Nickname: McD
First Job: Farm hand. I literally shoveled you know what . . .
Second Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Steve’s Ice Cream – Blackberry Crumble
Favorite App: Instagram. I am a visual person.
Why I like working with emerging companies: I have a few reasons. First, it forces me, every day, to evaluate how I communicate and to grow to be a better lawyer. Entrepreneurs want pragmatic, solutions-oriented advice, not an issues list a mile long. As the saying goes, running a startup is like trying to build an airplane and fly it at the same time. It’s not an academic exercise, so you need to scrap the professorial advice. Second, I love to collaborate, build relationships and connect people who had no clue they should know each other. Entrepreneurs expect that you’ll bring more than just advice to the table – they expect access to your network. I love having the chance to help my clients grow and expand in ways that don’t involve purely legal work. Lastly, working with startups and emerging growth companies is cross-disciplinary – it’s more than just venture financing and M&A; you get to dance around the edges of IP, real estate, employment, executive comp, tax, and so on. It’s a literal sandbox, and I am lucky to get to play in it every day. Nothing makes me happier than partnering with founders (some of whom are on their second, third or fourth company with me) and playing a role in the growth and expansion of what was once just an idea on a piece of paper.
