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New Products, Smarter AI & Equity Basics Every Founder Should Know
Pepper Gross
February 05, 2026
Your Monthly Dose Of Legal Smarts
Hey there!
This month is all about putting the right foundations in place as you build and scale. We’re sharing product updates we’ve been working hard on, a major new launch, a quick reality check on AI and legal advice, and two topics founders ask us about all the time: equity vesting and IP ownership.
Small things now, big impact later 👀
Let’s get into it.
Got a question you’d like us to feature next month? Or wish you knew if that new regulation applies to your business? Just reply to this email and let us know. We’re here for you.
1. Launch Announcement: SuLe Venture Hub Is Live 🎉
After weeks of waiting, we’re excited to finally introduce something big: 🚀 The SuLe Venture Hub 🚀
This new product tackles a long-standing issue in early-stage venture work. Supporting pre-seed and seed-stage founders has traditionally been slow, manual, and expensive, making it impractical for many law firms and inaccessible for founders.
With the Venture Hub, more early-stage deals become viable for law firms, high-quality legal support becomes affordable and accessible for founders, deal cycles move faster with fewer errors, and more startups are able to make it beyond the seed stage.
We’re incredibly proud of this launch and committed to continuing to close the legal accessibility gap for early-stage founders.
Noteworthy News 🗞️
ChatGPT - What’s Really Changed? 🤖
You may have seen headlines saying ChatGPT can no longer give legal advice. In practice, the change is more about liability than functionality. ChatGPT now includes stronger disclaimers like “this is not legal advice” or “consult a licensed professional,” but the substance of the answers often remains the same.
For founders, this means ChatGPT can still produce legal-style responses, disclaimers are now front and centre, and the risk shifts to users if they rely on inaccurate advice. AI can still be a helpful starting point, but it shouldn’t be the final word when making important legal decisions.
Legal Changes To Look Out For ⚖️
A couple of important legal changes are worth having on your radar this year.
UK: Employment Rights Act 2025 👩💼
This new law strengthens worker protections and changes how businesses hire and manage teams. In short, it tightens rules around zero-hours contracts, “fire and rehire” practices, and unfair dismissal, while expanding family-friendly rights like flexible working and parental leave. Enforcement is also getting tougher, so founders hiring or scaling teams should sense-check their contracts and people processes early.
EU: Digital Omnibus Package 🇪🇺
The EU is simplifying how existing tech laws work together (including GDPR and AI rules). The aim isn’t new regulation, but clearer, more practical compliance. For founders, this means fewer overlapping requirements, more realistic AI obligations, and simpler data and cookie rules when operating in or selling to Europe.
The Most Asked Question of the Month 🙋♀️
Every month our team of expert lawyers meets with founders, startups and businesses of all shapes and sizes. And each month we share with you one of the questions we’ve been getting the most – because chances are, it’s probably on your mind too...
Should I Vest My Company’s Shares? 📊
Short answer: yes - especially for early-stage companies.
Vesting means shares are earned over time or once certain milestones are met, rather than being owned outright from day one.
Why founders use vesting:
It incentivises long-term commitment from founders and employees
It prevents people leaving early with large chunks of equity
It creates a fairer equity split based on actual contribution
Many early-stage founders don’t realise the difference between issuing shares and issuing vested shares. Getting this right early helps protect the business, align incentives, and keep investors comfortable down the line.
Legal Reminder of the Month 🧠
Your IP is often your company’s most valuable asset - your ideas, brand, software, and know-how.
Here’s the founder-friendly version of what matters:
IP created by your team doesn’t always automatically belong to the company
This can cause serious problems during fundraising, exits, or disputes
IP Assignment Agreements make it clear the business owns what’s being built
These agreements should be signed by employees, contractors, and advisors, ideally alongside their contracts.
If your company’s value sits in what your team creates (and for most startups, it does), locking this down early saves a lot of stress later.
Upcoming Events
9th February 2026: Start-ups and Operators Pitch night London – A founder-focused pitch event bringing together startups, operators, and investors, hosted by Startup Valley.
10th February: Why Sales Wins Fundraises (and How to Do Enterprise Sales Early) by SuLe - Led by our CEO Patricia Wing and Tash Rebuck, Founder of TR Sales Consultancy, this candid online session unpacks how founders can start, run, and close enterprise sales early, and use sales traction to unlock funding.
10th February 2026: London Startup Network Feb 2026 - A networking event hosted by Startup Networking Business Connections, welcoming CEOs, founders, startup operators, and investors from across the London ecosystem. Designed for relationship-building rather than pitching.
24th February 2026: Founder Institute Pitching Final & Networking, an evening hosted by Founder Institute in collaboration with Startup Networks, featuring five startups pitching live to experienced judges. The judges provide constructive, real-time feedback and select a winner on the night. Including over 150 founders, investors, and startup professionals from across London.
Well, that’s all for now! Have a great month and happy business-ing.
– The SuLe Team