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Hiring the Right Lawyer Isn’t Easy
Most entrepreneurs are inherently scrappy and willing to learn whatever is needed to build their ventures. When it comes to legal questions though, it is usually best to not rely on your own Google research. Instead, even early stage ventures often need the expertise of a lawyer to ensure they are making decisions in the best interest of their ventures and within the right legal boundaries.
But finding the right lawyer can be daunting and time consuming, especially for a startup. At Builders + Backers, our Builders often have questions about how to identify the right counsel for them - especially with their limited startup budgets and for their startup needs. The legal considerations of a startup venture are vastly different from those of existing businesses, larger companies or other legal structures. Startup ventures need to navigate issues such as co-founder equity, vesting schedules, board members and more. These issues are the type that can cause significant friction if not addressed early on. Local attorneys or attorneys more experienced in general corporate law may not be best fit for the needs of a new startup firm.
In addition, getting to the right attorney who charges a fair price can make a huge difference for an early stage venture. Through our extensive experience with entrepreneurs in our cohorts and our alumni community, we've recognized the need for a solution that simplifies the process of hiring an attorney.
A New Solution: Partnership with Stark Strategic Counsel
We are happy to announce a new partnership with Stark Strategic Counsel, a legal agency with a suite of attorneys experienced at helping early stage ventures. Through this partnership we are providing a key solution to our Builders - fractional general counsel who are highly vetted, affordable and on-demand at a fraction of the cost.
Stark Strategic Counsel was founded by Jared Stark, an attorney who has built his own successful practice specializing in business and startup general counsel services. Jared too saw the challenges that small firms face: “A growing company needs an attorney who understands the business and is available to help tackle everything from contracts and employment issues to intellectual property and other legal matters as they come in. However, founders face a familiar problem: traditional law firms charge $400 or more per hour and hiring a full-time General Counsel isn't in the budget either.”
“Every business can now afford to have its own dedicated General Counsel to handle legal needs the right way,” said Stark.
“When our Builders need an attorney, they simply connect with Stark Strategic Counsel and get access to an experienced, fractional lawyer. No searching or scrolling through profiles needed,” said Builders + Backers Partner Kathleen Hale. “Our Builders can then get back to the business at hand: launching, growing and scaling their ventures.”
Particularly important as well is that these attorneys are experienced at early-stage ventures and know how to tailor their advice accordingly. The best course of action for a five-year old company with dozens of employees and investors is often not the right advice for a one-year old company being run by a solo founder. The attorneys part of the Stark Strategic Counsel agency understand these nuances.
This partnership is yet another way we make it easier for entrepreneurs to get started and keep building. Last month we announced our partnership with CodeMap Agency, a low-code development agency, and more announcements are forthcoming. We are committed to providing startups the best-in-class resources that can shortcut the building process and increase their chances of success.
Back to building!