Most startup legal problems are quiet until they're expensive. Here are five that catch first-time founders, so you can see them coming.

One, mixing money. Running the business out of your personal account can erase the liability protection your company was supposed to give you. Two, no founder agreement. Splitting equity on a handshake, with no vesting, means a co-founder who leaves early can keep a big piece of the company for work they never finished. Three, skipping the paperwork on hired help. Without the right contract language, the freelancer who made your logo may legally own it, not you. Four, building on a name you never cleared. Discovering someone else owns your brand after you've grown is a brutal, avoidable expense. Five, copying a privacy policy or terms from another company, so your legal promises describe someone else's business, not yours.

None of these feel urgent on day one. All of them get costly at the exact moment things are going well, a raise, a hire, a partnership, a dispute.

The good news is that every one is cheaper to prevent than to fix. We help founders catch these before they become the problem, free, if you qualify.