ReadWriteWeb

This is one post/chapter in a serialized book called Startup 101. For the introduction and table of contents, please click here.

Should you set up an LLC, C Corp, or S Corp. And in what state should you register? These are some of the questions we'll consider in our overview of company registration choices for your startup.

This is one post/chapter in a serialized book called Startup 101. For the introduction and table of contents, please click here.

There are three ways to get a great URL. The first is with magical inspiration: that perfect and available name comes to you in the shower. The second is with a ton of money, by buying an existing domain. The third (if inspiration and money are lacking) is with the process outlined below, which may yield a workable name. These days, you start with the URL and then check that some variation of the company name is available (for registration purposes). That part is relatively easy.

This is one post/chapter in a serialized book called Startup 101. For the introduction and table of contents, please click here.

This is part of your pre-financing team-building. The term "Board" may be confusing here. This is not a Board Of Directors: that is the subject of a later chapter. Nor is it a couple of your buddies. Nor is it someone who gives you one specific bit of advice. Also, don't look at this as a brand-building exercise by throwing big names on your website. Look for people who really complement your skills, really believe in what you are doing, and, as a by-product, open doors and bring some credibility.

This is one post/chapter in a serialized book called Startup 101. For the introduction and table of contents, please click here.

In our 10 Things to Be Clear About Before You Start, we suggested that you decide whether to build a team of partners or fly solo. If you have decided to build a team of partners, even a small team of two, you'll need to also decide how this partnership will work. Your only currency will be equity in a company that has not been formed and a venture/Web service that is no more than a gleam in the eye.

Zimplit is the "open source web creation tool for dummies," according to Mattias Lepp, the company's executive leader. "Our team doesn't know anything about the web and software. Oliver Pulges is chemist, Silver Sikk is philologist, and I am old music orchestra conductor. This gives us unique advantage to see and make software for normal people, not for programmers."

As commerce, socialization, creativity, and identity become increasingly digitized and uploaded, the number of non-technical, "normal people" who need free, simple web design solutions increases. And for allowing non-techies to create quick, customizable, easily editable pages, Zimplit is a good resource. If you're too skilled for tools like Zimplit, keep it in your back pocket for the next time someone asks you to build a website and you'd really rather not.

This is one post/chapter in a serialized book called Startup 101. For the introduction and table of contents, please click here.

Figuring out which wave to ride (secular trends) is vital. Figuring out when to get on and when to get off is also important. You will never get the timing exactly right. It is like calling the top or bottom of a market. If you do manage to make exactly the right call, it is probably luck. But you can get the basic timing right. It doesn't take a genius to see which cycle you're in at any given time. What matters is figuring out what to do in each stage of the cycle.

This is one post/chapter in a serialized book called Startup 101. For the introduction and table of contents, please click here.

Surfing sure sounds like more fun than work, but when you catch a technology or market wave just right, it seems almost as good.

But you need the right-sized wave:

Twiistup, the explosive SoCal event that was recently bought by a secret investor, has announced its call for "Showoff" entries. Ten slots are available in the New Tech-esque startup presentation before a horde of tech investors, entrepreneurs, and media types - including L.A.'s monied entertainment set. The showcase will take place on Thursday and Friday, July 30 and 31 at the Universal Hilton in Universal City, California.

This is one post/chapter in a serialized book called Startup 101. For the introduction and table of contents, please click here.

This was a hard chapter to write. It feels like a chapter that would work better in the final book. You have to have a mission and strategy and plan, right? So why does writing them feel like one of those make-work projects you have to do to keep investors happy? Come to think of it, you could outsource the production of your vision, mission, and strategy via Mechanical Turk?

This is one post/chapter in a serialized book called Startup 101. For the introduction and table of contents, please click here.

Venture capitalists (VCs) have a very simple job. All they have to do is find an entrepreneur who has already created at least one hugely successful venture and then invest in his or her next venture. Only one problem: that's like finding hen's teeth.