Hi I've done two of these and generally think they are worth it if the time commitment is manageable:
Pros: Community (always good to connect with other founders), some value in "brand" of parent company (if it's Google), PR opportunities, opportunities to network with folks in Google
Cons: No equity --> no stake --> limited incentive for the accelerator to provide you with tailored advice/mentorship, can be very time-consuming (and that's time you could be spending on your product), the "one size fits all" approach can lead to bad advice
Overall, I still think pros > cons, so long as the time is manageable. I think it would be great to have a Google stamp and meet other founders in the same space. I would also look into what the program commitments are (i.e. can you miss out on program talks/sessions without consequences?)
check with a lawyer, but I suspect the answer is no. Visa rules tend to be very restrictive in the US and as noted on this thread, those restrictions usually say you can only work for your sponsoring employer and no third party. I don't know if it's possible to amend a L-1 visa so you're working part-time at two different companies (FAANG + your startup). Perhaps that's not something you want to do in any case.
There is a question of risk allocation: if you hold unvested equity, you probably aren't paying taxes on it until it vests or you exercise it (depending on the equity), so would USCIS (who issues visas) know if you are working part-time if there's no cash component? I don't know. But the risk is really high for you and the startup bc if the government does find out that you're violating your visa rules, they can deport you (potentially permanently) and also subject the startup to consequences.
If you are really excited about the startup, it's probably not a bad idea to check with an immigration lawyer about your options (this is something that they could probably answer quickly in a free consult).
(Not legal advice). What does your business do? What stage are you in (e.g. pre-revenue)? And what data are you collecting from your customers?
If you are very early-stage and not collecting sensitive data, one place to start is looking at the TOS & Privacy Policies at similar companies. While you should not copy these exactly (which could trigger a claim of copyright infrigement), you can make changes that make sense for your business. If you are collecting sensitive data (financial info, SSN, etc.), then you may want to engage a lawyer, especially if you are in California.
This situation is a bit confusing. From your summary, it sounds like you have an idea and product you are building and you need some help with sales. It sounds like you only have a prototype at this stage. It feels very early to me to join an existing company with a prototype just for their sales consulting. Is there a reason that you won't hire this company as a freelancer first and then maybe consider a partnership if it works out?
What does this other company do? Is it just sales consulting? Or do they have a product?
Thanks for your response! The other company is just about strategy and sales consulting. They would also help to fill and maintain content but they don't sell any products or have own products. The reason why they want me to be part of the company is that they are very excited about the idea/prototype and they also bring in own ideas. So I see value in it to be honest. They could already start to market the product before it's 100% ready.
However, I don't want to transfer my work to someone else before I have seen any outcomes so that's my dilemma.
Ah OK, if you don't want to transfer your work before you see outcomes, I think it makes sense to hold off on starting a new company with them, especially since they are a consulting company (which is a totally different business). I would probably engage them as contractors initially -- if the relationship is going well, then perhaps you can create a new company. I'm having trouble understanding why you would roll your product into an existing consulting company.
What is a good alternative? Would like something that works well with scale and bulk sends (e.g. where the doc is the same but name is different for each recipient)
I don't like it for bulk sends. As a lawyer, if I need to get a lot of shareholder docs signed, DocuSign is def better than nothing, but not a great user experience. Also, always interested in alternatives even if it's just intellectual.
Another thing I really don't like is how it "forces" signatures by it's labelling system. People should read contracts, not just sign them.
Their pricing structure only makes sense for large corporations, it's extremely expensive. SignNow PandaDoc HelloSign etc have good offerings but lacking some features here and there.
