Venture Capital & Emerging Companies

Today the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued additional guidance with respect to the “necessity” certification required under the CARES Act in connection with the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The relevant guidance appears in FAQ 46, and it is very good news for borrowers who received PPP loans under $2 million (together with PPP loans to affiliates, if any). The SBA, in consultation with the U.S. Department of Treasury, has determined that a safe harbor will apply with respect to SBA’s review of the certification of necessity in connection with respect to such loans. Specifically, “[a]ny borrower that, together with its affiliates, received PPP loans with an original principal amount of less than $2 million will be deemed to have made the required certification concerning the necessity of the loan request in good faith.”

Choosing the form of your business entity is one of the first and most important steps toward running a successful business. Three of the most common entity types are C-Corporations, S-Corporations and Limited Liability Companies (LLCs). Each entity type has its own advantages and disadvantages, including with respect to taxation, attractiveness to investors and simplicity.

This edition of MintzTech Connect features articles on the Federal Reserve Main Street Lending Program and the pros and forms of different forms of business entities.

This article discusses the Federal Reserve’s Main Street Lending Program, including eligibility; impacts on debt service, capital structure, and strategic planning; and potential obstacles under existing debt and other agreements.

Read about recently issued IRS guidance related to the employee retention credit enacted in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act.

This alert provides an overview of how the CARES Act, signed on March 27, 2020, eases tax burdens on businesses to increase their short-term liquidity as they deal with impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This alert describes two types of relief loans available to small businesses suffering due to COVID-19: Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and SBA EIDL loans.

In this episode of MintzEdge’s From the Edge podcast, David Ponraj, a physicist-turned-analyst-turned-entrepreneur, tells Aditya Perakath, a physicist-turned-Mintz attorney, how he started his current venture: a startup designed to help other startups succeed.

Learn about upcoming events for start-ups, entrepreneurs, and the tech community.

This issue of MintzTech Connect includes tax guidance on the treatment of virtual currencies, a “how-to” for writing gender-neutral agreements, and a podcast on the basics of venture debt.

In this article, Mintz attorney Kati Pajak provides guidance on how to adjust contract language to be gender-neutral.

In this episode of MintzEdge’s From the Edge podcast, Sam Effron speaks with Ben Zegarelli of Mintz about considerations for new medical device, pharmaceutical, or other health regulated start-ups and strategies for how to prepare for FDA oversight.

In this podcast, Una Ryan, a successful life sciences entrepreneur and investor, shares her fascinating story of how she came to the United States and became a successful life sciences entrepreneur, investor, and artist – and offers important tips to help entrepreneurs achieve success.

This alert takes a detailed look at the additional guidance issued by the IRS on October 9, 2019 on the tax treatment of cryptocurrency.

In this podcast, Jeremy Glaser discusses with John Morris the value of mentors and the role they can play in both early stage and later stage companies.

This issue of TechConnect covers common Equity Incentive Plan mistakes and profiles event data analytics company Vivastream and Gas It Up, a start-up focused on mobile gasoline delivery.

Gas It Up set out to solve an obvious problem: No one likes to fill up their vehicle with gas! Not only is it inconvenient, especially in inclement weather, but filling up at a gas station can also be unnecessarily expensive and unsafe — exposing you to potential credit card fraud and an increased risk of physical harm. The solution? High quality, cost-competitive fuel, delivered directly to your vehicle.

MintzTech upcoming events - October 2019

Using Vivastream, an event data analytics platform, companies that host their own events or exhibit at a third party industry event can learn more about attendee behavior: What was each attendee interested in? How does this compare to their stated interests? Which content and topics did they find most engaging?

Equity Incentive Plans (aka, Stock Option Plans) are a standard feature in nearly every start-up. Although the basic concept (granting an equity interest to an employee or other service provider) is simple enough, there are a few administrative and legal technicalities that need to be respected. Below is a list of five common mistakes that start-ups make when administering their Equity Incentive Plans.