Startups Forum

[lisjjen]

I wanna work with them. And not fake startups like when a Doctor's wife gets bored and starts a restaurant. I mean little mom 'n pop operations like Google, Amazon, facebook and the like. I'm guessing this is a largely transactional/corporate area, but I know different schools have better programs and clinics then others. Of the schools I've been accepted to, I kinda feel Cornell and Michigan would be my best shot, while Texas would come in close behind (just because it's in the Silicon Hills).

Of the schools I haven't been accepted to yet, Harvard would obviously be the best. At everything. Ever. But what about Penn, Columbia, UChi, USC? Duke? Northwestern?

Thoughts?

Thanks

[Borhas]

Stanford probably pwns this area

[Reedie]

Duke offers a JD/LLM in entrepreneurship (http://www.law.duke.edu/llmle/). I have absolutely no idea how much of it is BS. I'm cynical about our JD/LLM in international law. The area here is fairly conducive to startups as it's cheap and has a high concentration of educated people (RedHat started here, for example). I'd think the place to be would be Stanford.

With that said, I think for the most part JD students at name brand law schools aren't looking to take on the high risk that a true startup represents. Does that really fit your personality? Making debt payments while trying to start a business would be a nightmare. Perhaps you would rather work with an established firm that works with deals involving venture capital and such?

Edit:

Looks like the LLM in entrepreneurship is for people who already have JDs and want to give Duke a bunch of money for an LLM in entrepreneurship.

[glitched]

how is a single restaurant less mom n' pop than high tech startups? loll that just blows me.


But IMO, Stanford seriously takes the cake on this one - especially for similar high tech startups like the ones you mentioned. It's right next to Silicon Valley, home to the founders of Google and Yahoo. But recently I've heard that the next stop, the next hot spot would be Chicago - Groupon started there and I'm sure that city is ushering in a new wave of innovation.

[bdubs]

I wanna work with them. And not fake startups like when a Doctor's wife gets bored and starts a restaurant. I mean little mom 'n pop operations like Google, Amazon, facebook and the like. I'm guessing this is a largely transactional/corporate area, but I know different schools have better programs and clinics then others.

What exactly do you want to do for "start up" companies? Do you still consider firms like Google to be "start up"s? Big technology companies need a large number of legal services and can afford to pay for them. Small "start up" firms can rarely afford high end representation for anything but the most important things (i.e. contract review for major deals, etc...). The problem with the latter is that those companies require services very infrequently, so you would be better off working closely with the kind of firms that are regularly contracting with "start up" firms (venture capital firms, large established technology companies, etc..)

Either way you are better off going to a highly ranked school with a good amount of prestige. I would say T6, Penn , and Berkeley would probably trump Michigan to get the kind of big name firms that will land lots of high profile tech firms or venture capital clients.

[lisjjen]

how is a single restaurant less mom n' pop than high tech startups? loll that just blows me.

This is called irony.

I know these behemoths are no longer startups. I meant there is a whole culture of venture capitalists where they fly around to hotspots of innovation (MIT, Harvard, Stanford, etc.) And snatch up the best ideas from seniors. This is more or less what I meant. I didn't actually mean tying myself to individual projects, but rather working in the feild of venture capital.

[vamedic03]

I don't think location of your school is really going to matter. What really matters is doing well and going to a firm that has a strong corporate practice, preferably one with a rotational system. Your years as an associate will teach you the skill set you need to work with startups.

[AreJay711]

Most start ups start locally so go to your local TTT, start your own firm, and advertise.

[bdubs]

I know these behemoths are no longer startups. I meant there is a whole culture of venture capitalists where they fly around to hotspots of innovation (MIT, Harvard, Stanford, etc.) And snatch up the best ideas from seniors. This is more or less what I meant. I didn't actually mean tying myself to individual projects, but rather working in the feild of venture capital.

Look through the profiles for associates and partners in the VC practice at Wilson Sonsini.

http://www.wsgr.com/wsgr/Display.aspx?S ... apital.htm

[r6_philly]

how is a single restaurant less mom n' pop than high tech startups? loll that just blows me.

This is called irony.

I know these behemoths are no longer startups. I meant there is a whole culture of venture capitalists where they fly around to hotspots of innovation (MIT, Harvard, Stanford, etc.) And snatch up the best ideas from seniors. This is more or less what I meant. I didn't actually mean tying myself to individual projects, but rather working in the feild of venture capital.

