Jeff Unger wants to waive $725,000 worth of legal fees to help 725 first-time entrepreneurs incorporate their business.
Why?
Because he’s done it before, he did it well, and it changed the world. Jeff, a Los Angeles-based attorney and founder of eMinutes, a corporate law firm, just spent most of the last 12 months helping 500 small business owners in California, New York, Texas, and the District of Columbia form their companies, to the tune of $500,000 in legal fees waived and $100,000 in expenses absorbed.
Jeff believes in helping first-time entrepreneurs, and has embarked on a quest to help first-time entrepreneurs incorporate for free. It’s part of his larger vision for eMinutes, which is committed to being the world’s best option for forming and maintaining small businesses.
“Today’s do-it-yourself-incorporation mentality and misinformation about business formation being provided by ‘experts’ who have no knowledge of the law is misleading inexperienced entrepreneurs,” argues Jeff. “As a result, they end up with a business entity that may leave them exposed. At eMinutes, we are determined to provide as many first-time entrepreneurs as possible with the right counsel and guidance so their businesses have an honest opportunity to succeed.”
eMinutes is not going about this willy-nilly. While 100% of its legal fees will be waived for 725 eligible first-time entrepreneurs, those individuals must demonstrate a sincere commitment to building their business, including having such things as a clearly-defined business plan, or an active website. All eligible entrepreneurs must have retained the services of a CPA and agree to pay filing fees.
Take the case of Pop Karma‘s founder Jean Tsai, for example. Jean is obsessed with food quality and she is also one of the 500 first-time entrepreneurs eMinutes helped in Phase I of the entrepreneur program. As an incorrigible lifelong snacker, she searched for a delicious and healthy snack that was made from sustainably grown real food ingredients. Never finding one, she decided to start Pop Karma after working in the corporate world and earning her Master’s Degree in Business Administration at Dartmouth College.
“The expertise eMinutes offers is superior. Like many entrepreneurs, I agonized over whether to be an S-Corp or an LLC, and even thought about incorporating by myself,” she says. “eMinutes provided exceptional guidance and asked the right questions that helped me decide what entity was right for my business. They made the entire process simple and incredibly fast – it would have taken a much greater investment of personal time on my part if I had done it on my own, and I wouldn’t been as successful.”
Christina Eisenstein, founder of Macaroon, is another of eMinute’s first 500. She fell in love with the French macaroon years ago, and decided to leave the advertising world for sweeter pastures. Although born in the Midwest, she comes from a long lineage of bakers in Paris and is committed to combining her French roots with the American palate. What she didn’t have was knowledge of how to form a business.
“eMinutes saved me money on legal fees that I was able put back into my business. They completed all the paperwork and submitted it quickly, with virtually no effort on my end,” she says. “Their attorneys are professional, readily available and eager to help; they are truly champions for entrepreneurs.”
If you’re an entrepreneur wanting to take your business to the next level, click HERE or call (310) 820-1000 in Los Angeles, (212) 772-7770 in New York, or (512) 942-1100 in Austin, Texas.
NOTE: I interviewed Jeff a while back on legal missteps in entrepreneurism, which you can read here: The Six Biggest Legal Mistakes Small Business Owners Make.