Startup-Tipps

Von Jan Ritter · 30. September 2026

Die 5 Klauseln, um die ihr in eurem ersten Term Sheet kämpfen solltet

Ein Term Sheet umfasst nur wenige Seiten, und alles, was danach kommt, richtet sich danach. Rechtlich ist es unverbindlich, aber wirtschaftlich wird der Deal nach der Unterzeichnung nie besser.

Von Dario Kvasnicka, Barbara Nägeli · 22. September 2026

Vom ersten Call bis zur monatlichen Rechnung: So arbeiten wir und so rechnen wir ab.

Wenn ein Founder eine Anwaltskanzlei mandatiert, ist die erste Frage meistens, ob sich das Problem lösen lässt. Die beiden Fragen direkt danach: Was kostet das und wie arbeitet ihr? Unsere Antworten auf beide Fragen findet ihr unten: unsere Ansätze, unsere Abrechnungsregeln und wie ein Mandat vom ersten kostenlosen Call bis zur Monatsrechnung läuft.

Von Jan Ritter · 4. August 2026

6 Themen, die ihr vor der Gründung mit euren Co-Foundern besprechen solltet

Eine gute Demo zeigt, dass die Technologie funktioniert. Ein eingespieltes Gründerteam beweist, dass daraus ein echtes Unternehmen wird. Die meisten Konflikte unter Gründern haben wenig mit der Technologie zu tun. Sie entstehen oft aus Annahmen zu Vision, Rollen, Geld und Einsatz, die niemand besprochen hat, solange alles noch einfach war.

Von Armin Trautmann · 30. Juni 2026

Selling your business: six critical M&A decisions, part 6

For many business owners, signing the transaction documents feels like the finish line. In reality, one of the most important aspects of any transaction concerns what happens after closing if something turns out not to be true. These are precisely the questions that representations and warranties are designed to address.

Von Armin Trautmann · 30. Juni 2026

Selling your business: six critical M&A decisions, part 5

When business owners receive an acquisition offer, attention naturally gravitates towards a single number: the purchase price. Yet one of the most important lessons in M&A is that valuation and value are not necessarily the same thing. The most successful transactions are rarely determined by valuation alone. The overall economic outcome matters.

Von Armin Trautmann · 30. Juni 2026

Selling your business: six critical M&A decisions, part 4

You have selected a buyer. The principal commercial terms have been agreed and exclusivity is in place. Many sellers believe the transaction is now largely on track, but one of the most important phases is only just beginning. How buyers really assess a business during due diligence.

Von Armin Trautmann · 30. Juni 2026

Selling your business: six critical M&A decisions, part 3

For many business owners, receiving an offer from a prospective buyer is an exciting milestone. At this stage, many sellers make a critical mistake: they focus almost exclusively on the headline valuation. In practice, many of the most important commercial aspects of a transaction are negotiated and agreed in principle at the term sheet stage.

Von Armin Trautmann · 12. Juni 2026

Selling your business: six critical M&A decisions, part 2

When business owners begin considering a sale, one of the first questions is often: "Who is likely to buy my company?" In practice, the universe of potential buyers is often much broader than expected, and the highest valuation does not always come from the buyer that ultimately proves to be the best fit.

Von Armin Trautmann · 12. Juni 2026

Selling your business: six critical M&A decisions, part 1

For many founders and business owners, selling a company is one of the most significant transactions of their professional lives. Yet many sellers only begin preparing when they have already decided that they want to sell. By then, valuable opportunities have often been lost. The most successful exits often begin years before the transaction itself.

Von Michel Kertai · 4. März 2025

EMBARK.LAW founder Michel Kertai interviewed by Legalcommunity.ch

EMBARK.LAW founder Michel Kertai interviewed by Legalcommunity.ch about Switzerland's law firm specializing entirely in startups.

Von Michel Kertai · 4. März 2025

EMBARK.LAW ist eine auf Startups spezialisierte Anwaltskanzlei. Von Finanzierungsrunden bis hin zu Mitarbeiterbeteiligungen sorgen das Team und Mitgründer Michel Kertai für Rechtssicherheit bei Startup-Gründern. Ein Gespräch über typische Fehler, die Auswirkungen künstlicher Intelligenz und die Dynamik in der Startup-Szene.

Von Michel Kertai · 22. Oktober 2024

Convertible loan agreements (CLAs) are a top choice for financing Swiss startups. They offer a way to secure funding without lots of paperwork or having to negotiate the company's value right away. However, CLAs can bring tax risks. The biggest one is the "10/20 non-bank rule", and not following it can lead to withholding taxes and income taxes on interest and discount.

Von Barbara Nägeli · 1. April 2021

For the commercial register to accept your chosen company name, it needs to be free and meet certain requirements – for example, it shouldn't misrepresent what the company does. We also recommend checking whether the name can be freely used as a trademark, so you don't infringe on somebody else's trademark rights.

Von Michel Kertai · 21. September 2020

Why your startup should be an AG instead of a GmbH if you plan on raising venture capital

In Switzerland, founding an AG is costly – not least because AGs have a high minimum capital requirement of CHF 100k (50k need to be paid in at founding). It's easier to come up with the CHF 20k required to start a GmbH. But if you plan on raising venture capital, an AG is the better choice than a GmbH. Here's why.

Von Michel Kertai · 18. Juni 2020

Who gets how much when a startup is sold?

Startups usually depend on financially strong partners to grow. During financing rounds, investment agreements are concluded, and liquidation preferences are often one of the major deal terms to be negotiated. They are THE main feature of preferred shares (versus common shares allocated to founders and employees) investors can (and in most cases should) negotiate for.

Von Matthias Steinlin · 23. März 2020

Das Ausmass der durch das Coronavirus verursachten Einschränkungen dürfte viele überrascht haben. Viele Unternehmen können seit dem 17. März 2020 nicht oder nur noch beschränkt tätig sein, oder spüren die Auswirkungen dieser Einschränkungen indirekt. …

Von Michel Kertai · 20. Februar 2019

Find out how to incorporate a business in various countries around the world. This video series by the Boalt Global Corporate Law Society and EMBARK.LAW is tailored to help founders and investors understand how to maximize corporate law for their startup projects.

Von Michel Kertai · 11. Oktober 2018

Finding and negotiating venture capital for your startup can be challenging. Where do you start? What do you need to think about? Who do you work with? – Let's ask the pros: In this compilation of startup funding tips, venture capital experts share their expertise on how to rock your next financing round.