Press Release: Bowditch & Worcester Chamber Team Up for Start Me Up Legal Conference

March 18, 2019

WORCESTER (March 15, 2019) — According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, more than half of all start-ups fail within the first five years. Why do so many fail? Arguably one of the most overlooked factors is a lack of legal guidance.

Bowditch & Dewey, LLP and the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce are co-hosting the Start Me Up Legal Conference, where three panels of experts will deliver a program specifically tailored to the needs of budding entrepreneurs. The program will take place on March 27, 2019 from 4-7 p.m. at the AC Hotel in Worcester.

Start-ups often have many questions about how to plan, start, build and maintain a lean startup, such as: What type of entity should I form? What kind of governing agreements do I need? How do I protect my entity’s intellectual property? How do I incentivize employees? What are my tax obligations as a business owner? Should I have an employment agreement? What do angel and VC investors look for? How can I prepare for an exit event?  This program will help you manage your startup like a pro!

Julie O’Neill, a Bowditch business law partner who represents start-ups and is one of the conference organizers, said, “I work with a number of start-ups, and what a lot of people don’t realize is that the decisions you make at the beginning may limit your options for financing or an exit down the road. This conference will address those issues and much more.”

Vaske Gjino, the Chamber’s economic development associate, manages StartUp Worcester at the Chamber. He believes that “This conference is a great opportunity for an entrepreneur to pause from the day-to-day challenges of launching a business and to think about what might make the business stronger.”

The program will be divided into three panels. AiVi Nguyen from Bowditch will moderate the Formation & Financing panel, which will include Jeffrey Parker from GrandBanks Capital, Aaron Birt from Solvus Global, and Julie O’Neill and Matthew Morris from Bowditch.

The second panel is about operations and will feature Stacy Chin from HydroGlyde Coatings, David Crouch from ten24, and Brian Mullin from Bowditch. This panel will be moderated by Giselle Rivera-Flores from The Learning Hub.

Lastly, the Exit Strategies panel, moderated by Joe Vignaly from Business Strategy Consulting Partners, features Donna Levin from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, John Joseph from Datanomix and George Tetler from Bowditch.

More information can be found at worcesterchamber.org.

About Bowditch & Dewey, LLP

Bowditch is a highly regarded law firm handling sophisticated transactions, challenging litigation and complex regulatory issues for businesses, families and institutions throughout Massachusetts, the region and beyond.

With more than 60 lawyers seamlessly connected in three strategic Massachusetts offices – Boston, Framingham and Worcester ­– Bowditch is a preeminent law firm, deep in the areas of business and finance, real estate and environmental, litigation, employment and labor, and estate and tax planning, delivering outstanding client satisfaction and big-firm quality legal services.

About Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce

The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce is the lead organization for economic development serving the region’s business community. The Chamber represents 2,200 members from all industries and of all sizes located in a service area of 35 cities and towns and other communities in Central Mass. and beyond. Worcester’s affiliate Chambers of Commerce are Auburn, Blackstone Valley, Central Mass. South, Wachusett Area, and Webster Dudley Oxford.