Savvy with Sparring

Why is it important to think a few steps ahead and ensure your exclusivity rights on certain words or graphics?When it comes to your brand, a registered trademark is the quickest and most effective way to claim your rights. Trademarks act as a tool to easily enforce your exclusive rights on certain names. It's much easier to take down copycats if you have your trademark, and cheaper than to realize later when another company has the protection. In this episode Jan addresses:What is a trademark?Which brands are registrable?What benefits can trademark registration have?Why is trademark important for startups?Trama provides end-to-end brand protection and is on a mission to make trademark registration standard when launching a business. You can verify your trademark for FREE on the Trama website here: https://tramatm.com/en 

So you've got your startup idea off the ground and have realised you want to work with service providers outside of your home country. But what are the red flags to watch out for in contracts with these businesses? Annabel spoke to Matej Ftacnik, CEO of Vacuumlabs. A partner of Sparring, Vacuumlabs provide digital design and engineering support particularly to companies in the fintech and blockchain industries. They discuss how you can build trust with new service providers, overcoming cultural barriers and what startups should invest in when growing with global businesses. They also highlight which contracts these nuances might appear, such as Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Master Service Agreements (MSAs). Savvy by Sparring is a show where we reveal the stories founders, investors and other startup ecosystem players face when they do not consider legal questions at an early stage. Get your startup off the ground with business inspiration, meshed with legalities, including how startups incorporated, protected their works and raised funds in a (legally) smart way. You can find Sparring's Startup Playbook which supports the show here: https://playbook.sparring.io/

How well do you know your customers? Do you only know how many people visit your website, or do you truly understand their behaviour and how it powers your business? In this episode Annabel discusses the competitive advantages of data tracking and data protection with Daniar Rusnak, Co-Founder of DataCop, a growth hacking agency for digital companies. They addressed: How startups can started with data trackingData protection basics all founders should knowGatekeeping and how companies will track users  in light of industry changes, such as iOS 14.5 and the end of the third party cookie in Chrome by 2022. They also highlight what is personal data, why you might need a record of processing operations and what to include and legal bases for processing data under GDPR.  Savvy by Sparring is a show where we reveal the stories founders, investors and other startup ecosystem players face when they do not consider legal questions at an early stage. Get your startup off the ground with business inspiration, meshed with legalities, including how startups incorporated, protected their works and raised funds in a (legally) smart way. You can find Sparring's Startup Playbook which supports the show here: https://playbook.sparring.io/

Selling your product online is important to reach a broader market, but what is the process to get there? Annabel spoke to Klara Horton, Founder of Czech Crunch Shine and Head of People and Community at Gather. Besides her role in a startup and running a community, she has recently co-founded an e-shop called Holistic Superfoods. They discuss what Holistic Superfoods stands for and the journey to create an e-shop. Improving diversity in tech startups and the realities of being a women as a founder and in the startup world, is also covered. Along the way, we explain the licenses you may need to start an e-shop, when to incorporate your business, contracts to have in place to operate and how staying legal with job postings could open a job posting to a wider breadth of people.You can find out more in Sparring's Startup Playbook which supports the show here: https://playbook.sparring.io/ (available in English, Czech and Slovak) ---------Savvy by Sparring is a show where we reveal the stories founders, investors and other startup ecosystem players face when they do not consider legal questions at an early stage. Get your startup off the ground with business inspiration, meshed with legalities, including how startups incorporated, protected their works and raised funds in a (legally) smart way. Learn more about how Sparring can help you here: https://sparring.io/

When creating your product you need to consider how you will actually build it. While you can hire an internal team, when you need a niche solution with an experienced team behind it, utilising the collective skill of a software development house can help you reach that goal. But what should you consider when deciding whether to use a software development house? Annabel spoke to Jožo Maruščák, Head of Business Development at Sudolabs.io, a software development house based in Bratislava, and former Founder of case prediction software CourtQuant. They addressed how a startup can work with an external team, examples of when cooperation can work, and why having internal development may be better for other startups. -------Savvy by Sparring is a show where we reveal the stories founders, investors and other startup ecosystem players face when they do not consider legal questions at an early stage. Get your startup off the ground with business inspiration, meshed with legalities, including how startups incorporated, protected their works and raised funds in a (legally) smart way. You can find Sparring's Startup Playbook which supports the show here: https://playbook.sparring.io/

