SeedLegals launches new product for 'family and friends' startup funding

SeedLegals, an online service that closes startup rounds, has launched a new ‘Friends and Family’ product, helping UK founders to close the first round of funding in minutes.

The package includes tutorials, assistance and help to legally complete the round and issue shares to new investors. According to the SeedLegals platform, founders can reduce the time and cost of closing their round by 80 per cent compared to using a law firm.

The new Friends and Family product provides a startup’s early investors with everything they need to protect their investment and reliably access SEIS benefits, essential for early-stage UK funding rounds.

Anthony Rose, co-founder and CEO at SeedLegals, said: “Navigating the legal process required to close a funding round can be the biggest hurdle for startups but, more than this, the costs can consume a large chunk of the initial investment, damaging to growth.

“Having been through the funding process ourselves many times, my business partner and I wanted to create a service that radically transforms the process for founders and investors.

“SeedLegals takes a complex subject and simplifies it, combining workflow, tutorials and documents in a modern user interface. We’ve built an on-demand platform that anticipates a founder’s needs, fully supported by a team of experts every step of the way.”

The step-by-step workflow created by SeedLegals prompts founders to generate the documents needed at every step. From investment agreements to cap tables, share certificates and more; every document is created, shared, negotiated and signed on the platform.

In five months since its launch, SeedLegals - backed by founders, lawyers, investors and software engineers - has become the largest closer of funding rounds in the UK and has been recognised with a Best Fintech Startup win at the UKTN Awards.

Carlos Espinal, managing partner of Seedcamp, said: “Speed and cost-efficiency are critical to the early steps of company formation and can be a major hurdle to overcome.

“This new product addition from SeedLegals will be hugely beneficial not just for founders but for the wider community and bring more, innovative young businesses to light.”