At the end of the day, it's still the lawyers and
accountants who best know where the money is. And either overtly or
subtly, part of what many of them are selling is access to
investors that might have an interest in your business. In fact, if
you own a hotshot technology or Internet company, some law firms
and accounting firms will actually defer some (or, if you're
lucky, all) of their fees until funds are raised.
At RealTime, Seidman retained Philadelphia-based powerhouse
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, where Stephen Goodman is the lawyer of
choice to the region's growing cadre of tech companies.
"If there's somebody we need to get to," says
Seidman, "he can be effective in making an
introduction."
Unfortunately, you can't simply call an attorney or
accountant and tell them to turn on the spigot; it's got to be
done in the context of an engagement--some engagement, any
engagement, that gets everything on a professional footing, such as
assistance with financial projections. As the twist to the old
saying goes, it takes money to raise money.
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Meanwhile, back at RealTime, Seidman and his partners are caught
in the archetypal entrepreneur's warp. They're so busy
building and running the business that raising money becomes even
more challenging. "The only thing I can say," says
Seidman, "is that it's a good thing there are so many
paths we can take. Otherwise, we'd never find the time to find
the investors."