We returned home buzzing with possibility. I was so excited I could feel my stomach turning...or wait... was it something else? Oh man, I'm pregnant.
"Let's try to work the timing out so that we aren't trying to launch the company at the same time we have this baby." I told my husband. "I must be out f-ing nuts." I told myself.
Over the next weeks and months we started building plans Greg, Ulrich and I meet every other week or so writing ideas down on the giant whiteboard that I installed on the dining room wall while Eddie watched Finding Nemo in the other room. Exploring markets, writing a business plan, reading up on VC funding and learning about IP law.
Finally, in January we had our first meeting with some medical researchers down in Silicon Valley to see if our ideas would fly. Now, when you interview for a job, it's illegal to discriminate based on the fact that you are pregnant... though I'm sure plenty of people do.... However, when you are starting a company, it's a known common practice. There is reason behind it. Namely, starting a tech startup requires a herculean amount of effort, so does raising babies. No matter how you look at it, mathematically it doesn't work to do both at the same time. It took 3 layers of spanx to flatten the newly popped bulge in my belly. A skirt and jacket later and even though I was fatter than I wanted to be, I didn't look pregnant. It was a long, but fruitful meeting that validated our ideas and it seemed to garnish outside support. Basically, the outcome was "you guys need to pull the trigger on this."
So, we did. We scheduled more meetings. We incorporated in Delaware. The guys submitted a conflict of interest at the lab and disclosed that they were planning on starting their own thing. We found some fancy Silicon Valley lawyers to help us write up our contracts. We began the process of licensing the technology from the lab.
This whole process took months and eventually I could no longer hide my giant belly. It was May, and we were scheduled to meet the lawyers to draw up the corporate documents. I was having contractions the whole drive down to Mountain View. "Please God, do not let my water break at this meeting" We arrived at a very modern-euro decorated office. This was the real deal. I tried not to be intimidated. Trying as best as I could not to waddle, I walked to the conference room where our "lawyer team." was waiting.
We have 4 lawyers on our team. A very senior guy who will really only get involved in big deals. A more junior business lawyer who will handle most of our corporate legal matters. An even more junior business lawyer who is new with the firm and learning by being on our team and an IP lawyer to handle patent concerns. I've never that I would have a lawyer. Having a team of them felt so extravagantly expensive.
As we talked through our business structure, the senior guy was caught a little off guard. He had never seen a husband and wife start-up team before.
Yep.... even among the leagues of entrepreneurs we are a special kind of crazy.
