Preparing the Proper Ethicaland Leg

Preparing the Proper Ethical
and Legal Foundation
OPENING PROFILE
XPLOSAFE
Proceeding on a Firm Legal Foundation
Web: www.xpIosafe.com
Twitter: XploSafe
Facebook: XploSafe, LLC
i LEARNING OBIECTIVES
_ _ 3Afte tud' th's ha t yo ho ldbe
the metal detector at airport security. Shortly after you walk ,.ea,.f,,io: ying I C P er Us U
through, you observe an interesting scene at the security line next 3
‘ 1 . Describe how to create a strong ethical
culture in an entrepreneurial venture.
. . Explain the importance of “leading by
magine the following scenario. You’re next in lineto walk through
to you. A backpack that passed through the scanning device for ,
carry-on luggage has raised concern. A TSA agent identifies the 2
owner of the backpack and pulls the owner along with the back-
pack aside. The backpack is searched and a bottle of water is
revealed. instead of asking the backpack’s owner to throw the
bottle of water away, the TSA agent removes a small bottle from his
shirt pocket, opens the bottle, and places two drops of an ink-like
substance in the water. The ink is initially dark blue and starts to
change to pale yellow. The TSA agent immediately alerts a
uniformed police officer who is nearby. The police officer asks the
owner of the bag to “step aside” and they start moving away. Within
seconds, you see several other TSA agents and another uniformed
police officer gather around the owner of the backpack.
This scenario may someday happen as a result of work being
done by XploSafe, an explosives detection start-up. The ink-like
substance in the product described previously, called Xp|oSens K`l1
contains metal-oxide particles. When the particles come in contact
with peroxide-based explosives, which are a favorite of terrorists, they
change color alerting authorities to the presence of an explosive.
XploSafe now sells a full line of explosive-detection devices, including
a spray version of the product described previously, which can be
sprayed on suspicious packages or objects to detect explosives.
The manner in which XploSafe was started, and the work that
was done to place it on a firm legal foundation, is an interesting
story. XploSafe was started by Shoaib Shaikh, Jessie Loeffler, and
l_iviu Pavel, three MBA students at Oklahoma State University.
example" in terms of establishing a
strong ethical culture in a firm.
Explain the importance of having a code
of conduct and an ethics training
program.
Explain the criteria important to selecting
an attorney tor a new firm.
Discuss the importance of a founders’
agreement.
Provide several suggestions for how
entrepreneurial firms can avoid litigation.
Discuss the importance ot nondisclosure
and noncompete agreements.
Provide an overview of the business
licenses and business permits that a
start-up must obtain before it starts
conducting business.
Discuss the differences among sole
proprietorships, partnerships,
corporations, and limited liability
companies.
Explain why most fast-growth
entrepreneurial ventures organize as
corporations or limited liability
companies rather than sole
proprietorships or partnerships.
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