Assignment:
One of the most influential technology companies today is Facebook® and they have grown dramatically since they originally launched in 2004. In order to get off the ground, the company's founders had promised large shares of ownership to those who helped initially finance it. As the company began to expand, a large number of ownership rights lawsuits followed as a result of legal missteps made in the early days of the business. This resulted in years of lawsuits and billions of dollars in settlements.
In order to get a better look into this; you will be reading a case study, on pages 398-399 of your eBook, that focuses on Facebook and some of the legal missteps they made. Once you read the real-world case on this company, address the following questions:
- How do you know if you have a potentially successful company on your hands when you launch it?
- Should all companies take the precautions Facebook failed to take or can some companies be more relaxed about such legal issues as partnerships and ownership? Why or why not?
- What types of agreements and contracts do you think Mark Zuckerberg, his partners, and Facebook's early investors should have drawn up?
- What contracts do you think the Winklevoss twins and Divya Narendra should have drawn up when they hired Zuckerberg to work for their company?
Write your answer in 200 words.