It's been a while, but the next WatStart get-together for tech startups (or people thinking of creating a startup) will be held next week—I hope to see you there!

TIME: Thursday, July 3, 4-6pm
PLACE: Accelerator Centre, Meeting Room #2
GOOGLE MAP

We'll have pizza, but the drink selection will be limited, so you might want to bring your own ... especially if room temperature water isn't your preference.

TOPICS:
Responding to a term sheet: If you're ever going to raise money from angel investors or VCs (or even through some government programs), you'll be seeing a term sheet. While you always hope things will go well between you and your investors, there can be dire consequences from common sections of a term sheet and you'll want to know what you'd like to negotiate out of the deal and what you can do to make the best of the terms you get.

Thinking through shareholder agreements: Sometimes founders don't worry about shareholder agreements and just get started on their business ... and then find out down the road that maybe it was something they should have thought about sooner.

There will also be plenty of opportunities for everyone to talk to each other, and these get-togethers are always informal and interactive, so you can participate in the discussion or just sit and listen.

RESOURCES:
Guest resources will be Geoff Taber & Chad Bayne from Osler (Toronto law firm) and Ali Asaria, founder and CEO of Well.ca. Before you write this off as yet another one of those dull seminars presented by some random lawyers (or am I the only one who gets that reaction), let me assure you that's not what this will be.

Geoff is just a scary resource for corporate law. We had him lead a discussion a couple of years ago and I've wanted to bring him back ever since. When it comes to anything related to raising funds, he's a walking encyclopedia and he won't shy away from giving you his opinion.

Chad is a UW ECE grad who worked with startups as a software developer and hardware designer. Despite graduating right in the middle of the tech boom, he decided to go into law, and probably patted himself on the back for that decision through the bust period.

Hopefully, Ali needs no introduction! He also has no trouble sharing his thoughts and experiences, and probably had more experience with terms sheets than he wanted through Well's recent round of funding.

Depending on how much time we have, Geoff may also talk briefly about what it's like to work with lawyers and what lawyers and startup founders can do to maintain a good relationship. There are often frustrations on both sides, but you're not going to get far with your startup without working with a lawyer, and Geoff can share what he's learned his experiences—both good and bad.