Some Key Things U.S. Entrepreneurs Need to Know About the Law and Lawyers

Stanford business school Professor Edward P. Lazear observes that “[t]he entrepreneur is the single most important player in a modern economy.” Bruce R. Barringer and R. Duane Ireland state that “[a]n entrepreneur assembles and then integrates all the resources needed the money, the people, the business model, the strategy, and the risk-bearing ability to transform the invention into a viable business.” In addition, “entrepreneurship” has been defined as “the process by which individuals pursue opportunities without regard to resources they currently control.” Lazear has defined an “entrepreneur” as “someone who responds affirmatively to the question ‘I am among those who initially established the business.’ Such individuals, even if they leave the business early, are usually responsible for the conception of the basic product, hiring the initial team, and obtaining at least some early financing.”