Episode Details

Today we're here to discuss partnerships. Specifically, how to enter partnerships and protect everyone's interests. We'll explore two verticals: 1) strictly financial partners; and 2) partners who will be working in the business with you.

You may remember, I recently had Jason Boso on the show. During that interview, Boso stressed the importance of finding a lawyer to help you protect your intellectual property. That lawyer who helped Boso, that was David T. Denney, and that's who we're speaking with in today.

David T. Denney Founded the Denney Law Group in early 2007, where he and his team represent founders, innovators, entrepreneurs and companies doing hospitality well.

Before forming his group David practiced with a large Dallas law firm where he created the Food, Beverage and Hospitality Practice Group.

On top of all this david will be president of the Greater Dallas Restaurant Associate in the 2019-2020 fiscal year.

"business like life is all about how you make people feel. It is that simple and that hard.

• Getting into the right mindset before approaching investors.
  • You're not protecting yourself from investors, you're protecting yourself from yourself.
  • Don't go to investors looking to get value. Go to investors looking to be of value to them.
• Starting with the end in mind when you are structuring your business on paper and legally. Do you want to be a franchise, or a single unit? Ask yourself what is the ultimate goal looks like, and start building your business, on day one, to achieve that ultimate goal.
• Before locking down a domain name, make sure you can get the name of your business and brand federally trademarked.
• Making your business plan compliant with law before reaching out to investors.
• How to structure an operations agreement in a way that gives operational control to the concept creator and a good return for investors.
• Things you can do to make investing in your restaurant more appealing to investors.
• Why investor communication is so critical.
• Being more open-minded to what you could and should be trademarking in your business.
• How to arrange an operations agreement with partners who will be working in the restaurant with you.
• Protecting yourself from the 4 D's (Death, Disability, Divorce, and Deadbeats) with a buy sell agreement.
• Working "tie breakers" into your operations agreement.
• Factoring in an exit strategy with a "tag along and drag along provision".

Resources mentioned:

• Legal Checklist When Entering Partnerships (PDF)

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