Craig Delsack

Lawyer • Grow and Protect Your Business • Experience + Knowledge + Integrity = Winning Strategies •let’s go Yankees•

[Craig Delsack @CraigDelsack]

NY cannabis business or investor? Let's strategize your post-Schedule III position. https://t.co/rpN0unA5BE [phone]

[Craig Delsack @CraigDelsack]

Federal cannabis rescheduling to Schedule III is HERE. What it means for NY cannabis businesses:

✅ 280E tax nightmare ENDS (deduct rent, payroll, marketing)
❌ Still not federally legal
💰 Valuations about to explode
Full breakdown: https://t.co/XARK9y7G0S

[Craig Delsack @CraigDelsack]

Bottom line: Normalization, not legalization. Your effective tax rate could drop 20-40%. Time to remodel your numbers.

[Craig Delsack @CraigDelsack]

🚨 NY Dispensary Owners: Don't Let Bad Ads Kill Your Buzz! 🚨
New York's cannabis scene is booming—but those fresh PLMA rules (live Dec 3!) just dropped a compliance bomb on your marketing game. As a NYC cannabis lawyer, here's my quick playbook on the 3 ad rules you CAN'T sleep on:
1️⃣ Everything's an Ad Now: Discounts, emails, murals, merch? If it pushes sales or buzz, it's regulated under Part 129. Review it all—or risk the fines.
2️⃣ Content & Placement Lockdown: No under-21 appealing vibes, no smoke/vape pics, no health claims, no potency flex. And keep ads away from schools/parks/transit. Clean house FAST.
3️⃣ Discounts OK, But Guardrail 'Em: Loyalty perks & bundles? Greenlit for adult-use spots—but no undercutting wholesale floors, tax on full price, and channel-only promos.

Sloppy ads = enforcement nightmares. Stay compliant, stack profits legally.

Need tailored advice for your dispensary? DM me or book a consult: https://t.co/QXgW1D0FO7

[Craig Delsack @CraigDelsack]

NDA Disaster
Grabbed coffee on the Upper East Side this morning and thought about David, whose fashion startup almost died because of a conversation over drinks.

He’d been pitching his sustainable clothing concept to potential partners for months. Smart guy, great vision, but he was treating NDAs like they were optional paperwork that would “slow down the process.”

Three months after a casual dinner meeting with a potential manufacturer, David saw his exact concept—down to the specific supply chain innovations he’d shared—launched by a major retailer.

When he came to me, he was devastated. “I thought we had a relationship,” he kept saying. “We shook hands.”

The manufacturer hadn’t technically stolen anything. Without an NDA, everything David shared was fair game. We couldn’t even prove they’d used his ideas rather than developing them independently.

David eventually pivoted and built something different, but he lost a year of first-mover advantage and tens of thousands of 💰’s in development costs.

Now he won’t even discuss the weather without proper documentation. Maybe that’s extreme, but I get it.

Your ideas are your competitive advantage. And unless protected with an NDA, “Ideas are as free as the wind!” Protect them like your business depends on it—because it does.

[Craig Delsack @CraigDelsack]

Ready to turn clicks into cusotmers? 🚀

Online businesses boom in NYC, but legal landmines are everywhere. Don’t let hidden risks take down your digital empire—here are the must-know legal moves to protect and grow online:

1️⃣ Nail Your Structure: LLC? Corp? Sole Proprietor? Picking the right one means the difference between keeping your assets safe or exposed to lawsuits.

2️⃣ Brand It, Own It: Lock your name and logo with trademarks! This keeps copycats at bay and customers loyal.

3️⃣ License to WIN: Regardless of a business being mostly (if not fully) operated online, it is best practices to be an entity registered in the states where it is operating. Skip this and you risk shutdowns or surprise fines.

4️⃣ Guard Your Money: Separate business & personal accounts for ironclad asset protection and easy bookkeeping.

5️⃣ Website Compliance: Your site needs privacy policies, terms of use, and PII compliance. One slip can mean lawsuits or lost customers.

6️⃣ Sales Tax + Reporting: Register, collect, file. Miss a filing and you could lose your company’s good standing—or your business itself.

7️⃣ Insurance Power-Up: Cyber insurance, liability, and more keep you covered when stuff hits the fan.

💡Don’t gamble with your brand’s future—get a legal roadmap built for digital business by a real NYC pro!

👉 Having a business lawyer on your team is a GREAT asset. Call [phone] today and speak with a New York lawyer.
👉 DM for an online business legal checkup.
https://t.co/T2ZDfr40xY

[Craig Delsack @CraigDelsack]

Contractor Misclassification Crisis
Walking through the Village Monday reminded me of Alex, a client whose marketing agency got blindsided by the Department of Labor three years ago.

He’d built his team with 12 “independent contractors”—all working full-time hours, using company equipment, following company procedures. Classic employees in everything but name.

The investigation started when one contractor filed for unemployment benefits. Within six months, Alex was facing $180K in back taxes, penalties, and benefits he should have been paying all along.

The worst part? Alex thought he was doing everything right. His contractors seemed happy with the arrangement, and he was saving money on overhead.

But New York and federal laws don’t care about arrangements—they care about the reality of the working relationship. ✅Control how someone works? ✅Set their schedule? ✅Provide their tools? Congratulations, they’re your employee.

We helped Alex reclassify everyone and set up proper systems, but the damage was done. He had to take out a loan against his house to pay the penalties.

A $2K agreement review could have saved him $180K and his peace of mind.

The gig economy makes this stuff tricky, but the law is pretty clear once you know what to look for.

Call 212-688-8944 to speak with a lawyer or DM me to discuss your legal needs.

