Legal services for startups at a reduced cost

One of the most expensive costs to startups are the legal services they require from the moment of their inception and through all stages of their development as a company. Legal services do not come cheap and cannot be avoided for long in the startup realm. While these high costs are the reality startups must face, startups should we aware that there is funding from Law Firms which specifically help with the costs of legal services.  We were fortunate to secure a spot within BLG's Growth Catalyst Program, which is further described in the copied article below from Techvibes. If you search diligently I am sure you can help secure some funding for your legal services!

Law Firm's Growth Program Boosts Tech Startups in Canada

Posted by Techvibes NewsDesk on May 23, 2014

Borden Ladner Gervais announced this week that it has selected startups Clear Pod and Figure of Eight, as the first companies to participate in the BLG Growth Catalyst Program.

The two companies are Ottawa-based and members of the Invest Ottawa GrindSpace XL accelerator.

Figure of Eight develops medical billing software permitting physicians to submit claims quickly, efficiently and securely. Clear Pod develops environmentally sustainable solutions for septic system waste water treatment that significantly improves the performance of septic systems.

The BLG Growth Catalyst Program is designed to offset legal fees by providing access to a multi-disciplinary team of tech-savvy lawyers, patent and trade-mark agents specializing in intellectual property protection, corporate, labour and employment law.

For companies who have attracted eligible government funding, BLG’s Growth Catalyst Program will match every dollar that those companies spend on legal services from BLG, up to $10,000 per company. This matching will be provided in the form of additional legal services.

“We are thrilled to offer these first stage Canadian companies access to affordable and high quality legal services without diluting the founders’ equity in the company,” said Curtis Behmann, partner, BLG Information Technology Group in Ottawa. “The BLG Growth Catalyst Program team are experienced legal professionals who provide both strategic and tactical advice to companies at a critical phase in their development.”

“As a startup company BLG has been generous in providing us with an opportunity to access legal services crucial in development of our company," said Suzan Bsat, co-founder of Figure of Eight.

Both companies recently graduated from the winter cohort for GrindSpaceXL. They were two of four GrindSpace companies that received government funding through the SPARC program via IRAP and Invest Ottawa. Pre-acceptance of the two companies into BLG’s Growth Catalyst Program assisted these companies in successfully obtaining the SPARC funding.

Original post: http://www.techvibes.com/blog/law-firms-growth-program-boosts-tech-startups-in-canada-2014-05-23