No founder-led startup (or public company) should incorporate in Delaware — its courts hate founder control. I experienced this firsthand at Zynga. Now, the industry is starting to catch on.

For the last century, Delaware has been the default for incorporating a business, with 66 percent of the Fortune 500. 80 percent of 2024 IPOs were Delaware-based. Businesses incorporated in Delaware account for nearly a third of the state’s revenue. (Soon, we will say it ‘used to’ be a third.)

Delaware’s primary draw? Predictability. Its Court of Chancery is a non-jury trial court, meaning that Chancellors (judges) who are experts in corporate law decide cases unilaterally. The Court’s lack of juries and century of case law precedent are meant to give businesses a clear and consistently applied legal framework.