Tag Archives: Stubbs Alderton & Markiles

Investor 360: Monthly Investor Roundtable Interview with Wil Chockley of 75 & Sunny

Join us to listen to Wil Chockley, Partner of 75 & Sunny speak about the company’s investment thesis. The discussion will be focused on how Wil and his team analyze the most beneficial investment opportunities, in addition to how 75 & Sunny works with the companies it invests in to develop cutting-edge growth strategies and how to execute them effectively. Attendees will have the opportunity to take part in a question and answer session at the end of the webinar with Wil.

Investor 360: Monthly Investor Roundtable Interview

Featuring Wil Chockley of 75 & Sunny

Wednesday, July 21st, 2021

12:00 – 1:15 pm

An email containing the Zoom link for this event will be sent to attendees following registration.

About the Organizer of Investor 360

Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP is a business law firm with robust corporate, public securities, mergers and acquisitions, entertainment, intellectual property, brand protection and business litigation practice groups focusing on the representation of, among others, venture backed emerging growth companies, middle market public companies, large technology companies, entertainment and digital media companies, investors, venture capital funds, investment bankers and underwriters. The firm’s clients represent the full spectrum of Southern California business with a concentration in the technology, entertainment, videogame, apparel and medical device sectors. Our mission is to provide technically excellent legal services in a consistent, highly-responsive and service-oriented manner with an entrepreneurial and practical business perspective. These principles are the hallmarks of our Firm.

Investor 360: Monthly Investor Roundtable Interview with Mike Shapiro of Major League Baseball

Join us to listen to Mike Shapiro of Major League Baseball (MLB) speak about the MLB’s investment thesis, current investment climate, startup advice and more. Company founders will have the opportunity to ask the investor questions at the end of the webinar.

Investor 360: Monthly Investor Roundtable Interview

Featuring Mike Shapiro of Major League Baseball (MLB)

Wednesday, January 20th, 2021

12:00 – 1:15 pm

About Mike Shapiro

Mike Shapiro is the Director of Innovation and Venture Investing at Major League Baseball. His role at MLB includes sourcing and executing on venture investments in business across a number of strategic areas including broadcast technologies, data analytics, marketing technology and ticketing. In addition, Mike looks to identify innovative businesses for MLB’s 30 ball clubs to work with across areas such as player performance, in-stadium hospitality and fan engagement. Mike received a B.S. in Finance and M.A. in International Business from the University of Florida. He also received an MBA from Columbia Business School.

About the Organizer of Investor 360

Investor 360: Monthly Investor Roundtable Interview With Michael Tam Of Craft Ventures

Join us to listen to Michael Tam of Craft Ventures speak about Craft’s program, investment thesis, current investment climate, startup advice and more. Company founders will have the opportunity to ask the investor questions at the end of the webinar.

Investor 360: Monthly Investor Roundtable Interviews

Featuring Michael Tam of Craft Ventures

Wednesday, November 18th, 2020

12:00 – 1:15 pm

About Michael Tam

Michael is a principal at Craft on the investment team, based in Los Angeles. Prior to joining Craft, he was an investor at Crosscut, where he led investments and participated on the boards of consumer and enterprise companies. As an operator, Michael managed Uber’s business in Southern California markets and launched L., a direct to consumer brand acquired by Procter & Gamble. Michael began his career in venture at Bullpen Capital. Previously, he worked at BofA Merrill Lynch’s tech investment banking group and began his career at PwC.

Michael serves on the investment committee of the USC Marshall Fund, which invests in startups in the Southern California tech ecosystem.

About Craft Ventures

Building great companies is a craft that takes skill, tenacity and focus. The craft of entrepreneurship provides the namesake for their firm.

The partners at Craft have all built successful companies as former Founder/CEOs. They know that the entrepreneurial journey is a long and arduous one, because they have lived it themselves. This gives them a deep respect for founders and genuine empathy for their inevitable ups and downs.

Before founding Craft, they also participated in many other entrepreneurial journeys as angel investors. They invested in some of our generation’s most iconic companies including Affirm, Airbnb, Eventbrite, Facebook, Houzz, Slack, SpaceX, Tesla, Trulia, Twilio, Twitter, Uber, and Warby Parker.

