Welcome
to a new way of working with a lawyer.
I believe that founders who get the right legal advice, top go-to-market strategies, and honest startup advice from someone who has been in their shoes will have a greater chance to succeed.
I built StartupTechLaw to work with founders as their lawyer and trusted advisor to handle the top issues facing most startups, from company formation to venture funding to launching a great company. My unique approach to startup law, combined with my experience as a CMO and four-time founder, can give you the guidance you need to achieve success with your venture.
A New Legal Practice For Today's Challenges
Your Partner in Success: From Formation to Funding & Beyond.
StartupTechLaw is your ideal partner for startups, growth stage companies, and SMEs - and we cater to all industries, not just tech! You gain a committed startup lawyer who not only comprehends the intricacies of your business but also maintains an open channel of communication, ensuring you never have to dread exorbitant legal bills at the end of the month.
A Unique Blend of Legal, Business & Marketing Know-How
At StartupTechLaw, I provide more than just legal services. With extensive experience as a serial entrepreneur, CEO, CMO, and attorney, I offer a unique blend of counsel on critical aspects like brand establishment, company formation, intellectual property protection, account-based marketing and driving growth. I believe startups can benefit from an attorney who also understands the intricate blend of legal, marketing, technology and business strategies required for success.
Legal Services From Formation
To Funding To Exit
At StartupTechLaw, we focus on startups, early-stage companies, and small businesses. Understanding the complexities of launching a new business, we provide comprehensive legal and strategic support. As a 4X founder, I am dedicated to helping you navigate not only legal challenges but also critical business decisions that can determine the success of your venture.
Company Formation
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Selecting the right business entity based on your business needs now and in the future.
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Registering your Delaware Corporation or LLC, including drafting and filing essential documents such as Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws.
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Drafting initial founder stock agreements, advisor shares, and setting up an employee option pool.
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Creation of initial cap table and equity pools
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Assisting with necessary filings such as BOIR and obtaining an Employer Identification Number (EIN).
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Corporate governance including operating agreements for LLCs and resolutions for the Board of Directors.
Startup Fundraising
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Identifying potential investors, investor list development and relations.
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Consulting on pitch decks, business plans, financial models, and providing thorough pitch presentation preparation.
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Pre-Seed: Structuring and executing friends and family fundraising rounds, ensuring legal and financial compliance.
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Seed: Assisting in securing investments from angel investors, crowdfunding, incubators, accelerators and utilizing financial instruments like SAFEs and Convertible Notes.
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Series A: Supporting you in obtaining venture capital, including valuation support, due diligence and compliance.
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Cap Table Management: As a Carta law firm partner, we offer cap table setup & ongoing management.
Trademarks & Brand
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Trademark registration with USPTO w/ member discounts.
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Initial trademark search and clearance report. Providing you with the likelihood of confusion, trademark filing success and options for filing.
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Trademark class determination and competitive comparisons.
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Worldwide trademark protection
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USPTO attorney of record and notice of all office actions and required deadlines. Ongoing USPTO filing management.
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Initial brand strategy, brand promise, brand core values, brand elements and positioning. Brand revisions and trademark alternatives based on TM search and USPTO responses.
Startup Advisory
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Providing Founder to Founder advice for navigating startup challenges.
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Assisting with co-founder selection and mediating disputes.
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Offering strategic business advice on models, market positioning, and growth.
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Guiding startups through launch planning and execution.
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Supporting beta testing and product feedback and evaluations.
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Network introductions for potential partners, advisors and employees.
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Monthly consultations and progress check-in calls.
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Offering 24/7 Slack channel for founder questions and advice anytime.
Business Law
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Advisor agreements and advisor equity determination.
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Initial employee term sheets, employment agreements and equity options.
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Draft confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).
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Custom drafting of master services agreements, independent contractor agreements, SaaS agreements, application developer agreements and partner agreements.
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Office lease agreements.
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Document reviews and revisions. Before entering into a contract, we will review and provide legal recommendations to protect your interests.
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Privacy policy and terms of service for websites and mobile apps. As a Termageddon partner firm, we recommend a simple line of code to power your website and app policies.
