Startup Legal Basics

Foundational legal checklists for early-stage startups. This is not legal advice; use it to prepare and to work efficiently with qualified counsel.

When to Use

• Choosing an entity setup and getting incorporation done
• Ensuring founders and contractors assign IP correctly
• Building a sane contracting process (MSA/SOW, DPA, basic procurement flow)
• Privacy basics: data mapping, roles (controller/processor), and policy scope
• Legal readiness for first customers and light fundraising prep

When NOT to Use

• Jurisdiction-specific legal advice or interpretation of laws
• Complex regulated domains (health, finance, children’s privacy) without counsel
• Deep security compliance programs (SOC 2/ISO) -> qa-observability (technical controls) + dedicated compliance work