About the Organizer of Investor 360

Stubbs Alderton & Markiles invites you to Investor 360: Monthly Investor Roundtable Interviews

Join us to listen to Michael Rotgin speak about Shelter’s program, investment thesis, current investment climate, startup advice and more. Company founders will have the opportunity to ask the investor questions at the end of the webinar.

Investor 360: Monthly Investor Roundtable Interviews

Featuring Michael Rotgin of Shelter Capital

Wednesday, October 21st, 2020

12:00 – 1:15 pm

About Michael Rotgin

Michael Rotgin is a Partner at Shelter Capital focusing on venture capital investments.

Prior to joining Shelter Capital, Mr. Rotgin was a principal at Rolling Oaks Capital. Before joining Rolling Oaks, Mr. Rotgin practiced corporate law in New York and Washington, D.C. Michael has worked for several members of Congress, was a staff member to the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and served as a team member of the economics cluster for a United States Presidential transition team.

He has served on the boards of directors of, and in advisory roles to, numerous companies, investment firms, and non-profit organizations. In his various capacities, Mr. Rotgin has assisted many developing and established companies in formulating and executing all types of business strategies in the areas of corporate operations, financial planning, executive recruitment, market development, corporate valuations, securing funds, mergers and acquisitions, and public and private offerings.

Mr. Rotgin has been an invited speaker and participant in venture capital industry symposia and has been a judge for university business plan competitions. Mr. Rotgin received a Bachelor of Science in economics with a concentration in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, a Bachelor of Arts in history from the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Pennsylvania, and a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center.

About Shelter Capital

Shelter Capital Partners is a Southern California based private investment fund, focused on investments in technology and technology-enabled companies at all stages of development, principally in the education, workforce, healthcare and media industries. We also invest in other areas where market or technological changes are creating opportunities for new industry leaders.

About the Organizer of Investor 360

COVID-19 Legal Briefing – SBA Economic Injury Disaster Relief Loans (EIDLs)

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced that it has made Economic Injury Disaster Relief Loans (EIDLs) of up to $2 million available to qualifying small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). An EIDL is a working capital loan to help qualifying small businesses to meet their ordinary and necessary financial obligations that cannot be met as a direct result of the disaster. These loans are intended to assist through the disaster recovery period. The interest rate for small businesses is 3.75%, while the interest rate for non-profit organizations is 2.75%.

COVID-19 EIDLs – General Overview

You can find the SBA requirements for COVID-19 related EIDLs at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/Information/EIDLLoans.

To apply for an EIDL, please visit: https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/Account/Login?ReturnUrl=%2Fela%2FLoanApplication%2FStartApplication.

EIDLs are only available to:
- any of the following types of businesses:
  - for-profit businesses;
  - small agricultural cooperatives; or
  - most private, non-profit organizations;
- that are located in a declared disaster area (see the SBA press release in “Recent Updates” below);
- that have suffered substantial economic injury;
- are unable to obtain credit elsewhere; and
- are defined as “small” by SBA size regulations (see “SBA size regulations for ‘small business’” below).

What constitutes a “small” business?

When it comes to the “small” business size standards, government agencies vary.
- Each agency’s small business definition determines your responsibilities and eligibility for small business benefits.

Additionally, a small business can operate under any business structure (i.e., a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, or corporation).
The Small Business Administration (SBA), the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) each define what qualifies as a small business.

SBA size regulations for “small business”:

Unfortunately, there is no single metric for SBA size standards.
Use your U.S. Census Bureau industry code on the SBA website to see if you are considered a “small business” by the SBA: https://www.sba.gov/size-standards/.
- This determination is based on your business’s industry, average annual sales, and the average annual number of employees.
For ease of reference, the following contains a short summary of certain applicable size standards, organized by common larger industries:
- Agriculture: Maximum of $750,000 in average receipts.
- Utilities: Maximum number of employees ranges from 250 (for renewable electric power generation subsectors) to 1,000 (for electric power and natural gas distribution businesses).
- Manufacturing: Maximum number of employees ranges from 500 to 1,500 (with approximately 27% of all manufacturing businesses having a maximum employee cap at 500 employees).
- Wholesale Trade: Maximum number of employees ranges from 100 to 250.
- Retail Trade: For one-third of all retail trade sub-industries, size standards are set at $7.5 million in average annual receipts. Other industries are defined by 100 to 500 employee maximums.
- Transportation and Warehousing: Maximum number of employees ranges from 500 to 1,500. Some sub-industries in transportation and warehousing are defined by a range of $7.5 million to $37.5 million in average annual receipts.
- Information: Maximum number of employees ranges from 500 to 1,500, depending on the sub-industry. The maximum average annual receipts for this industry ranges from $7.5 million to $38.5 million.
- Finance and Insurance: A maximum of 1,500 employees (for direct property and casualty insurance carriers), and a maximum in average annual receipts ranging from $32.5 million to $38.5 million.
- Real Estate, Rental, and Leasing: A maximum of $7.5 million to $32.5 million in average annual receipts.
- Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services: A maximum of $7.5 million to $20.5 million in average annual receipts, or a maximum of 1,000 to 1,500 employees.
- Health Care and Social Assistance: A maximum of $7.5 million to $38.5 million in average annual receipts.

COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Relief Loans – Additional Details and Key Takeaways

Application Filing Deadline: December 16, 2020.

Credit Requirements:
- Credit History – Applicants must have a credit history acceptable to the SBA.
- Repayment – Applicants must show the ability to repay the loan.
- Collateral – Collateral is required for all EIDL loans over $25,000. The SBA takes real estate as collateral when it is available. The SBA will not decline a loan for lack of collateral, but the SBA will require the borrower to pledge collateral that is available.
Loan Terms: The law authorizes loan terms up to a maximum of 30 years. The SBA will determine an appropriate installment payment based on the financial condition of each borrower, which in turn will determine the loan term.
Loan Amount Limit: The law limits EIDLs to $2,000,000 for alleviating economic injury caused by the COVID-19 disaster. The actual amount of each loan is limited to the economic injury determined by the SBA, less business interruption insurance and other recoveries up to the administrative lending limit. The SBA also considers potential contributions that are available from the business and/or its owner(s) or affiliates. If a business is a major source of employment, the SBA has the authority to waive the $2,000,000 statutory limit.
Loan Eligibility Restrictions:
- Noncompliance – Applicants who have not complied with the terms of previous SBA loans may not be eligible. This includes borrowers who did not maintain required flood insurance and/or hazard insurance on previous SBA loans.
Note: Loan applicants should check with agencies/organizations administering any grant or other assistance program under the COVID-19 emergency relief declaration to determine how an approval of an EIDL from the SBA might affect their eligibility.
Refinancing: Economic injury disaster loans cannot be used to refinance long term debts.
Insurance Requirements: To protect each borrower and the SBA, the SBA may require you to obtain and maintain appropriate insurance. By law, borrowers whose damaged or collateral property is located in a special flood hazard area must purchase and maintain flood insurance. The SBA requires that flood insurance coverage be the lesser of (1) the total of the EIDL, (2) the insurable value of the property, or (3) the maximum insurance available.

Recent Updates to the Economic Injury Disaster Relief Loans

In a March 17, 2020 press release, the SBA Administrator issued revised criteria for states or territories seeking an economic injury declaration related to Coronavirus (COVID-19), which made it much easier for states and territories to request SBA assistance more broadly for their respective jurisdictions.

In sum, these relaxed criteria are expected to have the following immediate effects:

Faster, Easier Qualification Process for States Seeking SBA Disaster Assistance.
- Historically, the SBA has required that any state or territory impacted by disaster provide documentation certifying that at least five small businesses have suffered substantial economic injury as a result of a disaster, with at least one business located in each declared county/parish.
- Under the revised criteria, states or territories are only required to certify that at least five small businesses within the state/territory have suffered substantial economic injury, regardless of where those businesses are located.

Expanded, Statewide Access to SBA Disaster Assistance Loans for Small Businesses.
- SBA disaster assistance loans are typically only available to small businesses within counties identified as disaster areas by a Governor.
- Under the revised criteria, disaster assistance loans will be available statewide following an economic injury declaration. This applies to current and future disaster assistance declarations related to COVID-19.

We are actively monitoring the resources that become available to businesses for relief during this time. For more information or if you have questions about resources as they become available, please contact David A. Stoops at dstoops@stubbsalderton.com.

The attorneys of Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP are continuously monitoring the current COVID-19 situation and publishing relevant updates that pertain to your business. Contact one of our legal professionals at info@stubbsalderton.com, if you have any questions.

For more information please visit our COVID-19 Resources page.

