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U.C. Berkeley fosters young entrepreneurs

On behalf of Tom Kim of Kastner Kim LLP posted in Entrepreneurs on Thursday, May 16, 2013.

Recently, the University of California at Berkeley sponsored a program where it brought together several start-up companies for a pitch contest before a panel of judges. One of these companies was started by a group of young entrepreneurs who attend the school. Other groups were teams founded by those who participated in the Tsinghua-Berkeley Global Technology Entrepreneurship Program (GTE), a Chinese group that has taught some top government officials and industry captains in China.

This program is not the only one of its kind. The University also operates SkyDeck, a program that works to combine the resources of the schools of Engineering, Business and Research. Skydeck hosts contests to provide emotional support to students and encourage their development. These programs are open to students of all academic backgrounds. The courses are competition-based. Students must form teams and compete against each other to win prizes.

Disney withdraws trademark applications

On behalf of Tom Kim of Kastner Kim LLP posted in Business Litigation on Friday, May 10, 2013.

Walt Disney Co., which operates major resorts and facilities in California and around the world, recently withdrew a number of trademark applications. The ten applications involved various attempts to trademark a phrase similar to the name of the traditional Mexican holiday known as D??????a de Muertos. According to a representative speaking on behalf of Disney, the firm sought to trademark the phrase in relation to various products on the basis that it is producing an upcoming movie inspired by the holiday.

The initial announcement of the trademark applications produced a notable public outcry, including an online petition that gained almost 20,000 signatures in a single day. Opponents argued that it was wrong for the company to try to own part of their cultural heritage. The holiday's origins date back centuries and it is celebrated by people in numerous parts of the world. Although this incident did not lead to any business litigation, the amount of public dispute it caused and the unclear nature of the holiday's ownership might have resulted in legal issues later had the trademark been granted.

Business schools carving new entrepreneurial path

On behalf of Tom Kim of Kastner Kim LLP posted in Entrepreneurs on Monday, May 6, 2013.

The traditional business school education emphasizes research and writing over field work and experimentation. However, recent programs launched at business schools in California and around the country are changing the way these students are prepared. Previously, business schools taught students that before starting a new business venture, it was imperative to create an extensive business plan that would be presented to potential partners and investors. However, recent studies have shown that entrepreneurs need external feedback to be successful and the old model of sitting in an office writing a business plan is not the most effective means of starting a business.

Programs like Lean LaunchPad actively engage students with their prospective customers to test their theories and assumptions about their business. This program, and others like it, teach students to learn from their mistakes and to adapt to client needs and a changing business environment.

Ending tax incentive may harm California companies

On behalf of Tom Kim of Kastner Kim LLP posted in Business Formation & Planning on Thursday, April 25, 2013.

A December 2012 decision by the California Franchise Tax Board puts an end to a tax incentive designed to encourage investment in qualified small businesses (QSBs). Under the tax incentive, capital gains on investments in the stock of QSBs were taxed at a rate of approximately 4.65 percent. Without the tax incentive, the tax rate on these capital gains will increase to approximately 9.3 percent.

In its decision, the Board revoked the tax incentive retroactive to 2008. Therefore, investors who utilized the incentive to offset capital gains on investments in QSBs, will be required to pay the increased tax rate on these investments, plus interest and penalties accruing back to 2008. In addition to the obvious tax consequences of the Board's decision, its most troubling aspect is the negative impact it may have on starting a business in California.

How California can become more entrepreneur-friendly

By Bonnie Koehler of Kastner Kim LLP posted in Business Formation & Planning on Thursday, April 18, 2013.

California may be known as The Golden State, but its recent grade for friendliness to small business owners and entrepreneurs is anything but golden. A study conducted by Thumbtack.com and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation surveyed 7,000 business owners regarding the business environment of their home states. California was ranked in the bottom five and received an overall grade of D.

