[vc_row type="in_container" full_screen_row_position="middle" scene_position="center" text_color="dark" text_align="left" overlay_strength="0.3" shape_divider_position="bottom"][vc_column column_padding="no-extra-padding" column_padding_position="all" background_color_opacity="1" background_hover_color_opacity="1" column_shadow="none" column_border_radius="none" width="1/1" tablet_text_alignment="default" phone_text_alignment="default" column_border_width="none" column_border_style="solid"][vc_column_text]
Stubbs Alderton & Markiles client BillGO, a B2B payment engine, has announced its acquisition of Prism, an award-winning app that has already paid $1B in bills on behalf of its customers. This will yield a considerable boost to BillGO’s real-time payments (RTP) biller network. BillGO will leverage Prism’s existing network of over 11,000 billers for its customers, widening their already significant lead in the bill payments industry – providing the most advanced eBills (statements) and bill presentment platform.
To read the full press release visit here.
Stubbs Alderton & Markiles’ attorneys acting as counsel BillGO in this deal were John McIlvery and Jonathan Friedman.
About
BillGO constantly creates and innovates past what exists. That drive powers the BillGO team to relentlessly advance payment systems to accelerate speed, efficiency, and security. BillGO provides a simple integration into any existing system that gives payment providers access to a faster, proven bill payments engine. Learn more: https://www.billgo.com/
For more information about the Mergers & Acquisitions practice, contact John McIlvery at [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Los Angeles, CA - May 13, 2016 Stubbs Alderton & Markiles announces that it represented its client D-Software, d/b/a Zephyr, one of the software industry’s fastest-growing providers of real-time, on-demand enterprise test management solutions, in an investment deal of $31M from Frontier Capital.
Based in Newark, Calif., in the epicenter of the software industry, Zephyr provides more than 8,500 customers in over 100 countries with innovative applications, seamless integrations and unparalleled, real-time visibility into the quality and status of their software development projects. With additional operations in London and Bangalore, the company has more than doubled its customer base in the past 12 months by helping companies like LG Electronics, Adobe, HSBC, Honda, Oracle, Citibank, Amex, GE, Starz and Hyundai drive down costs and bring higher quality software to market faster.
The $31 million investment from Frontier Capital will be used to fund key growth initiatives for the company like enhancing the product portfolio and scaling sales and marketing capabilities, according to Zephyr founder and CEO Samir Shah.
“Partnering with Frontier Capital will help us realize our potential by investing in the critical business functions that will fuel our growth,” said Shah. “Their business acumen and experience helping similar next-stage growth companies achieve their goals will be just as, if not more, valuable to us than the money they have invested. We are excited to have Frontier on board as an engaged partner and look forward to working with them to build a market leader.”
SAM Partner Scott Alderton has represented D-Software, d/b/a Zephyr, since its inception and Stubbs Alderton as a whole is very proud of their success. SAM Partners that led this deal include Scott Galer, and Scott Alderton
To read the full Zephyr press release, click here.
About Frontier Capital
Frontier Capital is a Charlotte-based growth equity firm focused exclusively on software and technology-enabled business services companies. Founded in 1999, Frontier partners with management teams that can benefit from capital to accelerate growth, fund acquisitions or generate shareholder liquidity. The firm makes minority and majority equity investments in high growth companies and has built an excellent track record of delivering returns to both investors and management partners. For more information, please visit frontiercapital.com.
About Zephyr
Zephyr is a leading provider of on-demand enterprise test management solutions, offering innovative applications, seamless integrations and unparalleled, real-time visibility into the quality and status of software projects. Zephyr products are the fastest-growing agile test management products in the world, with more than 8,500 global customers in over 100 countries. Their feature-rich products address today’s dynamic and global needs across a variety of industries including finance, healthcare, media, automotive, IT services and enterprise software. Zephyr is headquartered in Newark, Calif., with offices in Europe and India. For more information, please visit www.getzephyr.com.
About Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP
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. For more information, please visit www.stubbsalderton.com.