You’re Invited To “How I Got Funded” Presented By Pasadena Angels And Stubbs Alderton & Markiles

“How I Got Funded”
Presented by Pasadena Angels in partnership with Stubbs Alderton & Markiles

Wednesday, April 3, 2019
6:30PM-8: 30 PM

SA&M Preccelerator
1316 3rd Street Promenade, Suite 107
Santa Monica, CA 90401Launching your start-up requires more than grit, determination and a great idea. A successful start-up requires funding, mentoring and strong community partnerships. Join us for our panel discussion with Pasadena Angels’ funded companies and learn how leveraging relationships, laser-focused presentations and perseverance got them over $2M dollars in funding from one of Forbes top 10 angel groups. Moderated by Scott Alderton.

Network with Pasadena Angels investors, Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, fellow entrepreneurs.

Moderator:

Scott Alderton of Stubbs Alderton & Markiles

Panelists:

Danielle Cocanoupher: https://www.mylabbox.com/

Phoenix Gonzalez: https://www.dotstudiopro.com/

Brian Nickerson: https://www.magiclinks.org/

Food & Beverages will be served. Limited seating

About Pasadena Angels
Pasadena Angels: http://pasadenaangels.com/
The Pasadena Angels is Southern California’s most respected and connected group of accredited investors, ranked one of the top ten angel groups in the US by Forbes in 2015 , 2018 and Angel Research Institute in 2017. We invested more than $80 million dollars of early-stage capital in over 210 companies. Pasadena Angels funded companies have gone on to raise over $1 Billion from additional funding sources such as venture capital and private equity. Twitter: @pasadenaangels / Instagram: @pasadenaangels / FaceBook: @pasadenaangels

About Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP
With robust corporate, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and emerging growth, business litigation, public securities, entertainment, and intellectual property practices, Stubbs Alderton & Markiles’ attorneys assist clients with virtually every legal issue a business or an individual may face. Since its inception in 2002, Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP has worked alongside innovators and leaders of businesses large and small whose ideas are world changing. Our firm takes the long-term approach to our relationship with clients, partnering with them all along their evolutionary path, from idea to growth to exit, or whatever their future may hold. Our mission is, and has always been, to provide technically excellent legal services in a consistent, highly-responsive and service-oriented manner with an entrepreneurial and practical business advisory perspective.

Twitter: @StubbsAlderton / FaceBook: @StubbsAldertonMarkiles

SA&M Preccelerator® Announces Addition of $50,000 Cash and Services Investment to Program Offerings

The Preccelerator® has added a cash component and legal services to its already robust package of offerings for early-stage startups

LOS ANGELES, Calif., November 8th, 2018 (Newswire.com) – The Preccelerator® Program, an early-stage startup accelerator focused on technology and digital media companies, announced today that, with its next class starting in January 2019, it will provide an unrestricted cash investment of $25,000 to each participant company, and will add to the already robust perks package $25,000 in legal services from Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP. The addition of the investment and services demonstrates a continued commitment to the Los Angeles tech community by Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP and the Preccelerator.

The cash investment and additional services will go into effect for Class 11 companies, with the class beginning on January 7th, 2019. The application period has been reopened for any founders interested in submitting their companies for review. The application deadline is December 4, 2018. You may submit your company application at www.www.sparkxyz.io/competitions/152.

This announcement comes a few months after the expansion to the new Preccelerator office, located at 1316 3rd Street Promenade, which both increased the co-working space for in-house companies and increased event space. The Preccelerator remains strategically in the heart of Santa Monica to provide a technology hub that is close to many valuable educational and networking events, tech culture and other resources to facilitate company growth.

In 2012, Stubbs Alderton & Markiles launched the first-of-its-kind Preccelerator® Program to provide select start-ups with co-working space, mentorship, sophisticated legal services, curriculum and access to a strategic perks portfolio with the objective of helping grow a founder’s idea from business concept to a funded company. Over the past six years, 39 companies have graduated the Program, 27 of which have received funding, totaling over $12.5M in the aggregate.

Scott Alderton, managing Partner of Stubbs Alderton & Markiles and Chairman of the Preccelerator commented, “An investment component is a natural outgrowth to the already robust package we offer participating companies in the Preccelerator, and frankly, is long overdue. We continue to evaluate ways we can serve the technology community and obviously a cash investment goes a long way towards the likelihood that participants in the Preccelerator will ultimately raise a significant round and become successful. The success we are seeing in the Program gives us great confidence, so we are doubling down on our commitment.”

