Anthony Millin: The Future of Startup Law
This week, we caught up with Anthony Millin, Chair of NEXT powered by Shulman Rogers, to learn more about NEXT and how it supports the legal services for startups, as well as how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the legal decisions that entrepreneurs are forced to make during this time.
Tell us about NEXT by Shulman Rogers, and what makes it unique?
Anthony: NEXT, powered by Shulman Rogers, is an innovative new model for delivery of legal services for the full life cycle of startup and emerging growth companies:
NEXT offers predictable legal fees through more than 75 fixed-price packages and service bundles designed for startups and emerging-growth companies.
NEXT clients receive direct advice from NEXT’s senior attorneys, through our high-touch hands-on legal services model
NEXT integrates a technology platform comprised of NASDAQ, CARTA, Ushare, and other best-of-breed cloud-based tools for a collaborative, communicative, and efficient client-centric experience.
How did you handle adversity and doubt when building your business?
Anthony: Learning to handle adversity is a key part of being an entrepreneur. You will inevitably hit both small obstacles and challenges that are so large they may threaten the survival of your startup company. You may run out of capital or need to make major pivots in product and/or market. You will need to (i) learn how to hold on to the optimism and passion that got you started in the first place, (ii) be persistent and persevere through a level of adversity that most other people would give up under, (iii) be a creative problem solver able to look at your challenges from multiple dimensions, and (iv) believe in yourself and not take the adversity personally (you can at times do everything right and it is market forces out of your control that change - i.e. COVID-19).
Let’s expand upon that. How has COVID-19 impacted the legal decisions and actions of entrepreneurs, and how is NEXT working to relieve any challenges?
Anthony: There have been significant challenges experienced by many entrepreneurs as a result of COVID-19.
A key focus for many of these entrepreneurs was to make sure that they did not run out of money in an environment in which they did not know how their sales and revenue would be impacted. This involved reducing payroll through furloughs and layoffs, applying for loans through the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and going to back investors, possibly in a down-round, for bridge funding.
To help startup companies address these needs NEXT rapidly developed and offered the following series of fixed-price COVID-19 Crisis Mitigation Legal Packages:
Workforce Guidance and Separation Packages
SBA Emergency Loan Product Application Packages
Down-Round Assessment, Cap Table Modeling, and Strategic Guidance Package
COVID-19 has surely made it difficult for startups to fundraise. What advice would you give to entrepreneurs who are looking to fundraise now?
Anthony: There are still many companies getting funded so do not get discouraged. It may take more time and you may need to speak with more potential investors. You should be well prepared for the process of fundraising. This includes determining how much to raise, designing a strategy around how to approach investors and who to approach, creating an investor package that investors will expect to see, honing the pitch, preparing the Company for the due diligence process, and preparing a term sheet, and retaining counsel to help you accomplish all of these steps.
How do you see your business evolving in the future?
Anthony: We will continue to relentlessly drive our goal of providing the most client-centric model for the delivery of legal services for startup and emerging growth companies. In the future, this will include (i) adding more fixed price packages and service bundles to our current offering of more than 75 and bring more complex legal matters into this model, (ii) integrating more technology platforms, business models and processes into the NEXT platform to continue to enhance the customer experience of receiving sophisticated legal services that are predictable, collaborative, transparent, and efficient, (iii) expanding our network of like-minded partners who can work closely with us to provide more holistic solutions to our clients and (iv) expanding to new geographic markets outside of DMV, New York Metro, and California).
We are so excited that NEXT is sponsoring DC Startup Week 2020. Why is it important to you to support the DMV startup community?
Anthony: I have participated in the startup ecosystem for over 20 years as an entrepreneur, venture capital partner, and start-up attorney. I believe that while the DMV startup community has come a long way, there is significant future growth potential and much more work to be done. All participants in this ecosystem (entrepreneurs, investors, lenders, service providers, real estate community, educational institutions, and government) need to find increased ways to coordinate, collaborate and contribute to the overall health, growth, and vibrancy of the community. NEXT is honored to be part of this community and to play its role in working toward these goals.
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Thank you to Anthony and the NEXT powered by Shulman Rogers team for being a title sponsor of DC Startup Week 2020! We are so grateful for your partnership and could not put on this conference without you.
Anthony will be speaking at several events this week at DCSW 2020! Here is where you can hear from him:
Tuesday, September 15th at 3pm: “Series A and Beyond”
Wednesday, September 16th at 2pm: “Fundamentals of Fundraising Workshop”
Wednesday, September 15th at 5pm: “Venture Capital: the Journey to VC Funding”
Friday, September 18th at 12pm: “Increase Your Chances For Success: Choosing The Right Partners”