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Emerging Companies
A significant portion of the firm’s corporate, finance, securities, merger and acquisition, and technology and licensing work is devoted to emerging growth companies. Our firm’s capabilities in the Emerging Companies arena draw from a history of work serving the unique needs of emerging growth companies since the technology-driven business explosion in the mid-1990s.
Emerging growth companies have legal and business needs which go beyond the needs of a more traditional business. Our ability to apply knowledge and experience in multiple areas of complex law is necessary to properly serve these needs. These needs include determination of appropriate entity choice and capital structure to fit the growth and financing objectives of the company, equity incentives and vesting with associated tax matters, corporate governance and advisory boards, executive and employment matters, confidentiality agreements, restrictive covenants and non-competes, accretion of technology value, revenue model protection and enhancement, technology transfer and commercialization, technology licensing, contracts and indemnities, effective distribution models, joint ventures and revenue shares, strategic partner structures, co-marketing relationships, investor rights and preferences, securities and regulatory compliance, and value enhancement by acquisition or merger. Our attorneys provide counsel at early stages to help companies identify and implement legal, capital, governance and contractual structures in line with current market expectations. Effective negotiating by our attorneys on behalf of our clients is a key component of the work we provide in transactions that help build these organizations.
Synergy’s attorneys have also been instrumental in providing finance, securities and corporate counsel to many extremely successful technology and Internet companies. Our attorneys have structured private equity investment and negotiated transactions to provide the additional capital needed to accommodate the growth of many emerging growth companies. We believe one of the key differentiators of our firm in this area is our attorneys’ abilities to analyze and select possible transaction structures that best suit client needs. Our experience representing both the emerging company issuer side, and the investor side, of equity financings provides us an insightful understanding of the needs and expectations on both sides of these deals. Our attorneys understand the differing needs of issuers, borrowers, banks and investors, including financial and strategic investors, and our breadth of experience helps consummate these transactions on terms that protect client interests. We seek to arrive at negotiated terms that will provide for successful growth, corporate governance, future funding and exit.
For most of our emerging company engagements, we act as a general counsel to the companies we serve, and as a lead counsel in the transactions associated with their growth. Our role helps ensure continuity in the growth of the enterprise. Our attorneys work hands-on in a consultative fashion to help emerging company clients understand the varying needs and relationship dynamics among stakeholders, and to prioritize legal needs using a client-centric approach. A fundamental goal in this work is to minimize possible objections when the company undergoes due diligence by an outside investor, partner or buyer. Synergy’s attorneys work with growth company clients to help enhance the value of their enterprise by focusing on both short and long term goals, protection of the enterprise and scalability for eventual realization of further investment rounds or successful exit.
Whether an eCommerce, software, Internet, marketing, alternative energy or green technology, digital entertainment or other technology-based emerging growth company, Synergy’s comprehensive service offering for emerging companies can help facilitate successful growth and financing of the venture under a fee structure that is very attractive when compared to our large and mid-sized law firm peers.