About the Preccelerator® Program
The Preccelerator® is a novel platform offered to select start-up companies out of
the Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP Santa Monica office that provides interim office space, sophisticated legal services, education, networking, mentorship and $450,000 in usable perks from Google Cloud for Startups, Amazon Web Services, and HubSpot among others, with the objective of helping grow a founder’s idea from business concept to funded startup. The program also retains more than 100 active strategic mentors providing free office hours and discounted services, and provides over 75-plus educational workshops and networking events each year. The Program expanded in 2017 to accept a greater number of companies in more formalized classes, depending upon where the companies are in their evolutionary growth, and expanded benefits to accepted companies. To apply to the Preccelerator, visit www.www.sparkxyz.io/competitions/152.

To read the full press release, click here.

Contact:
Heidi Hubbeling
Chief Operating Officer, Preccelerator® Program
hhubbeling@stubbsalderton.com
310-746-9803

Preccelerator Alumni Company Napkin Finance Partnered with JP Morgan Chase Bank

Napkin Finance Congratulations to Preccelerator alumni company founder Tina Hay on their recent partnership with JP Morgan Chase Bank to provide insight into topics like determining your risk tolerance, diversification, and rebalancing your portfolio.

You can check out the financial literacy campaign here.

We’re very proud of your success!

About Napkin FInance
“Everything about money in 30 seconds or less.”™ Napkin Finance is a multimedia company that grew out of their own needs for a better way to learn and understand finance. They developed their platform as a quick and easy resource on everything you need to know about money in 30 seconds or less. Napkin Finance’s mission is to empower their readers to manage their money and understand basic financial concepts in a simple, fun and engaging way.
For more information about Napkin Finance, visit www.napkinfinance.com

For more about the Preccelerator® Program or to apply, contact Heidi Hubbeling, COO at (310) 746-9803 or hhubbeling@stubbsalderton.com

SA&M Preccelerator ® Program Announces Milestone Tenth Class of Companies + Location Move!

To accommodate this growth, Stubbs Alderton & Markiles’ accelerator, The Preccelerator, is moving to expand its coworking space for companies in Santa Monica.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., August 6, 2018 (Newswire.com) – The Preccelerator® Program, a Santa Monica, California-based early-stage startup accelerator focused on digital media and technology companies, announced today that it is moving its Santa Monica offices as a result of its growth as it adds its milestone tenth class of companies featuring six innovative startups including AlgoPay, CheckPlis, HaloLoop, Screen Door Labs, Star Metrics and UNOMI.

The new Preccelerator office, located at 1316 3rd Street Promenade Suite 107, both increases the co-working space for the in-house companies and increases event space. The Preccelerator strategically remains in the heart of Santa Monica to provide a technology hub that is close to many valuable educational and networking events, tech culture and other resources to facilitate their growth. The expansion also demonstrates the continued commitment to the Los Angeles tech community that Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP is well known for. To celebrate the tenth class milestone and new office, the Preccelerator will host an open house in September.

In 2012 Stubbs Alderton & Markiles launched the first-of-its-kind Preccelerator® Program to provide select start-ups with co-working space, mentorship, sophisticated legal services, curriculum and access to a strategic perks portfolio with the objective of helping grow a founder’s idea from business concept to a funded company. Over the past six years, 37 companies have graduated the Program, of which 26 have received funding totaling over $11.5M.

Scott Alderton, managing Partner of Stubbs Alderton & Markiles and Chairman of the Preccelerator commented, “When we founded the Preccelerator in 2012, and convinced 3 fledgling startups to move into our space and work with us, we had no idea we could end up where the Preccelerator is today. We conceived this model of offering co-working office space in conjunction with sophisticated startup legal services. We now offer that plus access to over 100 seasoned mentors that actively assist in growth and success, a sophisticated curriculum, access to our network of investors through investment strategy sessions, Meet the VC Luncheons, Demo Day and targeted investor introductions, plus a robust Preccelerator Perks Portfolio with over $450,000 worth of discounted services and benefits to help our cohorts succeed and cut overhead expenses. To say the very least, I’m incredibly proud of what our team has created, and the leadership we demonstrate every day in the Los Angeles tech community.”

