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When it’s time to launch your venture, you’ll face a variety of critical questions — and making the right decisions can seem like a daunting task. KickStart Venture Services can help you with advice and proven paths to success based on our work with almost 200 companies.

Whether it’s connecting you with a service provider, advising you on funding strategies, or simply sharing helpful tips and how-to’s that get you going in the right direction, we’re here to provide answers that make your company launch faster and more successful.

Quick Guide: How to launch your startup

Company launch fundamentals

There are generally two paths for commercializing University discoveries— licensing the technology to an established company or forming a new company, a startup.

Launching and growing a successful startup involves integrating innovative science, a defined unmet need, funding, and personnel with business acumen.

KickStart Venture Services provides a number of programs, resources and business contacts to help build a successful startup. We can discuss your discovery or technology with you, review your goals, and recommend a go-to-market path that will offer you the best chance of success.

Before you launch, you’ll need to give you company a name. But before you move too fast, be deliberate in your naming process. There are a few best practices that you should apply to make sure you land on a name that will help you establish a strong brand.

Do:

  • Make it easy to pronounce
  • Create a unique web presence
  • Use the positive
  • Use general terms

Don’t:

  • Make it personal
  • Use acronyms
  • Use more than three syllables
  • Make it too specific

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View company name matrix

Confirm that a URL is available for your company name with .com before finalizing the company name.

Even though you may not have a website launched immediately, it is important to reserve it before
incorporation. This prevents web companies
from swiping URLs based on incorporation records.

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During the incorporation of the company, equity (ownership in the form of shares of stock) is distributed among the founders. Equity distribution should include pastas well as future contributions to the venture.

KickStart encourages new startups to include a vesting plan (see links below) to provide incentives for future startup participation from the founders.

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Founders are suggested to incorporate as Delaware C
Corporation. KickStart has worked with Hutchison
Law to provide a reduced cost program for incorporation. For more details, contact us at kickstart.unc.edu.

We also recommend that the founders fund the startup through their initial stock purchase.

Business plans and funding paths

A business plan has several important purposes for your company:

  • Builds on the business case and captures elements of the business strategy and execution.
  • Establishes a road map for the business so that everyone is on the same page and provides information for implementing the plan.
  • Provides details for potential investors to fully understand the opportunity and how the company will capture value.

Startups based on UNC IP often gain early funding through the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) and Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) programs run by the NIH/NSF. Initial Phase 1 grants range from $150,000 to $300,000 per award and are frequently the first funding for startups.

Through partnerships with a variety of service providers, KickStart will support:

  • Registering the company with the appropriate agencies.
  • Assistance with writing the grant proposal.
  • Recruiting experts to review the proposal.
  • Submitting the final proposal.

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Angel investors are high net worth individuals who invest their own money in start-ups either individually or as a group (angel network). Angels are typically looking for a company that can get a product to the market in three to four years and be profitable shortly thereafter.

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Venture capital firms make equity investments that are distinct from angels in several ways:

  • They invest other people’s money.
  • They employ full-time investment professionals.
  • Their evaluation of investment opportunities is typically more formal and rigorous that that of angel investors.

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Company boards and management

Creating a board is an important step for a startup company as it generally is how the founders can include people with more experience and connections to investors. In the early stages (first 1-2 years), it is acceptable to have the initial founders on the board. Once advisors are selected, board membership can be offered to provide advice, funding introductions and specific expertise areas.

The scientific advisory board (SAB) is the group of people who provide credibility to the technology that the company is attempting to commercialize. After the initial phase of the company, many faculty founders find their place on the SAB. The SAB is also where you recruit key opinion leaders to provide support to the company.

Business advisors are people who can provide targeted support for the focus of the startup company. At the early stages, finding advisors with experience in pre-clinical
prototype proof-of-concept/business development. The business advisors can eventually be candidates for the board or as management in the company.

Since faculty founders generally lack the inherent ability to both hold their research/teaching positions, university spin-out companies rely on recruiting entrepreneurs to lead the company day-to-day.  Typically, university spin-outs look for people with startup experience, industry-specific experience, or willingness to work with limited compensation initially.

While important to add to the company, it is important to only bring on management when there are clear things for them to do. Hiring a CEO day one will not help the company progress in the proof-of-concept and feasibility stages.

Procedures and operations

Yes. KickStart Venture Services can help with applying for your startup company’s employment identification number with the IRS. Also, your company needs to get a bank account to become registered with the federal government so that you can then submit STTR and SBIR grant applications.

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As a faculty startup founder, you will need to review and understand conflict of interest (COI) and external professional activities for pay (EPAP) issues, policies and procedures. Please review the links below from the University and Office of Technology Commercialization for more information about COI and EPAP:

 

KickStart recommends formalizing the relationship between the faculty founder and the startup company. Through the faculty consulting agreement, the faculty member commits to an annual review of their contributions and focus area for the startup company.

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The Carolina Express License (CEL) is a standard license agreement created exclusively for UNC-Chapel Hill startups. It is intended for early-stage startup companies that do not have significant investment. The goals of the CEL are to expedite the licensing process and promote startup company formation and development with a fair financial return to the University rather than maximizing financial gain. Please see the links below and contact OTC with any questions.

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