10 Best Books on Startup Law

There’s no doubt that startup law is a complex and profoundly involved topic, but the best way to begin sorting through this complexity and uncovering valuable nuggets of wisdom that’ll help you in your entrepreneurial journey is to learn from experienced founders and law professionals who have gone through the process themselves.

We’ve put together a list of some of the best books on startup law available today, descriptions of their content, and what you can expect to learn from each piece of literature. If you want to dive into startup law and get up to speed on the latest developments, reading these books will put you in an excellent position moving forward.

Also Recommended: Check out our list of the best startup books.

“Startup Law and Fundraising for Entrepreneurs and Startup Advisors” is an excellent book for anyone wanting to learn everything there is to know about the legal challenges and nuances of building a company from scratch. This book goes into legal and regulatory foundations, such as an overview of common legal and regulatory mistakes startups often make, general counsel audits, and what steps to take in the pre-company formation stage in order to guarantee a successful startup and solid company structure further down the line. 

You’ll learn about business entity selection, entity formation, how to structure and manage key business relationships, and what you need to know about avoiding liabilities and protecting your intellectual property rights. To sum up the first section of this information-rich title, you’ll be walked through common regulatory mistakes and how they can be avoided. 

The second part of this book dives into fundraising, with in-depth sections on state and federal securities laws, startup financing, seed and pre-seed financing, venture capital fundraising, and alternatives to venture capital. There is also a section on liquidity or liquidation where you’ll learn all about how to exit your startup.

“Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist” is perfect for any startup founder that wants to acquire venture capital funding and raise the funds they need to begin building their company. This book begins by talking about the players you’ll be dealing with in the startup world, offering perspectives on the entrepreneur, the venture capitalist, angel investors, lawyers, mentors, and types of venture capital firms. 

After an overview of the nomenclature involved in the VC world and a description of the players involved, the authors will take you into multiple chapters describing how to raise money, an overview of the term sheet, economic terms, control terms, and all of the details you need to know within each segment. You’ll also read about the capitalization table, convertible debt, crowdfunding, how venture capital funds work, and negotiation tactics. 

If you’re looking to raise money for your startup, this is one of the most comprehensive books there is on the topic. Once you’ve read through this title, you should be in a much better position than you likely were before when it comes to getting your next funding round and making it a success. 

“The Entrepreneur's Guide to Business Law” is an in-depth book that takes readers through the process of starting a business from startup to IPO. You’ll begin by learning what it means to “take the plunge” and jump into business full time, and then walk through several legal items you must know if you’re working for an employer and starting your business on the side. 

The next few sections will dive into selecting an attorney, deciding whether or not you need to incorporate your company, structuring your startup’s ownership, and more advanced topics such as forming and working with the board of directors. 

At the more advanced stages of business growth, the authors will discuss raising money, securities regulation, human resources, contracts, leases, online commerce, operational liabilities, insurance, creditors’ rights and bankruptcy, venture capital, intellectual property, and the process of going global with your company.

“10,000 Startups: Legal Strategies for Startup Success” is a legal strategy book that’ll walk you through business law's complexities while making it easy to grasp and understand. 

Roger Royse begins by talking about the importance of building a solid team and looking at how you should structure your startup based on your goals and company vision. You’ll learn about structuring your team and handling co-founders, advisors, directors, consultants, and employees. 

In the next few chapters, this book will guide you through building value through legal protections, including intellectual property, trade secrets, patents, patent defense, marketing intangibles, licensing strategies, and the importance of documentation. 

After the business structure and intellectual property sections have been covered in detail, the author will take you on a “money journey” and discuss cap tables, equity, angel investors, venture capital, meeting with investors, and term sheets. To conclude, you’ll learn about business planning and strategy, including mergers and acquisitions. 

Looking for more book recommendations? We asked startup founders to share their favorite books on entrepreneurship, and here's what they said.

“Founder, JD” is an excellent resource for lawyers who would like to begin using their skills in the startup world and building businesses from the ground up. 

The authors specifically focus on “Juris Founders” and describe precisely why lawyers can make excellent entrepreneurs. They talk about overcoming the stigma of being a lawyer in business, using law school training for the benefit of entrepreneurship, and discovering your founder mindset. 

In the book's second half, you’ll learn all about the authors’ framework for starting a successful business and discuss the exact path you may want to take in your company. They discuss the generalist path and the specialist path, the differences between both, and why you may choose one of the other. 

If you’re a lawyer who wants to get into business or just a startup founder who wants to look at starting a company from an attorney’s perspective, this book can be a great read.

“The Startup Legal Guide” is an excellent introduction for founders and entrepreneurs who want to ensure that they know about all the legal issues they’ll face in business and be equipped to handle them before they arise. 

This book will guide you through company formation, employee stock ownership plans, startup funding, performing due diligence, bridge financing and convertible instruments, equity and stock financing term sheets, and share purchase agreements. 

In further chapters, the authors also discuss memorandum and articles of association, shareholder agreements, and how to find the right lawyer for you.

“The Entrepreneur's IP Planning Playbook” is an excellent introduction to intellectual property protection and protecting your creative works as an entrepreneur. 

You’ll learn all about intellectual property, patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets, including how each of these applies to your business. The author walks you through a detailed IP plan and shows you exactly why you need to form one and what steps you need to take to develop a solid plan that stands the test of time. 

Once your IP plan is complete, you’ll learn about IP audits, how to build an IP team, a plan to harness assets, and planning to minimize risks in the future of your company. 

If you are a startup founder who isn’t quite familiar with intellectual property protection, patents, and all of the jargon associated with these topics, this book will help you get up to speed and ready to tackle the challenges ahead.

“Regulatory Hacking” is all about the regulatory challenges certain startup companies face and how you can overcome them with finesse and without significant hold-ups. 

Dealing with all of the red tape that comes with government regulation and government bodies can be challenging, but if you know how to navigate around all of the potential snags in the process, you’ll be able to come out ahead of the competition. 

This book discusses “regulatory hacking” with strategies on business models, growth, arbitrage, and power when it comes to regulators. You’ll learn about how to approach regulation with an ideal narrative, data, and influence and understand how to sell your business to the government along with private institutions and even citizens who may have a say in the regulatory process. 

This book is an incredible resource for any business in an industry that’s heavily regulated and will certainly pay for itself many times over with the knowledge and wisdom it provides.

“Acceleration” is a resource that walks entrepreneurs through the basics of startup law and everything they need to know to begin building their own successful company. 

This book will walk you through the process of forming your startup, company structuring, issuing equity, founder and co-founder dynamics, mentors and advisors, investment and accelerators, venture capital, and securities laws. 

For any founder who wants an in-depth understanding of startup law without too much legal jargon, Acceleration is a great book that’ll walk you through everything you need to know about startups from start to finish.

“Startup Law” is an excellent resource on the formation and structuring of startup companies and all of the details that a founder needs to know in order to ensure the success of their venture moving forward. 

This book begins by diving into the formation and structuring of a startup, including all of the forms you’ll need to submit, different business entities, incorporating your company, intellectual property, and more. The following sections will dive into operating agreements, shareholder agreements, founder’s stock agreements, business and professional licenses, employment and independent contractor agreements, non-competes and confidentiality agreements, equity compensation development, and buying and selling businesses. 

At the end of this title, you’ll also read about financing, angel and venture capital funding, ecommerce, online businesses, lending and borrowing, and regulatory compliance. 

Suffice it to say, “Startup Law” is an incredibly comprehensive resource for entrepreneurs, and once you read this book from start to finish, you’ll be in a much better position to grow your company and shepherd it forward.