Preccelerator® Program Class 10 companies include:

AlgoPay is a borderless e-bank that enables refugees to store and withdraw payments from anywhere. Along with not having access to standard payment systems like PayPal, a majority of refugees also have no place to store their income. On the macro-scale, there’s a borderless population of 67 million unbanked individuals, and on the micro-scale, some of the world’s most vulnerable people are carrying all of their savings in cash with no place to manage funds. AlgoPay operates like both an e-wallet and an ATM. Users can store their income in AlgoPay’s digital wallet, and similar to Western Union, they can withdraw payments at any Algo vendor location— totally bankless. Algo Pay is currently running pilots in Turkey + Jordan and have signed a partnership with UpWork as the first user of Algo’s payment network.

CheckPlis believes people should feel like they are visiting friends when they go out for a meal or drinks. It’s all about the experience. Checkplis is a mobile app integrated into POS systems enabling customers to pay, tip and split the check themselves, all from their phones. Checkplis increases table turnover and efficiency for restaurants and bars and simplifies the checkout experience for consumers.

HaloLoop is a Santa Monica based mobile software company that is reinventing the way people and religious organizations engage with each other. We are a marketplace and live streaming service where people can help others connect to live religious services and donate.
Screen Door Labs created ARescue, an Augmented Reality team communication software for “boots on the ground”. Built for first responders, the system organizes and displays data onto AR glasses. First responders have access to 2D and 3D maps, as well as geotags and video, feeds from drone operators and other responders. ARescue allows first responders to work safer, respond faster, and communicate better as a team.

Star Metrics is an entertainment analytics platform and suite of tools designed to make the casting, financing and forecasting process easier for content creators. With StarMetrics, users can easily discover new talent and understand the value of actors, directors and other entertainers across many data points, such as international appeal, social media reach, or box office impact. StarMetrics provides predictive intelligence and analytics that empowers creators, advertisers, investors and other stakeholders to succeed in an increasingly global and complex content marketplace.

UNOMI is a SaaS for animators and video game developers. UNOMI leverages advanced voice recognition and motion capture technology that automates a lot of the most time-consuming aspects of animation production. Our voice recognition software understands human speech in multiple languages. This allows animators to easily create the speech of multiple 2D and 3D animated characters and for some, UNOMI gives them the ability to create content on a daily basis. UNOMI’s motion capture software will give content creators the ability to easily track human movement within their home or studio, which will eliminate the need to rent expensive motion capture studio space and equipment. Large-scale animation studios will be able to drastically reduce costs allowing them to create more content in a significantly shorter amount of time. UNOMI will also be releasing an Augmented Reality and VR, 3D object plugin for Adobe software which will allow users to easily implement and animate 3D objects quickly and easily. Each UNOMI software will be intuitive, which will eliminate a learning curve for most users.

For more information about the Preccelerator® Program, visit
www.preccelerator.com.

About Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP
Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP is a Southern California-based business law firm with robust corporate, public securities, mergers and acquisitions, entertainment, intellectual property and business litigation practice groups focusing on the representation of, among others, venture- backed emerging growth companies, middle market public companies, large technology companies, entertainment and digital media companies, investors, venture capital funds, investment bankers and underwriters. The firm’s clients represent a broad range of industries with a concentration in the technology, entertainment, video game, apparel and medical device sectors. The firm’s mission is to provide technically excellent legal services in a consistent, highly-responsive and service-oriented manner with an entrepreneurial and practical business perspective. These principles are the hallmarks of the firm. For more information, visit https://preccelerator.com.

About the Preccelerator® Program
The Preccelerator® is a novel platform offered to select start-up companies out of the Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP Santa Monica office that provides interim office space, sophisticated legal services, education, networking, mentorship and $450,000 in usable perks from Google Cloud for Startups, Amazon Web Services, and HubSpot among others, with the objective of helping grow a founder’s idea from business concept to funded startup. The program also retains more than 100 active strategic mentors providing free office hours and discounted services, and provides over 75-plus educational workshops and networking events each year. The Program expanded in 2017 to accept a greater number of companies in more formalized classes, depending upon where the companies are in their evolutionary growth, and expanded benefits to accepted companies. To apply to the Preccelerator, visit www.www.sparkxyz.io/competitions/152.

