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When Negotiating Term Sheets, How Much Is Too Much?

Over 40 million Americans have filed for unemployment during the pandemic—real jobless rate over 23.9%

China’s Hong Kong move adds to a stew of tensions

Stocks continue to rally despite China-Hong Kong tensions and mounting jobless claims

How to Start a Limited Liability Company (LLC)

Coronavirus has made digital taxes an even bigger threat to US economy

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When Negotiating Term Sheets, How Much Is Too Much?

wayne May 28, 2020


5 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.


It was pounding rain outside my bedroom when my co-founder bursted through the door in a panic. He didn’t wait for my reaction to explain his ever pressing fear. 

“One of our investor leads is on the phone and he’s about to walk away. He said we were too aggressive! How do we save this?

I responded immediately: “What did we do? We asked way too much on the valuation, right?”

“I bid him up on price too much and he is just threatening to walk away. He is not even picking up the phone. He just periodically texts me now. It’s very scary.”

“Give it some time,” I responded. “Then, let him get in touch with you on his schedule. Make him want to come to you.” 

Although my co-founder and I quickly closed this particular deal in a matter of days, it shows how entrepreneurs can take a negotiation too far with investors and easily screw up a potential investment. 

The pandemic has historically upended the venture capital market. According to Techcrunch, anecdotal evidence indicates the venture market has either frozen in place

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Over 40 million Americans have filed for unemployment during the pandemic—real jobless rate over 23.9%

wayne May 28, 2020

Subscribe to How To Reopen, our weekly newsletter on what it takes to reboot business in the midst of a pandemic.

More than 2.1 million Americans filed initial unemployment claims last week, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. That brings the total jobless claims since mid-March to a staggering 40.8 million.

The latest batch of 2.1 million claims are down from the 2.4 million the week prior. While the number of weekly jobless claims has dropped eight consecutive weeks since topping out at 6.9 million in April, it still marks 10 straight weeks with claims topping 2 million. Prior to the shutdown of shops, offices and businesses across the country, weekly U.S. unemployment claims had averaged 218,000.

Another week with unemployment claims topping 2.1 million means the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 14.7% official unemployment rate appears even more out of touch with the real jobless rate. Since mid-April—the period covered by the BLS unemployment rate—another 14.3 million Americans have claimed unemployment benefits. When those 14.3 million are added to the already 23.1 million unemployed Americans in the latest jobs reports, it brings the total jobless over 37.4 million. That would be a real unemployment rate …

China’s Hong Kong move adds to a stew of tensions

wayne May 28, 2020

This is the web version of CEO Daily. To get it delivered to your inbox, sign up here.

Good morning. David Meyer here in Berlin, covering for Alan.

This is not the geopolitical worst of times, but neither is it the best. Right now there are a number of reasons to be looking in China’s direction with a degree of unease.

The most urgent issue is the approval by Chinese lawmakers of an expansion of the country’s national security law to Hong Kong. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has already claimed that Hong Kong no longer merits its special trade status as far as the U.S. is concerned. The new law is likely to trigger more official pushback from the Trump administration, and the question now is whether multinationals will continue to use Hong Kong as a regional base. The Hang Seng fell around 1% on the news.

This all spells further trouble for U.S.-China diplomatic and trade relations—the commitments made in the two countries’ “phase one” trade deal are already looking rickety to say the least, and accusations about the origins of COVID-19 are festering on both sides.

But we can also add into the mix the …

Stocks continue to rally despite China-Hong Kong tensions and mounting jobless claims

wayne May 28, 2020

This is the web version of the Bull Sheet, Fortune’s no-BS daily newsletter on the markets. Sign up to receive it in your inbox here.

Good morning, Bull Sheeters. How’s this for a matchup? The pessimism around China-Hong Kong tensions and U.S. jobless claims is facing off against investor euphoria over stimulus packages. So far the bulls have the upper hand.

There’s plenty of green on the screens.

Let’s see where investors are putting their cash.

Markets update

Asia

  • The Asian indices are mostly higher in afternoon trade.
  • The Nikkei is up more than 2% after the Japanese government approved what some are calling the “world’s biggest” coronavirus stimulus package (in GDP terms).
  • Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is that lone patch of red in Asia. It was down at the start of the trading session after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a Tweet Hong Kong is no longer considered fully autonomous, throwing its special trading status into question.
  • The Hang Seng then fell further, down as much as 1.2%, after the legislature in Beijing approved, as expected, the new national security law that’s tailor-made for Hong Kong.

Europe

  • European bourses climbed out
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How to Start a Limited Liability Company (LLC)

wayne May 27, 2020


5 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.


When choosing a small business structure, many owners go for a limited liability company (LLC) because of the protection from liabilities it provides. If you’ve thought about starting an LLC, follow this guide for step-by-step information. 

What is a limited liability company?

LLCs are a type of business entity that are similar to corporations in many ways. As the name suggests, LLCs provide personal liability protection to their owners. They also boast a lot of flexibility in management, taxation, and the allocation of profits and losses. 

As a company, an LLC can own assets and bank accounts; sign leases, loans, and other contracts; and file a lawsuit or be sued. Since it’s legally a separate entity from its owners, no one person is liable for business obligations or debts.

Related: Need a Business Idea? Here Are 55.

A step-by-step guide

Let’s take a look at the six steps dividing you and your limited liability company.

1. Select the state

It’s best to open any company, including an LLC, where you plan to do your business. If the company exists physically abroad, make sure to

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Coronavirus has made digital taxes an even bigger threat to US economy

wayne May 27, 2020

Damien Meyer | AFP | Getty Images

Much of the recent trade discussion has focused on how the coronavirus has increased tension between the United States and China, energized efforts to localize supply chains, and spawned countless export control measures.  But the coronavirus has also contributed to another disturbing trend – momentum for digital service taxes in countries around the world. 

The United States is engaged in bilateral trade negotiations with many of the key culprits, and must condition outcomes on clear commitments to refrain from adopting unilateral and discriminatory tax measures that target America’s most innovative companies.

Digital services taxes are nothing new, of course. France, a primary proponent, has been working on its policy for years and encouraging its European neighbors to follow suit. France claims the tax is necessary to address the under-taxation of digital companies, but the measure’s design and comments by local politicians suggest a more discriminatory intent. 

Indeed, the U.S. Trade Representative’s Section 301 investigation into the French measure reveals that policymakers carefully calibrated it to squeeze as much revenue from American companies as possible while exonerating local competitors. And many French politicians did not even try to hide the true purpose, simply calling

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