Join us for a conversation with Sankeetha Selvarajah and a networking session with other Propel members in breakouts afterward to discuss some of the topics womxn face in their growth.

About Sankeetha:‍

Sankeetha Selvarajah is the Principal Shareholder and Managing Attorney of Selvarajah Law P.C., a civil transactional firm located in Boston, Massachusetts with satellite offices in New York, NY. Her practice has an emphasis on general business law and mergers & acquisitions; clients include technology companies, real estate companies, various food industry companies, manufacturers and retailers. Currently, her firm provides outside general counsel services to over 100 companies where the legal service timeline includes formation, negotiating and drafting agreements to mergers and dissolutions.

Sankeetha is a frequent speaker and writer on corporate formation, business growth and risk management topics. She has served as a panelist for the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Boston Bar Association, Massachusetts Bar Association, Lawyers Weekly, Real Estate Bar Association, Connecticut Bar Association and the American Bar Association. She is a frequent lecturer at the Center for Women & Enterprise where she teaches new and current entrepreneurs, the Legal Considerations for New Business; Non-Profits and Benefit Corporations.

‍
Sankeetha is the Founder of Bizto.Co, a business educational platform designed to assist small business and startup founders with short/long-term strategic planning through subject-specific seminars, and corporate coaching. This platform also provides consulting of various strategic matters relating to everyday business matters. She is also a past co-founder of Strata Advisory, an advisory board-for-hire focusing on post-accelerator startups and small businesses. Currently, she is a VentureCafe Advisor where she mentors startups in the tech industry.

She is a continuing 2018 ABA Fellow with the American Bar Foundation and has been awarded the 2016 American Bar Association Top 40 under 40 On The Rise award and the 2015 National Law Journal’s 40 under 40 award. Recently she was also named 2020 Top 100 Attorneys by Top 100 Magazine.

Sankeetha is licensed to practice law in New York and Massachusetts.

‍

Event Notes:

• It's critical to have an accountant early - they know the tax codes and can work with your lawyer to help you think ahead for your business. Hire an accountant first - before your lawyer to understand the best taxation methodology. They will help you understand when is the right time to hire? They will help you plan for 6-12 operating expenses savings
• You do not need 1 business deck. Please don't spend too much time making a 95-slide deck. You need a clear vision and a concise plan. You also need different types of decks for different audiences:
• A deck for investors - cater your messaging understanding that they want a return
• A deck/1-2 pager for your customer - know that your client wants to understand your value proposition
• A deck for your team - your team wants to see growth and the plan for the company's future
• Check out the  "Living Executive / Business Plan" template executive summary. You'll make a plan for1,3,5 years; you'll understand and need to know if you're going to raise money in 24 - 36 months
• Wisdom nugget - people run their businesses like their personal lives - savings, people skills, etc.; discipline matters
• You will need a legal team sooner or later - contract, sales, or proposals. The best defense is the offense - have your contracts ready. When you draft your own contracts they will be slanted to your favor...even for contractors. Be careful using LegalZoom and quick solutions. Sometimes cleaning up after that will cost you.
• Check out thestarupdox.com - Accessible legal service for EVERY business owner. Attorney-drafted and reviewed documents for your business for 50% off. Form single & dual member LLCs for 50% off.