Contact:
Heidi Hubbeling
Chief Operating Officer, Preccelerator® Program
hhubbeling@stubbsalderton.com
310-746-9803

Startup Superhero Video Series! – This Week Featuring Marc Kenny on “Selling Your Business”

Stubbs Aderton & Markiles and the Preccelerator Program are proud to announce the launch of their Startup Superhero Video Series – featuring SA&M Attorneys, Preccelerator Mentors, and entrepreneurs on topics specific to entrepreneurship and lessons learned throughout the journey.

This week we’re featuring Stubbs Alderton & Markiles attorney Marc Kenny on “Selling Your Business.”

Marc Kenny is a partner at Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP. Marc’s practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, private securities offerings, cross-border transactions, and other strategic transactions representing private equity funds, independent sponsors, family offices as well as public and private corporations.

_____________________

Speaker: Marc Kenny

Moderator: Heidi Hubbeling

Heidi: Talk to me a little bit about your background, how you got to be in mergers and acquisitions and private equity. Also, how you came to be with the firm.

Marc: Sure, I have been practicing for a little over twenty years, specializing in mergers and acquisitions, representing private equity funds, financial sponsors, family offices, corporate strategic and a range of transactions, both here in LA, London and in Silicon Valley. I came to the firm recently after working at another large firm over the years.

Heidi: One of the things we are going to talk about today is with mergers and acquisitions on the seller side, we are going to talk about the ins and outs of that. What are some of the preliminary considerations that a business needs to think about when they go to sell their business.

Marc: I usually start when I meet with an owner who’s interested in selling. I usually start with a series of questions to understand a little more about how they are approaching the process. I ask them “why are you interested in selling?” “Do you intend to stay with the business after the sale?” “Can the business operate efficiently without you? If not, why not?” “What gaps do you have in managing the team?” “Are there family members or members of the management team who want to continue in the business after the sale?” On the operational side I also ask them, the financial history of the firm over the past 3-5 years of what their growth prospects are going forward. If there is customer concentration, I ask them about that. If they are in a regulated space I ask them regulatory issues they have had over the past few years. Going forward, what kind of regulatory issues they see having in their horizon.

Heidi: It’s a complicated process, a lot of people don’t quite understand. It’s not like selling personal property or your home. Can a business do this alone? Or do they need a team to back them up?

Marc: Yes, selling your company is a process that is complicated and intense – I often say it’s a marathon that feels like a sprint. The challenge for a business owner is to run an effective sales process and at the same time managing its business. Don’t jeopardize the business because you have been distracted on the sales process. A way for them to do that is two things: one is they have to assemble an internal team at the company – a small group that you can rely on and have confidence in to work with you on the sales process and at the same time. The goal is for you to keep running your business. The better your business grows during this process the more leverage you have with the buyers. In order to do that, you have to hire outside business advisors. Particularly, outside advisors that have done lots of M&A transactions. Second, you’d be well advised to hire external advisors who regularly work on M&A transactions. You need an investment banker, accounting firm, wealth management advisor. For all involved in a sale, it’s important to seek the advice of a wealth management advisor, investment banker – not only will a great banker get you in front of the right prospective buyers (strategic or financial), they’ll also be able to create a story that corresponds with your historical financial performance with your potential for future growth. And then law firms again, you may have used law firms for real estate, company contracts, but you need to have lawyers who are adept in M&A transactions.

Heidi: Internally what should these businesses do to prepare themselves. Both the owners as well as the team to prepare themselves for this kind of transaction.

Marc: The goal is to become “transaction ready” before engaging with the buyers. By “transaction ready” I mean you have looked both at the good, the bad, the ugly with your business. You should be very honest with yourself about the business, as financial, then as legal, etc. Really the reason for that is if you provide accurate information, to position correctly with your buyer, you will increase the confidence with your prospective buyers and increase the value of your company. We recommend “sell side” due diligence to basically start as if you were the buyer and you start with your management team and the external counsel or advisors, you start going through the due diligence list. Make sure that all the intellectual property in the business you own, that material customers contracts are all in order and they are not due to be terminated soon, that all regulatory issues have been resolved, confirm you have proper documentation for all stock issuances and equity grants. Again, it is a very exhausting process and that is the reason why you need to have external advisors to help you through the process to help you focus on your business.

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To learn more about the Preccelerator Program, contact Heidi Hubbeling at hhubbeling@stubbsalderton.com