I thought VC is really hard to get nowadays? I have a awesome idea (better than groupon) that needs some VC. Sorry to threadjack, really curious since I have had no luck.

[bdubs]

how is a single restaurant less mom n' pop than high tech startups? loll that just blows me.

This is called irony.

I know these behemoths are no longer startups. I meant there is a whole culture of venture capitalists where they fly around to hotspots of innovation (MIT, Harvard, Stanford, etc.) And snatch up the best ideas from seniors. This is more or less what I meant. I didn't actually mean tying myself to individual projects, but rather working in the feild of venture capital.

I thought VC is really hard to get nowadays? I have a awesome idea (better than groupon) that needs some VC. Sorry to threadjack, really curious since I have had no luck.

There is always money in VC, it's just what stage you have to be at to get the money and how much experience you need to have.

The number of inexperienced and early stage fundings might be really small these days, certainly smaller than it was in 2000 and probably a decent amount smaller than 2006.

[r6_philly]

There is always money in VC, it's just what stage you have to be at to get the money and how much experience you need to have.

The number of inexperienced and early stage fundings might be really small these days, certainly smaller than it was in 2000 and probably a decent amount smaller than 2006.

Any suggestions? I don't need seed, I can fund the prototype. I need small funding for production/commercialization only. Thanks for the info.

[James Bond]

so...if you want to work with startups...why are you going into law?

[JazzOne]

OP:

One of my best friends in law school got a job in Palo Alto with Latham & Watkins doing transactional work for tech startups. Latham is a V20, if I remember correctly, and my friend told me that the Palo Alto office is the most profitable office in the firm. I had a few beers with him last night, and he was really excited about the job. This particular guy is someone who's about top 10% at my school, but he missed law review pretty narrowly. Still, I think it speaks to the range of firms that come to our OCI, and how a good personality and work ethic can get you jobs from my school even if you get a little unlucky with grades.

[FlightoftheEarls]

I don't think location of your school is really going to matter. What really matters is doing well and going to a firm that has a strong corporate practice, preferably one with a rotational system. Your years as an associate will teach you the skill set you need to work with startups.

This is pretty much how it works. Going to Stanford is definitely helpful insofar as it gets you into SV/SF firms, and going to a firm that is strong in private equity (particularly within early-stage and growth equity venture capital investments - STB/Cooley/WSGR/Gunderson in SV, for example), will be the name of the game. Any school where the big SV/SF/Boston firms interview will be what get you into the venture capital arena. As far as schools that give you the experience you need to do well at those firms, I think most schools have courses on these topics. I took a practicum here at Michigan that was entirely devoted to early-stage investments and VC fund formation, and I'm sure you can find similar courses at all the other top schools.

[lisjjen]

I know these behemoths are no longer startups. I meant there is a whole culture of venture capitalists where they fly around to hotspots of innovation (MIT, Harvard, Stanford, etc.) And snatch up the best ideas from seniors. This is more or less what I meant. I didn't actually mean tying myself to individual projects, but rather working in the feild of venture capital.

Look through the profiles for associates and partners in the VC practice at Wilson Sonsini.

http://www.wsgr.com/wsgr/Display.aspx?S ... apital.htm

Interestingly, Stanford won. Hands effing down. Then UCLA, UChi, Columbia and Berkley. Of the schools I mentioned, UMich was on there twice, UT was on there twice and Cornell only once.

Interesting...

Still, I think it speaks to the range of firms that come to our OCI, and how a good personality and work ethic can get you jobs from my school even if you get a little unlucky with grades.

Don't worry JazzOne. I haven't forgotten about UT.

[JazzOne]

Don't worry JazzOne. I haven't forgotten about UT.

No worries. I'm a pretty big pessimist, so I try to balance it out by putting some positive experiences out there as well.

[lisjjen]

Don't worry JazzOne. I haven't forgotten about UT.

No worries. I'm a pretty big pessimist, so I try to balance it out by putting some positive experiences out there as well.

I get the pessimism. People are trying to talk me into Cornell over UT right now. And I get the Ivy thing. I really, really get the Ivy thing. I also get that UT would leave me 100k in debt while Cornell would leave me 210k in debt. hmmmm...