stock each person gets.

We're going to be partners, but who's in charge?

...