The global world is amazing.  I just got back from a trip into rural Uttar Pradesh, India, and I’m amazed to see how computers, internet, and cell phones are flourishing despite the absence of reliable electricity, and furthermore how these instruments are truly democratizing the flow of information!  Its getting harder and harder to pull one over on anybody these days – even if they are semi-literate and live in an unelectrified village. AND, its getting easy and easy for people to do business and improve their lives.

That said, I am beginning to think that the legal profession is one of the last big barriers to democratizing business and allowing small and micro entrepreneurs to play on a level field with the corporates.  I would never have thought that over the last month I would spend 50% of my time dealing with legal and bureaucratic issues, nor, that one of d.light’s biggest expenses in the past few months would be legal. Ouch! Every time I get another monstrous bill, I keep asking myself, 'what is going on' – and 'why is it costing literally thousands and thousands of dollars to complete this paperwork, especially when that money could better be put into manufacturing lights and delivered into the hands of families?'

I was brainstorming with my friend Jeff Gupta-Smith, about how the legal profession is structured in such a way that ordinary people like ourselves are intimidated, scared, and unsure in making our own legal documents.  However, for the most part – all those documents are fairly simple/standard, except that so much weight is put on saying things in just the right manner (and unintelligible form) – that it becomes almost impossible for somebody without extensive training to feel confident.  It seems that we/lawyers/systems of justice have created a legal forms that generates billions of dollars of value (mostly for itself) essentially propogating a language that is indicepherable to the masses.  Wouldn't it be amazing if we could do a revision of the legal language (just like every other language) and make it accessible to all?  I'm dreaming of a day when anybody can go on-line, regardless of the language they speak or how fluently, and get access to great legal templates, and file and share all these docs/forms for free and instantly.  It can't be that hard...

On a more personal level, I can't stand distracting myself with legal details, and I want to rush out and build a great business.  Neverthess I am stuck.  So I am wondering if anybody has any suggestions as to when in a companies growth they need to worry about legal, and how important is it to set a company and legal foundation up perfectly from  the get-go? I ask and am simultaneously empathisizing will all who have passed before me in setting up global entities.

There is a reason I've been writing so little lately.  and its because I'm so busy learning the hard way.  I was caught in a bubble of relative ease during my childhood and then MBA at Stanford.  Arriving in India, and in New Delhi in particular, to set up a global company, I have been battling with a different set of circumstances, and with a new culture that doesn't understand or value social entrepreneurship the way I want it to, and certainly not compared with its 5,000 year old history. I think this would be a challenge in any environment, but without corporate budgets and their extensive resources, I salute and want to learn from all the social entrepreneurs who are out building global companies in new countries!  I am looking for YOU and for your advice :)

Challenge Numero Uno: Housing/Office:  Moving is supposed to be fun. New. Exciting.  But I've found it to be extremely exhausting.  I grew up in a USAID household where we moved countries every 3-5yrs.  When we touched down in a capitol, there would be a driver who whisked us to our new fully furnished house, with a little spiral bound booklet of what the city had to offer, where to get good drinks and food, and what to do for fun on the weekend.  A cook would most likely be at the house and a generator at the ready in case the power went off. If we needed anything, or anything was broken, somebody would help us out.  oh - so nice. it seems a bit like a dream now.

My experience:  I got a pre-paid taxi to a $5 hotel because there is nothing really in between a 5 star $200/night and 1 star $5/night.  There was no hot water and the sheets smelled but that was fine - I was on an mission.  I didn't have internet but could get basic email on a little USB key I bought.  It was impossible to hold team meetings or make calls because my cell phone kept getting shut down.  But none of that bothered me, I had a huge network to reach out to, and I really only needed a 2 bdrm house and a couple hundred feet of office space to put some desks.  How hard could it be? Meanwhile, I could set up the legal structure for our company, deal with distributors, launch some products, and start hiring the team.

HA.. I was definitely operating on America time not India time.  The reality of India for me is that everything seems so easy and seems so possible and straightforward.. but then in reality it always, always, takes 10 times longer and is never simple.  I now budget 4 times what anybody tells me, whether its a consultant, lawyer, taxi driver, or dinner invite.  The best advice I got was from my girlfriend, who has never even been to India, who told me that I needed to start operating on India time, and stop trying to force India to operate on Sam time.

Thinking back on our first d.light office outside Stanford - It took me 15mins and a template I grabbed off the internet to sign our office lease, and within one day we had moved in, furnished the place off craigslist, and painted and changed the locks at wal-mart.  wow.  It took me 8 weeks to find a house here that would accept a private lease from a foreigner, 2 weeks to get my house lease squared away, and a full day of waiting in 10 different lines, and signing and thumb printing the back and front of tens of pages, just to move into a house that had nothing.. not even a refrigerator. 

I was just not prepared for India - and I should have paid a consultant, friend, initial hire, somebody ANYBODY to help with this.  I always was pushing it off saying i'll hire somebody when i have an office, or I don't want to spend all the money on a consultant, but the lesson I learned is HIRE EARLY somebody who is local and help me get set up as fast as possible.  it will save tons of time in the long run. 

The good news is that I have a great guest-room so one thing I can do, that is culturally appropriate, is host guests!