How To Protect Your Business with the Top Legal Essentials

GSD Diaries with Angela Proffitt

Today's guest, Nancy Wood Stabell, is a business attorney with a focus on entrepreneurs and founders who are interested in scaling their business. I'm gonna be honest, before I got into the Entrepreneur Organization, I had no idea what that meant. So if you don't know… you don't know what you don't know. And that's okay!

Nancy started her career in big law and spent a period of time doing high end health care finance for hospital systems, before going in house with a multinational marketing company that worked with financial institutions. She brings all that experience to smaller companies and founders who are working to be that big; meaning they have plans to scale. The stories that she shares are absolutely mind blowing. If you're an early company, especially if you're raising money, or doing anything with equity, it's so important to just have a relationship with somebody that you can reach out to before you sign your name away.

We have been very schooled on how attorneys are expensive and unaffordable. But that’s not always the case, you have got to do your homework. Make sure that you have the right legal setup before you do anything. And if you don't have a business attorney or, or you don't have an advisor or someone that you can call, please, please, please go to Nancy. Because not only is she an amazing attorney, she really freakin cares! Listen into this episode for all her top takeaways and steps to point your business in the right legal direction.

Main Topics:*What having a go-to business lawyer who understands your business can do for you*Key legal agreements that every creative business needs.*The power of a good partnership agreement between you and your partners... and what happens if you don't have one.

Key Takeaways:*Invest in a relationship with a good attorney who can help protect your business and achieve your goals. That person should understand your business, its drivers and key risks.*Ensure that you have key protections in place for your business -- limited liability structure, partnership agreements, NDAs, employment agreements and 1099s, employee proprietary rights agreement, noncompetes, etc.*Focus on your strengths - outsource the rest.

More About Our Guest:

Nancy Wood Stabell is the Founding Member of Wood Stabell Law Group. As a fourth-generation attorney with over 20 years of experience, Nancy knows the law; she loves business; and she is committed to being a strategic partner who delivers results, improves the bottom line, and protects stakeholder value.

As an attorney with an M.B.A., she doesn’t just provide legal advice to businesses; she gives sound, creative business advice supported by legal knowledge. Nancy is known for her innovative approach to representing growth-focused businesses, sophisticated entrepreneurs and high net worth individual investors in complex transactions.

Nancy routinely advises senior management and investors on capital raising solutions, which may come from bank financing, friends and family, angel investors, and/or venture capital or private equity funds. She tailors capital raising transactions to a client’s unique needs or to serve the investment objectives of the investor, the venture capital fund, or the angel investor, and ensures compliance with investor guidelines. Nancy also drafts and negotiates business to business agreements; reviews and negotiates commercial loan documents; prepares employment agreements and advises human resources on employment matters.

Prior to founding Wood Stabell Law Group, Nancy was Vice President & Senior Counsel at Affinion Group. Working directly with the C-Suite gave Nancy a deep understanding of how executives communicate and how businesses face unforeseen circumstances. Nancy spent 10 years in private corporate practice with two AmLaw 200 firms where she honed her clients-first approach. Nancy uses all of her experience to find lean, creative solutions for her clients and to position them for future success.

Nancy is active in the Nashville community and enjoys cooking, entertaining, and traveling. She can be spotted around town supporting her son in his sports and activities or walking her dog Charlotte.