The criteria for grading each state were: overall friendliness, ease of starting a new business venture, ease of hiring, regulations, and training and networking programs. The regulatory category included regulations pertaining to health and safety, employment and labor, tax code, licensing, environmental, and zoning. California received a failing grade in regulations and received a D grade in overall friendliness and ease of starting a business. For ease of hiring and training and networking programs, California received grades of C and C+, respectively.

Hackers target energy companies

On behalf of Tom Kim of Kastner Kim LLP posted in Entrepreneurs on Wednesday, April 10, 2013.

Banks and media outlets live in fear of an attack by hackers, malicious individuals who attack computer systems and wreak havoc. However, energy companies have been the latest primary target of cyber attacks, according to a report issued by Alert Logic, a company that protects companies from online invasions. For Californians who are starting a new business venture or who have been in business for many years, taking hacking seriously is vital to prevent theft of proprietary information and even loss of financial resources.

According to Alert Logic's report, energy companies are the newest target of hackers, having dealt with more malware attacks during the last six months of 2012 than any other industry. Sixty-one percent of energy companies serviced by Alert Logic experienced malware attacks, and 67 percent received "brute force" attacks in which someone tried to use a series of passwords to access their systems.

Business owners still concerned about economy, survey finds

On behalf of Tom Kim of Kastner Kim LLP posted in Entrepreneurs on Friday, April 5, 2013.

California residents who own a business are still concerned about staying solvent in spite of recent figures indicating that the economy shows slow signs of recovery. Despite a decreasing unemployment rate and a record high Dow Jones Industrial Average, many entrepreneurs are still concerned about protecting business interests. According to a national survey done in March by the National Federation of Independent Business, optimism is at one of its lowest ratings in the history of the survey, which has been taken for four decades.

Even those who are starting to see things improve are not seeing the rate of improvement that they would like; more than half of business owners said that their profits have not risen compared to 2012. Many businesses are still seeing fewer customers than in the past, which has caused hiring and expansion to stagnate.

Is Yahoo's buy of Summly a sign of things to come?

On behalf of Tom Kim of Kastner Kim LLP posted in Business Formation & Planning on Wednesday, March 27, 2013.

A lot of hay has been made this week about Yahoo Inc. buying the mobile application Summly for an estimated $30 million. Not only does the deal make the 17-year-old British creator of Summly a multi-millionaire, it's sparking debate in Palo Alto and around the world about whether it heralds the next big tech thing -- the monetization of math.

The reason it's sparking such chatter is because Yahoo has announced that it's unwrapping the app and incorporating the algorithms that deliver the information that has made the Summly news aggregator so popular into its broader Yahoo coding.

HP board survives shareholder offensive; all reelected to seats

On behalf of Tom Kim of Kastner Kim LLP posted in Business Litigation on Thursday, March 21, 2013.

Hewlett-Packard Co. has seen better days as a company, but it as activity this week seems to display, it is from down for the count. Despite some shareholder unhappiness over the acquisition of Autonomy in 2011, all 11 members of the company's board of directors managed to get reelected to their seats this week. Though a couple barely earned the 50 percent minimum required.

As readers of this Silicon Valley blog likely know, that purchase sparked a number of shareholder lawsuits. Some were apparently unhappy with the $11 billion paid for the British data analytics company. Others were put out by the fact that HP leaders later announced that the company would be taking a nearly $9 billion accounting charge over the purchase.

Controversies aside, online entrepreneur scores funding

On behalf of Tom Kim of Kastner Kim LLP posted in Entrepreneurs on Friday, March 15, 2013.

Not everyone is enamored with one new online startup in the San Francisco region. But that hasn't prevented venture capital from being thrown into the company's kitty. DeveloperAuction is the name of the operation and it announced this week that it has secured $2.7 million from at least six different business investing groups. The influx of cash suggests that someone appreciates the concept behind the company, even if it has raised some eyebrows within the technology employment recruitment world.

The service the company provides is fairly straightforward. It serves as a conduit between companies that need software developers and developers who may be looking. Employers pay a fee to DeveloperAuction based on a percentage of the salary offered for the position. If a developer accepts an offer, he or she gets 20 percent of that fee as a signing bonus.

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