Emerging Companies & Venture Capital
Azure Legal handles the entity, equity, and financing paper that has to be right from day one. Get it wrong at formation and it's expensive to fix later. We work with founders from the first Delaware filing through fundraising, scaling, and eventually a sale or exit, all under one flat-fee engagement. There's no rotating cast of hourly counsel.
This is usually the first real legal decision a founder makes, and the one with the longest tail. A poorly structured cap table, a missed 83(b) election, or a founders' agreement that never got signed rarely causes trouble on day one. The problem shows up later, during a priced round or an acquisition, when it's expensive and sometimes impossible to fully unwind. Getting the structure right early is what keeps later financings and exits from turning into cleanup projects.
Who This Is For
- Pre-incorporation founders choosing an entity for the first time
- Post-seed companies scaling their equity incentive plan and cap table
- Boards and management teams heading into a financing or M&A process
What We Handle
- Delaware C-corp or LLC formation & structuring
- SAFE & convertible note financings
- Equity incentive plan administration & grants
- Board formation & observer rights
- M&A process management & negotiation
- Outside general counsel for day-to-day commercial contracts & employment matters
Common Agreements & Documents
- Certificate of Incorporation / Formation
- SAFE / Convertible Note
- Equity Incentive Plan & Grant Notices
- Board & Stockholder Consents
- Merger / Asset Purchase Agreement
- Commercial Contract / Advisor & Employment Agreement
How We Work
ECVC work is billed flat-fee per matter: a formation, a financing round, a plan amendment. There's no incentive to pad time on routine work, and no surprise invoice for a phone call. Engagements run directly with the attorney doing the work, so turnaround on routine documents is usually measured in days.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does formation actually take?
A straightforward Delaware C-corp or LLC formation typically closes within a few business days once the basic decisions (entity type, founder equity split, initial officers/directors) are settled. Those decisions usually set the pace; the paperwork itself moves quickly once they're settled.
Do you work with LLCs, or only Delaware C-corps?
Both. Most venture-backed companies end up as Delaware C-corps because that's what most institutional investors expect, but an LLC is often the better fit for a services business, a company that won't raise priced equity, or a founder who wants pass-through taxation. We'll walk through the tradeoffs based on your specific plans.
What if we're on a tight investor timeline?
Tell us the deadline up front. Formation and standard financing documents (a SAFE or convertible note) can usually move quickly once the business terms are agreed. Negotiating those terms is what actually takes time, so the earlier we're looped in on a live term sheet, the more runway there is to hit the date.
Forming a company, raising a round, or getting ready to exit? Book a 30-minute call to talk through where you are.
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