Corporate attorney Lindsey S. Mignano, based in San Francisco, is a go-to expert for startup founders, small business owners, and international companies looking to break into the U.S. market. A former attorney at an international law firm, Lindsey now leads her own boutique practice, SSM Law, where she helps emerging tech companies navigate everything from formation and fundraising to mergers and acquisitions and commercial transactions.

Lindsey has advised hundreds of startup founders and small businesses at every stage of growth. She helps founders turn an idea into a company, raise venture capital, and navigate the legal landmines of scaling in a competitive tech market. She brings deep insight into how early-stage companies operate and what legal pitfalls they face. Reporters often turn to Lindsey because she makes complex legal and business issues easy to understand, speaks the language of both founders and investors, and has a profound understanding of what is happening in Silicon Valley and beyond.

In addition to her legal work, Lindsey is a passionate advocate for diversity in tech and venture capital. She founded Venture Betches and Syndicate Betches, two fund-of-funds designed to bring investment opportunities to women and BIPOC investors and to support fund managers from historically underrepresented backgrounds.

During this episode, we discuss:

• What she does at SSM Law
• When startups come to her law firm for help
• Types of mistakes startups make that they realize when they’re getting ready to raise and how Lindsey helps them fix that
• The business and financial metrics they should have in place before raising a round
• Why it’s not a good time to raise right now
• How solo female founders have an especially hard time with raising
• What her most successful startup founder clients do to differentiate themselves from other startups to get funding
• Advice for anyone looking to raise in the next year
• The most popular verticals she sees VCs investing in for early stage startups

And more. Tune into this episode as we dive into all things startup law!