Getting startup legal matters done right with Gary Christelis

Link to Jothy's site: http://jothyrosenberg.com

Link to The Who Says I Can't Foundation (non-profit): https://whosaysicant.org

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This episode of Adventures on the Can Do is about those earliest days of formation when you have a small group of founders who have an idea that you all are certain will change the world. To do that you need to form a company which is a legal entity and there are lots of regulations and legal matters you need to get right without fail. So you really do need an attorney helping you at the start. You don't need to have one as a full-time employee but you need to find one at a law firm who has done this before. Make sure things having to do with founders are carefully buttoned up to avoid animosity or worse later when maybe one decides to leave. To cover all of that Jothy has Gary Christelis as his guest who knows of what he speaks when it comes to what you need a lawyer for at that formation point.

Gary Christelis has over 30 years experience with start-ups in both legal and business capacities. He currently leads the commercial contracts practice as Senior Counsel at Feinberg Hanson, LLP, a Boston, MA based boutique corporate law firm. Previously, he served in CEO, COO, and General Counsel roles with several high tech start-ups and emerging technology companies. He is also active in the Boston start-up community as an angel investor and has advisory roles with several high tech start-ups in New England and New York. Drawing on being on the frontlines with start-ups and high-tech companies, Gary brings a wealth of practical business and legal experience to a wide diversity of commercial and contractual issues confronting both early and later stage companies, particularly in the areas of technology licensing, development, distribution, and sales. 

Gary and Jothy were introduced by a mutual friend who is now his boss. Jothy hired him early on to be in-house counsel for Dover Microsystems.