Last Tuesday CleanStart held its second legal roundtable with Michelle Hallsten at GT law to support early stage startups in the Sacramento region.  Companies who just started a few weeks ago, like EV Life, to ones growing in popularity like RePurpose Energy came to find answers supporting their growth.  It was entirely a Q&A format with Michelle willing to offer advice on any topic the companies wanted to raise.

Popular questions centered around a few areas:

1. What is the first thing a company should do when fundraising?
2. What type of investors are out there and what are a company’s responsibilities to them?
3. When do I need to protect my IP?
4. How do I have a conversation with current equity holders, other founders, and friends and family?
5. What about crowdfunded equity?

The Roundtable started at 4 pm but went past the 5:30 end time to beyond 7 as Michelle discussed all the different options startups need to consider when fundraising, growing and protecting themselves. It is important to remember that while each startup is different, needing individualized support, building a competent team with quality legal counsel pays increasing dividends over time, putting a company in an increasingly strong position. This was such a successful event, we are planning to do another session later in the year.

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