Startup Lifecycle A to Z: Build It, Protect It, Scale It
Twenty-six guides, one for each letter, following a company from first idea to exit and showing what to build, what to protect and who to ask at every stage. Read them in order, or jump to the letter you need.
The six stages
Idea
Name it, test it, and keep your first ideas safe.
Build
Own what gets built, and keep what matters secret.
Launch
Mark it, publish the legal pages, and check you are not stepping on anyone.
Raise
Make the company ready for investor and buyer diligence.
Grow
Expand, partner, license and defend.
Exit
Sell or close the company without losing the value in its IP.
The A to Z
- Assignments Build
Make sure the company, not a founder or freelancer, owns what gets built.
IP Assignment Agreements for Startups Explained
- Brand names and trademarks Idea
Search, choose and protect the name before you build a brand on it.
How to Trademark a Business Name: Startup Guide
- Copyright and code Build
What copyright covers in software, and how contractors and open source change it.
Copyright for Software Startups: What It Covers
- Domains and brand assets Idea
Secure the domain, handles and look-alikes that match your brand.
How to Protect Your Startup Brand: Domains and Handles
- Employees and contractors Build
The agreements every hire and freelancer should sign before they touch the product.
Employee Invention Assignment Agreements for Startups
- Fundraising and IP diligence Raise
What investors check about your IP, and how to be ready.
IP Due Diligence for Startups Before Fundraising
- Going global Grow
Protecting a name and an invention outside the United States.
International IP Protection for Startups: A First Guide
- Hiring IP counsel Build
Trademark attorney, patent attorney or agent: who to hire and how to check them.
How to Find an IP Attorney for Your Startup
- Idea submissions and pitching Idea
What can and cannot be protected when you share an idea with investors and partners.
How to Protect Your Startup Idea When Pitching
- Joint ventures and partnerships Grow
Who owns what when you build something with another company.
IP Ownership in a Partnership: Joint Development Guide
- Know-how and trade secrets Build
Keep your formulas, code and customer data secret, legally.
Trade Secrets for Startups: NDAs and Secrecy Steps
- Licensing Grow
Letting others use your IP, or using theirs, on clear terms.
IP Licensing for Startups: Key Terms and Deal Checklist
- Marking and notices Launch
When to use TM, the registered mark, the copyright notice and patent pending.
TM vs Registered Trademark Symbol: When to Use Each
- NDAs Build
When an NDA helps, when it is a waste, and what to look for in one.
NDA for Startups: When to Sign and When to Skip
- Open source Build
Use open source code without accidentally giving your product away.
Open Source Licenses for Startups: A Practical Guide
- The patent process Build
From invention disclosure to a granted patent, step by step.
Patent Process for Startups: Step by Step
- A quick IP audit Raise
A checklist to find IP gaps before an investor or buyer does.
Startup IP Audit Checklist: Find Gaps in 90 Minutes
- Risk of infringing others Launch
How to check that your product does not step on someone else's rights.
Freedom to Operate: Infringement Risk for Startups
- Startup stages Idea
Idea to exit: what to do, and what to protect, at each stage.
Startup Lifecycle Stages: Idea to Exit, Explained
- Terms and privacy policies Launch
The customer-facing legal documents that protect your product and your users.
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy for Startups
- Utility, design and provisional patents Build
Which kind of patent fits which kind of invention.
Types of Patents for Startups: Utility, Design, Plant
- Valuation and IP Raise
How your IP portfolio changes how investors and buyers see the company.
How IP Affects Startup Valuation: What Investors Weigh
- Winding down or selling Exit
What happens to your IP in an acquisition or a shutdown.
What Happens to IP When a Startup Shuts Down or Sells
- The X-factor: moats Grow
What actually makes a startup hard to copy, beyond patents.
Startup Moat: What It Is and How to Build One
- Your year of IP deadlines Launch
The dates that quietly cost founders their rights.
IP Deadlines for Startups: A Year-by-Year Calendar
- Zero to launch Launch
A protect-as-you-build playbook from first idea to public launch.
How to Protect Your Startup Before Launch: A Playbook
Where to go deeper: Wysebridge
Revolutionary Startups is owned and sponsored by Wysebridge, an education company for patent and IP careers. Its free guides and directories are a good next step for the IP topics in this series. See the disclosure.
- Wysebridge patent law guideFree guide to U.S. patent law: provisional and non-provisional applications, claims, patentability and USPTO prosecution.
- Wysebridge trademark law guideFree guide to U.S. trademark law: searching, TSDR, registration, office actions and TTAB disputes.
- Wysebridge copyright law guideFree guide to what copyright protects, registration, fair use, work made for hire and the DMCA.
- Wysebridge trade secret law guideFree guide to trade secrets: what qualifies, the DTSA and UTSA, NDAs and misappropriation.
- Find a USPTO-registered patent attorney or agentProfiles of USPTO-registered patent attorneys and agents, built from the public USPTO roster. Covers patent practitioners, not trademark-only lawyers.
- Wysebridge U.S. IP law courseA 20-chapter self-study course on U.S. patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret law; module 1 is free.
Frequently asked questions
What is the startup lifecycle?
The startup lifecycle is the sequence of stages a company moves through: idea, build, launch, raise, grow and exit. Each stage has its own risks and its own things worth protecting, such as the name at the idea stage and the chain of ownership before fundraising.
When should a startup start protecting its IP?
Earlier than most founders expect. Choosing a name you can own, getting agreements signed before anyone writes code, and deciding about patents before any public demo are all cheap early and expensive later.
Do I need a lawyer for all of this?
Not for everything, but several steps benefit from one: filing for a patent, setting up the right entity, reviewing investor documents and responding to a legal threat. Our guide on finding an IP attorney explains who to hire and how to check them.
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