Media Contact:
Heidi Hubbeling
(310) 746-9803
In a perfect world, a business lawyer isn’t the person you run to when things go sideways—it’s the trusted advisor you consult regularly to anticipate challenges and put you in the best position to succeed. While it may seem like a luxury for some startups, there are several important factors to consider that make hiring a lawyer earlier than later a smart decision.
Five Reasons to Hire a Lawyer for Your Startup
Guidance
At the incorporation stage, the value of a lawyer has as much to do with helping you figure out what you need as it does with preparing documents. When it comes to what kind of entity to form, how to structure and distribute equity, or the best strategy to protect your intellectual property, a good lawyer will help guide you toward where you need to be—and then get you there.
Ownership
When people embark on a business venture together, it’s best to establish everyone’s rights and expectations at the outset in case there are disagreements down the road. It’s a lot easier to resolve a conflict before it arises, and you’d never imagine anything could break the bond between you and your co-founders… until it does.
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property can be one of the biggest assets—and, if not protected, liabilities—of a startup company. Whether it means preparing nondisclosure agreements to protect trade secrets, drafting license agreements, defending trademarks, copyrights, or patents, or avoiding infringement of all of the above, a good lawyer will keep you protected.
Taxes
It probably goes without saying that you don’t want to violate tax laws or incur unnecessary tax liability, and that you want pay the taxes you owe so as to avoid penalties. Tax laws can be complex, and a good lawyer will keep you ahead of the curve on tax issues and structure your business accordingly.
Contracts
Finally, there’s the day-to-day legal that every startup encounters. Airtight vendor agreements, employment and contractor documents, and website terms of service and privacy policies are all invaluable for startups to get right—the first time.
Five Things to Look For When You Do
Expertise
First and foremost, you want someone that is skilled and experienced with the types of legal issues you will face. This includes both the underlying business issues and the challenges specific to your industry—an attorney with knowledge relevant to your business is best positioned to become the advisor you need.
For many startups across the board, it’s extremely advantageous to hire an attorney (and law firm) with experience in both formation and financing. An attorney who regularly helps companies get “up and running” but is also frequently involved in seed-stage and venture capital financing will be able to give you better advice, and better facilitate accomplishing your goals.
Fit
It’s also important that your lawyer (and his or her firm) is a good fit for your company. This means someone that you get along with and enjoy working with, but also someone who “gets” your business and industry and has the resources at their firm to serve all your potential needs. If a lawyer doesn’t speak the language of your business or understand the world in which you’re operating, it’s harder for him or her to adequately represent you.
Responsiveness
It should go without saying that you want a lawyer who responds to your calls and emails in a timely manner. What’s equally important is how they respond. A good lawyer shouldn’t just tell you “no.” They respond to a problem with the right questions and a new suggestion of how to get what you want: “This is what you can do.”
Connections
You might be thinking about your lawyer in terms of connections or cache, and you wouldn’t be alone in that thought. While the expertise, fit, and responsiveness of an attorney should take precedence, the ability of your lawyer to introduce you to investors or potential partners—as well as their guidance in how to do so and the credibility they lend—is simply part of the value proposition.
Fees
Let’s be honest: one of the biggest considerations in hiring a lawyer is the bottom line. The lawyers most start-ups deal with typically bill by the hour, and the hourly billing rate may vary widely between junior and senior lawyers. Depending on the complexity of your issue, the lawyer may be able to offer a flat fee arrangement to offer you some predictability, or at least offer an estimate of the amount of time it will take to complete the task at hand.
If you make the time and effort to find the right attorney and firm, you can get quality representation at a fair price. In the long run, hiring a lawyer for your startup is worth it—in time and money saved, and stress avoided, by starting down the best path in the beginning.
_____________________________
Nick Feldman's practice focuses on corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, dispositions, private equity transactions and general corporate matters for both public and private clients, focusing on middle-market and emerging growth companies. In addition, Nick counsels companies in connection with entity formation, corporate governance, federal and state securities laws and compliance, joint ventures, employee incentive plans, executive employment agreements and other executive compensation matters. Nick also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Loyola Marymount University, where he lectures on media law topics.
_______________________
For more information about services for your legal needs, contact Nick Feldman at or (818) 444-4541.