As we draw to the close of our “Corporation 101” series for Small Business Month here on ITBusiness, I thought it may be worthwhile to briefly recap the topics that we have looked at this month. Our goal this month was to provide tech entrepreneurs with easy-to-understand posts on legal issues that are pertinent to them and their businesses. Our hope is that you were able to learn something from our posts and that we might have saved you some legal headaches down the road.
What is a corporation?: This post speaks about what a corporation is and how the idea of corporate law evolved in 18th century Britain.
Who makes up a corporation (Part 1 & 2): This two-part post centres on the various players in a typical corporation: the directors, officers, and shareholders. In the first part, we look at both the roles and responsibilities of officers and directors. In the second part, we look at the roles and responsibilities that shareholders have as well as how a “one-man” corporation can be set up.
Provincial or federal incorporations?: This post considers the advantages and disadvantages of incorporating federally versus incorporating provincially and attempts to guide you towards which may be best for your business.
Seven mistakes tech companies make when incorporating: This post explains seven common mistakes tech companies make when they are incorporating including not maintaining proper corporate records and not incorporating in the right jurisdiction.
The publicly traded man: This post tells the story of Mike Merrill, who sells shares of himself on the internet.
Convertible debentures: This post speaks about an unconventional funding method that is becoming more popular amongst VCs – convertible debentures and what you should know when considering this option.
Sole proprietorships and partnerships: This post talks about the dynamics of carrying on business as a sole proprietorship or as a partnership rather than as a corporation.
$750,000 Capital gains exemption for small businesses: This post tells you how you can take advantage of the Lifetimes Capital Gains Exemption for small businesses in Canada.
Social enterprises (Part 1 & 2): These posts talk about alternative business structures that can be used to foster social objectives.
October was small business month and to celebrate, writers from Aluvion Law put together posts on one of the most common forms of Small Businesses: Corporations! Corporations are particularly popular among the high-tech and IT crowd because of the tax advantages they provide to rapidly growing companies, as well as the assistance they can provide in unlocking capital. The other great benefit recognized by the ‘serial entrepreneurs’ that flock to the IT sector is that they limit the liability of the owners in the event of the business failing.