Going from  implementing your idea in a small team to having a global company with several employees, is not a jump to be taken lightly. While many startups believe in scaling fast and sourcing finance quickly, other companies decide to take a more sustainable approach to growth. Annabel spoke to Rasto Ivanic, the CEO of GroupSolver, providing market insights powered by AI. Rasto received funding in Slovakia but the company's growth is not local, successfully taking on the US market. This episode is split into 3 parts: 1) why finding an investor that understands your mission is crucial 2) how to growth your team sustainably and 3) how to scale and maintain culture. Along the way we highlight the necessity of terms and conditions and service level agreements, and how equity share programmes (ESOP) are pragmatic for growth. Savvy by Sparring is a show where we reveal the stories founders, investors and other startup ecosystem players face when they do not consider legal questions at an early stage. Get your startup off the ground with business inspiration, meshed with legalities, including how startups incorporated, protected their works and raised funds in a (legally) smart way. You can find Sparring's Startup Playbook which supports the show here: https://playbook.sparring.io/

Every story has a beginning and an end. But as a startup, it is easy to get lost in the moment and not plan for the future. Considering the ideal end of your startup, whether it is being acquired by a technology giant, partnering or knowing you are riding a short term wave, is just as important as the day to day operations. To go deeper into the topic, Annabel spoke with Daniel Hastik from Nextech Venture, to uncover mergers, acquisitions, partnerships and exits for startups.  As an experienced Founder himself and now a Technology Scout and Investment Partner, we discuss how to consider the end at the beginning, what questions to ask yourself, how an acquisition or merger might play out and the legalities surrounding it. As we are always hearing about novel startups and their great beginnings, the end of a startup is a less discussed topic. Thinking both short and long term are crucial for the success of your startup, and you can get a head start at https://playbook.sparring.io/en/ . 

Think you are ready for pre-seed or seed funding? While gaining some extra money for your startup can allow expansion of your business, advice, and a potential global stage, there are also other factors to consider. Ensuring you do not give away too much equity, finding an investor that gets  your startup, and not putting your startup in an investor's hands are just some examples. Annabel spoke to Jaroslav Luptak, Investment Manager at Bratislava based Venture Capital, Neulogy Venutres, to share insights on how startups should approach early stage investment. This episode is split into four parts: a) do you need funding?  b) what are you looking for in an investment? c) how can you find an investor? d) what are investors looking for in you? Along the way we demystify what an accelerator is, funding rounds and share advice about advisory boards. Savvy by Sparring is a show where we reveal the stories founders, investors and other startup ecosystem players face when they do not consider legal questions at an early stage. Get your startup off the ground with business inspiration, meshed with legalities, including how startups incorporated, protected their works and raised funds in a (legally) smart way. You can find Sparring's Startup Playbook which supports the show here: https://playbook.sparring.io/

While having a concrete problem to solve is primary, it is important to not neglect getting the right team. The founding members of a team and how the relations between them are governed is important for the success of your startup. This includes ensuring sustainable growth, reaching markets, having appropriate expertise and appealing to investors. Annabel discussed with Startup Wise Guys’ Legal Officer, Anni Säär why team formation is so crucial for a successful startup.  Topics explored include: Why should you consider your team’s legal relationship from the start? How do you create legal relations or rules to govern your team?What is a Shareholder Agreement (SHA)? Examples from real startups on why not having a SHA in place can break the startup. What is reverse vesting? What is a cliff? What should you look out for in agreements between you and an investor? Is it important to carry out due diligence on an investor? And why Anni says “you have to treat your startup as you would treat a marriage.”Savvy by Sparring is a show where we reveal the stories founders, investors and other startup ecosystem players face when they do not consider legal questions at an early stage. Get your startup off the ground with business inspiration, meshed with legalities, including how startups incorporated, protected their works and raised funds in a (legally) smart way. You can find Sparring's Startup Playbook which supports the show here: https://playbook.sparring.io/

Founders desire to move fast and reach their full potential. However, how can they do that when valuable information necessary for their growth is out of reach? Legal advice is typically expensive, confusing or even hard to find. However Sparring is looking to change that. In the introduction of Savvy with Sparring, Majo Porvažník and Marek Križka, Co-Founders of Sparring, explain why making legal more accessible for early stage startups is needed. They introduce:What legal support do founders need? What legal support is currently available? What is the Sparring Playbook and how can legal advice learn from the technology world?   How can clear templates be helpful? How could legal advice for founders improve? And how Sparring “grew from the tears of CEE founders”Savvy by Sparring is a show where we reveal the stories founders, investors and other startup ecosystem players face when they do not consider legal questions at an early stage. Get your startup off the ground with business inspiration, meshed with legalities, including how startups incorporated, protected their works and raised funds in a (legally) smart way. You can find Sparring's Startup Playbook which supports the show here: https://playbook.sparring.io/