You may land an investor who loves your invention so much that they could care less about who you are and how you treat other people. If you have the power to build something great, why not build a high performing culture that supports the people who are helping you scale? The leadership traits that attract investment are the same ones that inspire teams and fuel growth.

Be the kind of leader you want to work for.

Bootstrapping and building lean is what a resourceful founder would do. It’s tempting to think that “setup” can wait. You may be trying to figure out how to build your minimal viable product, go to market strategies, and raising your first check. Well you see, the legal entity, bookkeeping systems, equity documentation, compliance, patents, and the legal things are essential to protecting you. Don’t think of it as a cost, think of it as an investment because if you get your set up wrong, it will cost you a lot more later. A few good nuggets I learned from our LA BioStart partners at Nixon Peabody. This is not a complete list and I highly recommend seeing a professional!

It all begins with an idea.