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IP in Influencer Deals
Influencer marketing is everywhere these days, and for South African SMEs trying to get noticed in a crowded market, it’s become a go-to...
The StartUp Legal Intern
Aug 133 min read


Mini-Retrenchments Made Simple: A Guide for South African SMEs
Retrenchments are never easy, especially for small businesses trying to stay afloat in a tough economy. But if you're a South African SME...
The StartUp Legal
Aug 62 min read


NDA vs Collaboration Agreement: What South African SMEs Need to Know
Running a small business often means working with others to bring your ideas to life. Whether you are talking to a potential investor, a...
The StartUp Legal Intern
Jul 302 min read


From Screen Scraping to Seamless Sharing: Open Banking and Open Finance Explained
Open banking is a way for people to tell a bank to share their account data with a trusted third party through secure application...
The StartUp Legal
Jul 262 min read


Watching the Crew Respecting Their Privacy: A POPIA Proof Guide to Workplace Surveillance
Workplace cameras and screen tracking have become the norm in many South African startups because founders want to see productivity and...
The StartUp Legal Intern
Jul 243 min read


Inside the FSCA Sandbox: A Practical Guide to Crowd‑Equity Fundraising
Equity crowdfunding has been simmering beneath the surface in South Africa, and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority’s (FSCA)...
The StartUp Legal
Jul 223 min read


When AML Audits Knock: Red Flags Fintech SMEs Need to Catch Early
South African fintechs are no strangers to compliance panic. The country is still on the FATF grey list and will only know in October...
The StartUp Legal Intern
Jul 192 min read


Mini-Retrenchments under Section 189: A Straight-Talk Survival Guide for South African SMEs
When you run a lean shop with fewer than fifty people it is tempting to treat a retrenchment as a quick paperwork exercise but Section...
The StartUp Legal
Jul 173 min read


When Payroll Meets Passports, Remote Work, Visas and Tax Traps for South African SMEs
South African entrepreneurs are discovering that hiring globally is easier than ever but the legal landscape still speaks the language of...
The StartUp Legal Intern
Jul 153 min read


Cyber Insurance 101 for South African Startups
Picture this. A Friday night push to production, pizza boxes everywhere, and then the laptops freeze. A bright red screen demands bitcoin...
The StartUp Legal Intern
Jul 123 min read


ESG Clauses in SME Supply Chain Contracts
The big dogs in every sector have promised shareholders and regulators that their products will arrive with a lighter carbon footprint...
The StartUp Legal
Jul 103 min read


One Hat, Two Hustles: Keeping Your Director Duties Clean When Ventures Collide
The modern founder rarely has a single business card anymore. Many South African entrepreneurs juggle board seats across a main venture...
The StartUp Legal Intern
Jul 83 min read


Local Data Centres or Global Cloud Zones Balancing Speed Cost and POPIA Compliance
Choosing where to park your data is a bigger decision than most founders think. A decade ago, you took what you could get and prayed the...
The StartUp Legal
Jul 53 min read


From WhatsApp Deal to Written Contract: Turning informal chats into enforceable agreements before money changes hands
Many small businesses seal quick deals in a WhatsApp chat because it feels faster than drafting a contract. The vibe is friendly and the...
mzuzukilesoni
Jul 33 min read


POPIA on a Shoestring
Data privacy can look impossible when you are juggling invoices payroll and product builds. The Protection of Personal Information Act...
The StartUp Legal
Jul 12 min read


Code Cash and Compliance: Your Legal Roadmap Before the First Line of Code
Picture this. You have a killer idea, a few caffeine-fuelled friends, and a blank repo. You decide to ship fast, chase users, and park...
The StartUp Legal Intern
Jun 282 min read


From Joburg to Delaware: How South African Startups Rewire Their Paperwork for Global Capital
Many founders assume the funding game is stacked against African startups because of geography or ticket size, yet the real difference...
The StartUp Legal
Jun 263 min read


No Budget No Problem: South African Artists Protecting Their Names from Fake Gigs
Money should not be the wall that stops you from defending your name. South Africa has a few accessible routes that bypass the...
The StartUp Legal
Jun 242 min read


When Your Startup Crashes Like a Golf 1 with No Brakes: Legal Cleanup 101
So your tech startup has crashed. Not in the dramatic, Twitter-is-down kind of way. More like a Golf 1 that took a sharp bend too fast...
The StartUp Legal Intern
Jun 213 min read


The legal risks of ‘creative’ marketing tactics: Where to draw the line between clever and unlawful
Marketing is about grabbing attention and making your brand stick in people’s minds. In a noisy world, that often means pushing...
The StartUp Legal
Jun 193 min read
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