Back to Prep Legal 101 Workshop - Curated Questions for SAL Seed Grantees

Legal 101 Workshop - Curated Questions for SAL Seed Grantees

Draft for Josh review before sending to Sam McClure

Workshop Date: Feb 18, 2026, 12-1pm PT Source: Stanford Founder Legal FAQ (125 questions total)

Entity Structure & Nonprofit Options (3)

  1. In Delaware, what are the differences between a nonprofit corporation, a Public Benefit Corporation, and a traditional corporation?
  2. What is fiscal sponsorship? - great for early-stage projects not ready to incorporate
  3. What are tandem/hybrid structures (and should I consider them)?

Stanford-Specific IP (3)

  1. I work at a (Stanford) university lab and I have a side project. Does the university own this project?
  2. What is the SU-18 agreement, and how does it affect me or my startup?
  3. Moonlighting: What are the intellectual property issues presented?
  1. Should I enter into a founders’ agreement?
  2. What is a PIIA (or CIIAA) and why must employees/contractors sign one?

Partnerships & Collaborations (2)

  1. What are partnerships and joint ventures? Why enter into them?
  2. What are the biggest pitfalls of partnerships and joint ventures?

Why This Selection

Maps to Central Questions:

  • CQ1 (Entity structures) → Questions 1-3
  • CQ2 (Stanford IP) → Questions 4-6
  • CQ3 (Legal agreements) → Questions 7-8
  • CQ4 (Resources) → Sam’s closing segment

Our audience (SAL Seed Grantees):

  • Faculty, researchers, grad students building education tools
  • Often exploring nonprofit vs. for-profit vs. hybrid structures
  • Many have Stanford IP considerations (SU-18, lab work)
  • Collaborative projects across institutions

What’s different from typical startup legal advice:

  • Heavy emphasis on entity structure decision (not assuming C Corp)
  • Nonprofit and fiscal sponsorship options front and center
  • Stanford-specific IP questions essential
  • Partnership questions for cross-institutional collaborations

Questions for Josh

  1. Does this selection feel right for our seed grantee audience?
  2. Anything missing or to swap out?
  3. Should we ask Sam to add immigration questions (F-1, H-1B, J-1 postdocs)?
  4. See legal-101-workshop-design.md for format discussion (case studies, pre-reading strategy)

Next Steps

  • Josh reviews questions and workshop design
  • Ask Sam to prepare 2 case studies (1 went wrong, 1 went well)
  • Reuben sends finalized list to Sam
  • Confirm promo copy for seed grant coordinators
  • Workshop: Feb 18, 12-1pm PT

Prepared: Jan 27, 2026

Source: prep/2026-02-18-legal-101-questions.md