Objective
The initiative is designed to equip Bentley community members with essential knowledge, including answers to fundamental questions, and access to legal expertise that they can draw upon as they pursue and build their entrepreneurial ventures while maintaining compliance with university constraints and legal boundaries. This page serves as a resource for students seeking guidance on entrepreneurship-related legal issues. This includes compiled resources, information sessions, and help from external legel counsel for specific legal tasks. With these, the E-Hub seeks to empower Bentley community members to make informed decisions.
Prepare and Participate
Student teams developing their start-up ventures need to appreciate that each start-up venture must deal with a number of legal considerations. While it is tempting to "leave it to the lawyers," as an entrepreneur, the student teams should (a) understand key issues as they navigate the legal landscape, (b) prepare themselves to ask the right questions to ensure smooth operations, and (c) know when and how to seek help from legal experts for complex issues. The categories where you will need initial legal help are likely to include (not a comprehensive list):
- Forming a Legal Entity
- Considering Tax Implications
- Developing Contracts
- Dealing with Payroll
- Raising Fuding
- Regulations and Compliance
How the E-Hub Provides Assistance
During the year, the E-Hub will host two Information Sessions led by external legal counsel, including Bentley alumni and friends of Bentley. These information sessions will offer general information and guidance on common legal issues faced by entrepreneurs. These include alternatives for business entities, processes for business entity formation, understanding and registering with regulatory and tax authorities, developing contracts for vendors and employees, understanding different forms of intellectual property, developing strategies for protecting intellectual property, building plans for protecting equity interests of founders and co-founders and more. These information sessions are not intended to provide individual legal advice to any students or student teams.
Upcoming Information Sessions
| Session | Date | Purpose | Presenters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Information Session for International Students | 26 March | Provide an overview of immigration considerations and possibilities for international students interested in pursuing the entrepreneurship path in the US. | External Counsel (Fragomen Global) along with CISS |
| Information Session for Aspiring Entrepreneurs | TBD | Provide an overview of considerations and possibilities for anyone building their startup - This information session will be followed up (potentially at a later date) with office hours that students can access to get specific questions answered | External Counsel (Cooley LLP) |
| Office Hours for Entrepreneurship Teams | TBD | Office hours to get answers to specific questions related to building a startup. Watch for the signup link here. | External Counsel (Cooley LLP) |
The E-Hub has compiled a set of external resources and templates for several legal topics that you can draw upon. These include topic such as forming a business or handling intellectual property concerns, and several others. Clicking on these links will redirect you away from the Bentley website. Bentley University does not guarantee the accuracy or applicability of external resources. Please note the Disclaimers as you explore these resources.
- Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth
- Business Division - provides guidance on registering a business in Massachusetts, filing annual reports, and maintaining compliance.
- Massachusetts Department of Revenue
- Tax Information for Businesses New to Massachusetts - provides checklists, guidance on registration
- Massachusetts Small Business Development Center (MSBDC)
- Services - provides no-cost and confidential business advising, technical assistance, and low-cost training programs to prospective and existing small businesses throughout the Commonwealth
- Mass.gov
- Professional Licenses & Permits - for certain professions, you need a license to practice in Massachusetts. Here you can learn about licensng requirements for the state.
- Starting a Business in Massachusetts - provides a step-by-step guide
- Tax Obligations by Business type
As a member of the Bentley community, you can access a network of external legal counsel for specific legal consultation and tasks. This will consist of specific legal advice and work for your situation from external law firms. Examples may include forming a legal entity, filing a patent and more. This will allow you to access legal expertise but will require payment for services. To ensure that you make use of this external legal counsel, consider accessing the information sessions and the curated resources. If you would like to access the external legal counsel, please reach out to e-hub@bentley.edu with your specific questions.
As an international student or scholar, you face an additional set of considerations if you are interested in pursuing entrepreneurship as a career path. The E-Hub has collaborated with Center for International Students and Scholars (CISS) at Bentley to generate additional resources that would be of help to international students and scholars.
- Resources for International Students pursuing Entrepreneurship (hosted by CISS at Bentley)
This page is a summary of important considerations and jump-off point for additional exploration, not a comprehensive reference.