Legal Topics for Founders: Navigating the Corporate Landscape Course
This course provides a comprehensive overview of the legal aspects of founding a company. You will explore various legal entities and companies and delve into corporate/constitutional documents, such as Articles of Association. A significant portion of this course is dedicated to understanding investor rights, terms, and jargon, and the business impact of each of these elements, including Right of First Refusal (ROFR) and Anti-dilution.
The course will also offer an in-depth look into the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) Standards, a set of guidelines most venture capitalists use globally. It will cover topics such as Term Sheets, Subscription/Stock Purchase Agreements, Shareholder agreements, and Simple Agreements for Future Equity (SAFEs). You will understand how to build and manage capitalization tables and cover core policies like diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Course level
Graduate
Course duration
max. 8 weeks
Estimated time per week
10-15 hours
Course prerequisites
None
Cost
$ -
Course credits
3
Relevant jobs
Legal Topics for Founders: Navigating the Corporate Landscape Course Overview
Differentiate between various legal entities, understanding their implications for business operations.
Develop legal documents for the new business using knowledge of corporate and constitutional documents.
Analyze investor rights and National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) Standards emphasizing Term Sheets, Shareholder agreements, and key concepts like Right of First Refusal (ROFR) and anti-dilution.
Identify specific tools and templates required to minimize legal expenses associated with founding and operating a startup company.
Construct capitalization tables effectively for business use.
Analyze the essentials of intellectual property rights, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets relevant to startups.
Legal Topics for Founders: Navigating the Corporate Landscape Course Skills
How will I learn?
Learning Experience
Your course starts on the first of the month. The course consists of 6 modules, and is designed to take you eight weeks to complete. Nexford’s learning design team has purposefully created courses to equip you with competencies mapped to the skills employers are looking for. Each course has 5-7 learning outcomes based on the skills employers need. Everything you learn gives you measurable skills you will use to succeed in today’s world of work.
Nexford courses are not live or recorded lectures. Instead, they’re reading, videos, interactive elements, quizzes and relevant case studies. Programs include assessments, peer-to-peer discussions, and a final project to practice what you’ve learned in a real-world context. Program content is available 24/7 during the course, and you have opportunities for collaboration and networking with learners during and after your program. Our global community of learners work at top companies such as Microsoft, Deloitte, and Google.
You'll have 24/7 access to success advisors to support you. Faculty also provide you world-class support. Book appointments with them, get individual feedback, and attend regular optional webinars.Nexford courses are rigorous and they encourage critical thinking - because we care about what you know how to do not what you know you have regular hands-on assessments reflecting the business world.
Course Outline
| Modules |
|---|
| 1: Introduction to Business Entities |
| 2: Essential Legal Documents for Businesses |
| 3: Introduction to Investor Rights and Terms |
| 4: Maximizing Legal Efficiency for Startup Founders- Strategic Tools and Technology |
| 5: Understanding Capitalization Tables |
| 6: Intellectual Property for Businesses: Understanding and Protecting Your Innovations |
| 7: Final Project |
How will I be graded?
View the catalog to learn about how this course is graded.
What will I get after completing the course?
You'll get real skills you can use at work, straight away.
Once you've taken one course, you can take more. Using stacked credentials, you’re able to take enough courses to make a certificate, and take enough certificates to build a degree.
If you apply for a Nexford certificate or degree, you'll get credit for each course you take.
What support will I receive?
When you have a dedicated team on your side, you'll never be alone studying at Nexford. Hailing from many different countries and with online education expertise, our faculty provides you world-class support. Ask them questions during one-to-one office hours or live chat, email them any time, and get individual feedback on your assessments.
While you’re learning, you’ll also have full access to the Nexford online library, which includes access to millions of full-text articles, industry reports and key sources such as the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times and The Economist.
LinkedIn Learning: unlimited access with Nexford
Support your Nexford goals with access to LinkedIn Learning during your program, at no additional cost. Explore the learning hub of the globe’s biggest professional networking platform to:
- Power your career: choose from over 16,000 expert-led courses, from remote working to data science
- Show off your skills: earn a certificate when you complete a course
- See what’s trending: LinkedIn Learning adds 25 new courses each week
- Tailor your learning: choose relevant courses based on your experience, LinkedIn profile and goals
- Test what you’ve learned: use LinkedIn Learning assessments
Questions? We’re here to help
Legal Topics for Founders: Navigating the Corporate Landscape Course Testimonials
My weekly reflective journal is my Nexford highlight. Thanks to faculty support, I continually apply principles to my enterprise – and I've been able to scale beyond considerable measure.
