# S6E45 Jeremy Jarrett | Legal Advice & Strategy for Starting An Engineering Business

- Show: [Being an Engineer](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer)
- Published: 2025-11-07
- Length: 52m
- Episode: 45
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-11-07-s6e45-jeremy-jarrett-legal-advice-strategy-for-starting-an-engineering-business

## Summary

Jeremy Jarrett, a corporate and M&A attorney at Sacks Tierney, advises engineers on the legal strategies for starting and scaling a business, emphasizing the importance of entity structure, funding, and contract negotiation. He highlights that while sole ownership is simple, multi-owner ventures require robust governance documents to prevent costly disputes, and taking outside capital imposes strict fiduciary duties. Jarrett warns against common pitfalls like using insufficient one-pager contracts, ignoring cash flow mismatches, and failing to negotiate with large buyers, urging founders to build profitability before seeking exits or aggressive funding.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-11-07-s6e45-jeremy-jarrett-legal-advice-strategy-for-starting-an-engineering-business#t=0) Introduction: Jeremy Jarrett and Sacks Tierney
- [1:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-11-07-s6e45-jeremy-jarrett-legal-advice-strategy-for-starting-an-engineering-business#t=91) Entity Formation: Sole Owner vs. Partners and Funding
- [3:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-11-07-s6e45-jeremy-jarrett-legal-advice-strategy-for-starting-an-engineering-business#t=231) State Selection: Delaware vs. Operating State and Transparency
- [7:47](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-11-07-s6e45-jeremy-jarrett-legal-advice-strategy-for-starting-an-engineering-business#t=467) Common Mistakes: Foresight, Contracts, and Business Segmentation
- [10:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-11-07-s6e45-jeremy-jarrett-legal-advice-strategy-for-starting-an-engineering-business#t=634) M&A Process: Due Diligence, Term Sheets, and Valuation
- [14:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-11-07-s6e45-jeremy-jarrett-legal-advice-strategy-for-starting-an-engineering-business#t=849) Venture Capital: Fiduciary Duties and Clean Governance
- [17:26](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-11-07-s6e45-jeremy-jarrett-legal-advice-strategy-for-starting-an-engineering-business#t=1046) Case Studies: Shareholder Agreements and Product Reality
- [21:50](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-11-07-s6e45-jeremy-jarrett-legal-advice-strategy-for-starting-an-engineering-business#t=1310) Contract Negotiation: One-Pagers vs. Comprehensive Terms
- [30:48](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-11-07-s6e45-jeremy-jarrett-legal-advice-strategy-for-starting-an-engineering-business#t=1848) Negotiation Tactics: Listening, Truth, and Decision Makers
- [42:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-11-07-s6e45-jeremy-jarrett-legal-advice-strategy-for-starting-an-engineering-business#t=2536) Funding Strategy: Bootstrapping vs. Debt and Equity
- [45:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-11-07-s6e45-jeremy-jarrett-legal-advice-strategy-for-starting-an-engineering-business#t=2723) Employee Perspective: Navigating Acquisitions and Silence
- [48:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-11-07-s6e45-jeremy-jarrett-legal-advice-strategy-for-starting-an-engineering-business#t=2912) Final Advice: Protecting IP and When to Seek Counsel

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Intellectual property](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/intellectual-property)
- [Growth, exits & acquisitions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/growth-exits-and-acquisitions)

## Most relevant to

founders before launch

## Mentioned

- Sacks Tierney (company)
- Pipeline Design & Engineering (company)
- Intel (company)
- Theranos (company)
- Silicon Valley (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [150: Sad Country Song](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2016-05-04-150-sad-country-song) (Embedded.fm)
- [#238 - Legal Ask-Me-Anything with Giannuzzi Lewendon](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-03-03-238-legal-ask-me-anything-with-giannuzzi-lewendon) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [068: Partnership & Funding Legal Considerations for Product Startups](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2021-03-23-068-partnership-funding-legal-considerations-for-product-startups) (Product Startup)
- [Advice Line with John Zimmer of Lyft](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-10-23-advice-line-with-john-zimmer-of-lyft) (How I Built This)
- [009: NDAs, Contracts, Insurance & Other Legal Tips with Gordon Firemark of Entertainment Law Update](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2016-05-31-009-ndas-contracts-insurance-other-legal-tips-with-gordon-firemark-of-entertainm) (Product Startup)

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