Corporate Venture Capital in Startups: Management Control, Sharing Information and Technology, Exit Strategies

As a startup lawyer, Ms. Shulga advises companies from formation through exit, typically acting as their outside general counsel. She identifies and resolves a range of legal issues for startups and founders, forging long-term relationships that span the full corporate lifecycle. Ms. Shulga assists clients with entity formation; financing transactions; guidance on U.S. operations, including employment law and IP-related matters; complex joint ventures and technology agreements; and investment and exit opportunities. She has particular experience representing fintech startups, including companies that operate in the blockchain space, such as NFT platforms, DAOs and gaming companies. Ms. Shulga advises crypto clients on regulatory matters, issuance of digital tokens, NFTs and platform creation. As a fund formation attorney, she also advises emerging fund managers on setup and formation of their VC or RE funds, as well as the structuring of their GP and management company entities. Ms. Shulga is also well-versed in the setup of special-purpose investment vehicles and Delaware series LLCs. On the M&A front, she advises mature startups ready for an exit and private equity firms looking to acquire companies throughout the U.S.

Mr. Kahan's corporate transactional practice focuses on venture capital and private equity investments, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and spin-offs, public securities offerings, and corporate governance. He also regularly advises clients in strategic technology transactions, including professional service agreements, software-as-a-service agreements, sourcing agreements, transition service agreements, distribution agreements, reseller agreements, and intellectual property licensing.

Mr. Taylor is a New York-based Partner who leads Cerity Partners Ventures’ Built World practice, focusing on sectors such as physical security and safety, water technology, labor management, multifamily technology, and more. Before joining Cerity Partners, he was a Managing Director at Touchdown Ventures, a pioneer of the “venture capital as a service” model that merged with Cerity Partners in 2024. Prior to that, Mr. Taylor began his venture career in roles at Laconia Capital Group and Virgil Capital, primarily focusing on early-stage investments in B2B fintech, real estate, and media startups. He spent the first three years of his career in the debt capital markets group at the Royal Bank of Scotland.