Growth Strategies
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Go-to-market strategy and marketing plan, budget and execution.
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Assisting in development of ideal customer profiles (ICPs) differentiation, segmentation and customer acquisition strategy.
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Partnership identification and outreach assistance.
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Development of comprehensive Account-Based Marketing Strategy for B2B marketing effectiveness.
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Determination of key marketing milestones and performance measures and attribution.
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Marketing automation, customer relationship management, outbound & inbound lead scoring, lead routing and response actions.
Legal Solutions for Innovators:
Startups, Scale Ups and SME's
Startups & Early-Stage Companies
Embarking on a startup journey involves learning a new series of legal complexities, from choosing the right entity, setting up your formation properly, protecting the founders, registering your trademark to getting your first round of investors. StartupTechLaw offers legal services built for startups to help you with these challenges. Our unique model serves you as a committed partner in your success.
Growth Stage & Scale-Ups
Companies that have moved beyond the early stages and achieved product-market fit face new challenges in transitioning to long-term success. Companies focus on scaling operations, expanding their customer base, protecting their IP, and securing additional funding with more sophisticated investors. We provide the necessary legal support to help you overcome these challenges and sustain your accelerated growth trajectory.
Small & Mid-Size Enterprises
As an established SME, it is essential to mitigate risks, optimize operations, and expand market presence. Our focus is on providing a range of legal options for you including protecting your intellectual property, managing employees, contracting with partners, ensuring regulatory compliance, and offering strategic advice for sustainable growth. We can advise you on long-term or intermediate funding options, contractual matters, and your global expansion.
Meet Attorney
Richard Rodgers
My career started right in the midst of the dot-com boom back in 1999 as a corporate attorney at a large firm where I was an associate in their venture capital and technology group. Since then, I've been a founder launching VC-backed companies and have spent close to 20 years as a digital marketing agency owner, and as a CMO in various startups to pre-IPO unicorns.
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As a startup founder, I've had the privilege of working with some of the top legal minds from Philadelphia to Silicon Valley. Drawing from my experiences, while the legal work was crucial, it was the support and guidance from a trusted ally that held even greater value - especially during challenging periods. Having a reliable sounding board where I could confidently voice my thoughts was invaluable. Our insightful exchanges allowed me to sharpen my ideas, while their introductions to influential investors propelled my launch. All the while, their legal safeguards ensured I remained on the right trajectory.
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I now wish to provide the same support by gaining a deep understanding of your business and offering a genuine commitment to your venture's success. Combined with my expertise in account-based marketing, demand generation and data-driven marketing, I want to help companies by delivering successful business and marketing advice combined with a my legal know-how.
My experience and career highlights include:
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Corporate attorney in the venture capital and technology group at a top Philadelphia law firm.
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Founder of 360 Media, a digital marketing agency working with clients including the Philadelphia Eagles, Phillies, IHG Hotels, Restaurant.com, Wired Magazine, Best Western, Alliance Business Centers.
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CMO of Infobip, a global CPaaS company and pre-IPO unicorn.
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Founder and CEO of GoSend, Inc., an international e-com and logistics company.
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Founder of LoSo, Inc., a vc-funded mobile marketing, automation and rewards platform.
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Director of Global Digital Marketing at Agilent Technologies.
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Expert-level account-based marketing consultant to clients including fintech, procurement & supply chain, cloud storage, cybersecurity and a variety of startups. Featured speaker at the Forrester B2B Summit on account-based marketing.
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Adjunct Professor at Temple University.
Education:
Temple University
Beasley School of Law
Juris Doctor (1999)
Temple University
Bachelor of Arts,
Communications (1996)
Member:
American Bar Association
Board Member:
Philly Startup Leaders
Startup & Small Business Resources
Schedule a free consultation or call 215-436-9698
Reach out today for a complimentary consultation. This initial conversation allows me the opportunity to learn more about your unique business, understand your challenges, and explore how StartupTechLaw can help you.
Or fill out the form below to contact us.
Main Tel:
215.436.9698
Office Mailing Address:
StartupTechLaw, PLLC
1500 Chestnut St. Suite 2 #2872
Philadelphia, PA 19102