#GigEconomy #ContractorVsEmployee #SmallBusiness #StartupSuccess #Startups

[Craig Delsack @CraigDelsack]

Contractor Misclassification Crisis
Walking through the Village Monday reminded me of Alex, a client whose marketing agency got blindsided by the Department of Labor three years ago.

He’d built his team with 12 “independent contractors”—all working full-time hours, using company equipment, following company procedures. Classic employees in everything but name.

The investigation started when one contractor filed for unemployment benefits. Within six months, Alex was facing $180K in back taxes, penalties, and benefits he should have been paying all along.

The worst part? Alex thought he was doing everything right. His contractors seemed happy with the arrangement, and he was saving money on overhead.

But New York and federal laws don’t care about arrangements—they care about the reality of the working relationship. ✅ Control how someone works? . ✅ Set their schedule? ✅ Provide their tools? Congratulations, they’re your employee.

We helped Alex reclassify everyone and set up proper systems, but the damage was done. He had to take out a loan against his house to pay the penalties.

A $2K agreement review could have saved him $180K and his peace of mind.

Call 212-688-8944 today to discuss your situation with a lawyer. Or shoot me a DM.

The gig economy makes this stuff tricky, but the law is pretty clear once you know what to look for.
#GigEconomy #ContractorVsEmployee #SmallBusiness #Startups #StartupSuccess

[Craig Delsack @CraigDelsack]

💸 NYC businesses lose MILLIONS 💰💰every year from bad contracts.
Here's how to negotiate like a pro (learned from 30+ years in the trenches):

1️⃣Prepare Like Your Life Depends On It! Know their business, industry standards, and NY laws before you sit down. Research beats charm every time.

2️⃣Make Every Word Count! Vague language = future lawsuits. Define scope, timelines, and deliverables with surgical precision.

3️⃣Master the Art of Listening! Their priorities = your leverage. Find what they really need, then make it work for both sides.

4️⃣Focus on These Money Clauses: Payment terms, liability caps, termination rights, and force majeure. These four can save or sink your deal.

5️⃣ Never Skip the Legal Review! That "standard" contract? It's probably written to screw you. Get eyes on it before you sign.

6️⃣ Know When to Walk Away. The best negotiators aren't afraid to leave. Your walkaway point is your superpower.

Most startup founders think they can handle contracts themselves. It can cost more to clean up their messes than it would have cost to properly negotiate at the beginning.

Need help with your next deal? Let's talk strategy. Call 212-688-8944 or send me a DM.

#ContractLaw #BusinessStrategy #StartupLaw

[Craig Delsack @CraigDelsack]

IP Assignment Nightmare
Had lunch in SoHo yesterday and couldn’t help thinking about Sarah (name changed), who came to me two years ago in absolute tears.

Her wellness app had just been featured in TechCrunch and was gaining serious traction—until her lead developer dropped a bomb. He claimed he owned the core technology because there was no IP assignment agreement when he built the initial prototype as a “freelancer.”

The developer wasn’t being malicious. He genuinely thought he owned what he created. But without proper documentation, he was technically right under NY law.

We had to negotiate a licensing deal that gave him ongoing royalties just to keep the app running. What should have been a $5M exit turned into a legal mess that cost Sarah her company and her savings.

All because a simple IP assignment agreement seemed “too formal” for a friend helping out in the early days.

I see this constantly—founders who think good relationships replace good contracts. Sometimes the people who hurt you most are the ones who never meant to hurt you at all.

Document everything. Especially IP ownership.
#TechStartups #IntellectualProperty #FounderMistakes

[Craig Delsack @CraigDelsack]

IP Assignment Nightmare
Had lunch in SoHo yesterday and couldn’t help thinking about Sarah (name changed), who came to me two years ago in absolute tears.

Her wellness app had just been featured in TechCrunch and was gaining serious traction—until her lead developer dropped a bomb. He claimed he owned the core technology because there was no IP assignment agreement when he built the initial prototype as a “freelancer.”

The developer wasn’t being malicious. He genuinely thought he owned what he created. But without proper documentation, he was technically right under the law.

We had to negotiate a licensing deal that gave him ongoing royalties just to keep the app running. What should have been a $5M exit turned into a legal mess that cost Sarah her company and her savings.

All because a simple IP assignment agreement seemed “too formal” for a friend helping out in the early days.

I see this constantly—founders who think good relationships replace good contracts. Sometimes the people who hurt you most are the ones who never meant to hurt you at all.

Document everything. Especially IP ownership.
#TechStartups #IntellectualProperty #FounderMistakes

[Craig Delsack @CraigDelsack]

@scottastronaut @bprintco Alec, What is “a Landscape rake or rock rake”?

[Craig Delsack @CraigDelsack]

The pattern I see?

Founders think legal work is "just paperwork."

It's not paperwork. It's infrastructure.

You wouldn't build a skyscraper without a foundation.

Don't build a business without legal protection.

Ready to build right from day one?
📞 Free consultation: 212-688-8944 🌐 https://t.co/gA4zNLlF7s
Which mistake almost killed YOUR startup? Share below 👇
#NYCStartups #BusinessLaw #StartupMistakes #LegalCompliance #Entrepreneurship

[Craig Delsack @CraigDelsack]

🚨 Just watched another NYC startup lose $250K because of a "simple" mistake

80% of startups fail within 5 years.

Many could have been saved with proper legal planning.
Here are the 8 deadly mistakes killing NYC startups (and how to avoid them) 👇
🧵

[Craig Delsack @CraigDelsack]

MISTAKE #8: No website policies

"Terms of service are just legal mumbo jumbo."

Without proper T&S and privacy policies: • No protection from user lawsuits • CCPA/GDPR violations • Can't enforce user agreements • Open to frivolous claims

Takes a couple of hours to fix. Costs $50K+ to fight later.