Dover Startup Attorneys & Lawyers

Accelerator Programs: What Are They?

Accelerator programs, also known as seed accelerators, help companies learn how to run their business by providing mentoring, education, and financing. Mentors are provided to help entrepreneurs navigate the competitive and sometimes confusing start-up world and may even help with funding. The programs usually last for relatively short period of time (e.g., a few months) where the aim is to teach the participant several years’ worth of experiences and information in order to accelerate the timeline for success. The program typically ends with a public pitch event where business owners can present their ideas to potential investors. Accelerators generally ask for a small piece of the company in return.

Accelerators are similar to business incubators with some distinctions -- for example, incubators generally focus on growing an idea while accelerators generally focus on increasing the rate

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What Is Legal Entity?

A legal entity refers to a legally standing or lawful partnership. That partnership could be an association, a trust, a proprietorship, a corporation, or an individual. All such entities are legally able to be accountable for activities against the law, enter contracts or agreements, incur and pay back debts, be sued and sue other entities, and assume obligations. While legal entities are able to do many things, a legal entity cannot hold office or vote. 

Legal entities are frequently seen in scenarios and instances where an individual can take a class-action lawsuit against a company or the manufacturer that supplies the products for a company. Another scenario where the term "legal entity" applies is when every member of a band signs a contract for a record. The band is the legal entity, which is why the band members can enter a contract.

What Is a Legal Entity Identifier?

A Legal Entity

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Senior Debt: What Is It?

Senior debt is the debt that is paid back first if the borrower runs into trouble paying back debt. It's the lowest cost and most common funding available, often from a bank. Banks can lend money for a small percent, such as 2 to 5 percent, and in return, they get prioritized as senior debt.

Senior gets first priority and must be repaid first before any other creditors receive payments. These less important debts are called junior debts. Senior debt is typically from a bank and banks can provide you with lower interest rates (after all, they have all that "free" money that people put into their savings account that they can lend out).

This saves you big time when it comes to how much you'll pay in interest. Bank loans typically come with 2 to 5 percent in interest, whereas junior debt lenders come in at about 5 to 12 percent. As long as you make the required payments to banks on top

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What is a Restricted Stock Unit?

A Restricted Stock Unit (RSU) refers to a grant of a value equal to an amount of a company’s common stock. The RSU is typically granted to a new or valuable employee as an incentive for employment or to meet specified performance goals. In the case of a new employee, the RSU plan is commonly included as part of the employee’s initial compensation package. RSUs are very popular today with startups and technology companies seeking to hire and retain highly skilled and talented employees.

How Restricted Stock Units Work

With an RSU plan, the company offers the employee an economic interest in the company stated as a specific number of shares of company stock. The stock is not immediately given out to the employee, however, but is instead awarded at a future time upon completion of a stated goal or on reaching a stated date. In other words, the RSU plan grants a &ldqu

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