Ready to Launch?

About the Authors vi Dedication vii Foreword - Jennifer Fein viii Introduction - Paul Boxer x Part 1 Can You? Should You? 1 Chapter 1 - Is This Really for Me? 2 The 'Life' of a Typical Employee 2 Your Personality - What it Takes 7 Confirming You Have What it Takes 13 Your Circumstances - Financial and Social Situation 15 Ready to Launch 19 Part 2 Practical Tips to Get Started 21 Chapter 2 - What Type of Business 22 Researching and Networking with Other Entrepreneurs 23 The Challenges with Being the First 23 Naming Your Company, Business or Product 24 Chapter 3 - Who's Coming With Me? 26 Pitching Your Idea 26 Managing and Sharing Equity 27 Your First Partners 28 Protecting Your Ideas - Intellectual Property 30 Theft and Betrayal 34 Chapter 4 - Funding 37 Initial Funding 37 Working Part-time to Fund the Start-Up 37 Once You're Up and Running 37 Budgets 38 Equity 38 How Funding Works 39 How Equity Splitting Works 39 Seven Sources of Funding 40 1.Your Own Money 40 Other People's Money 41 2. Family and Friends (F&F) 42 3. Crowd Funding 45 4. Business Angels 47 5. Government Grants/Tax Incentives 48 6. Venture Capitalists 53 7. IPO - Public Market 53 Minimising Dilution 54 Planning Your Funding 54 Exit Strategy 55 Chapter 5 - Initial Market Research 57 Best Case - Filling a High Demand Niche 58 Worst Case - "Build it and They Will Come" (and Blunder around for years) 58 One Good Way - Find the First, Tame Customer 59 B2C versus B2B 60 Path to Market 63 Market Research 63 The "Just 1%" Myth 64 Pricing 64 Chapter 6 - Getting Down to Business 66 The First Day 66 Home Office 66 Office Space 67 Incubators and Accelerators 68 Sentient Inception 70 Start-up Organisations 71 Chapter 7 - Setting up the Company 72 Corporate Structure 72 Setting up the Company 77 You Now Own a Company! 79 Acronyms You'll Encounter Setting up Your Company 80 Chapter 8 - Financials for Start-ups 82 Keeping Separate Finances 82 Financial Documents (Financial Reports) 83 Chapter 9 - Tax for Start-ups 89 Chapter 10 - Legal Docs for Start-ups 91 Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) 91 Other Legal Documents 91 Conclusion - Jennifer Fein 94 Appendix 1 - Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement 98 Appendix 2 - STAR Questions 101 Appendix 3 - Entrepreneurship Questionnaire 103 Appendix 4 - Entrepreneurship Quiz 111