A single false statement can now reach thousands of prospective customers before a business owner even knows it exists. For startups, professional service firms, restaurants, technology companies, and other reputation-dependent businesses, online defamation is no longer merely a public-relations problem. It can become a significant legal and financial threat.

A memorable brand can become one of a company's most valuable assets. But building that value is only half the challenge. Businesses must also determine how aggressively to protect their trademarks, and, before launching a brand of their own, how carefully to investigate the rights of others.

Few companies illustrate both sides of that equation as vividly as Buc-ee's.

The Texas-founded travel-center company has developed an extraordinarily recognizable brand around its name, smiling beaver mascot, distinctive logo, merchandise, and retail experience. It has also developed a reputation for vigorously enforcing its intellectual property rights.

That enforcement strategy has generated litigation involving competing convenience stores, animal mascots, allegedly similar names, merchandise, and other branding. In one earlier federal case, for example, Buc-ee's asserted trademark and related claims against operators using a cartoon alligator within a yellow circular design for Choke Canyon convenience stores and gas stations. More recently, Buc-ee's has pursued additional federal trademark cases as the company expands nationally.

For years, one of the most difficult legal questions facing U.S. crypto founders has been deceptively simple: How can a blockchain project raise capital, distribute tokens, build a functioning network, and ultimately achieve broad adoption without inadvertently violating federal securities laws?

Jennifer Newton is the Founder and Managing Attorney of StartSmart Counsel, PLLC, a Miami-based law firm advising startups, growing companies, and domestic and international businesses on corporate, regulatory, compliance, governance, capital-raising, and strategic legal matters. She is a former federal financial services regulator and has served in in-house compliance leadership, including as a Chief Compliance Officer. She also serves as a Hearing Officer and Arbitrator and is currently a member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee.

The lawyer who helps you form your company should understand what happens when you hire your first employee. The lawyer reviewing your contracts should understand how those agreements could affect your next financing round. And the team helping you raise capital should also be thinking about the compliance infrastructure investors, partners, regulators, and future acquirers may eventually expect to see.

That's the philosophy behind StartSmart Counsel.