Womble Bond Dickinson has launched a new service for rapidly expanding businesses.
WBD Accelerate was launched at the same time as Womble Bond Dickinson struck a formal partnership with Yena, a virtual acceleration community that supports entrepreneurs and the growth of startups across the UK.
Womble Bond Dickinson technology partner Alastair Mitton will lead WBD Accelerate, which will offer a package of streamlined services.
These include access to a range of legal experts experienced in advising businesses at a similar stage, with a nominated legal ‘mentor’ as a first point of contact. There is also access to a growing number of commonly needed and focused legal documents that can be produced on a self-service basis through the firm’s platforms.
Mitton commented: “We understand that there are a whole range of challenges to be met in growing and scaling up a successful business and that legal considerations are only part of that jigsaw. However, making sure that the ‘legals’ are right from an early stage tends to pay dividends in saving time and reducing risk in the longer term. It’s inevitably also a key part of securing investment, so can help stop potential issues becoming unexpected barriers to growth—often at just the wrong moment.”
Womble Bond Dickinson’s work with growing businesses led to the firm becoming the official legal brand partner of Yena.
They will collaborate over the course of 2019 to support and grow the community through advice, educational content and mentoring, as well as sponsorship of Yena’s UK-based and international meetups.
Mitton continued: “[W]e’re committed to supporting ambitious local, national and international businesses with smart legal advice and innovative thinking. We came across Yena and the fantastic work it does for entrepreneurs when Ash [Phillips]—Yena’s founder—spoke at our International Innovation Week in 2018 and instantly knew this was a business we wanted to work with.”
Starting out as a single meetup event in Bristol in 2013, Yena has developed into a platform that connects startups with the resources they need to start and grow a business.
Yena’s meetups continue to grow too, as a social impact initiative now connecting more than 4,500 of the next generation of founders and ambitious professionals for free at 120+ meetups a year across 16 cities globally.
Phillips commented: “We are incredibly excited to have WBD on board to help support our journey to provide high quality business support to everyone, everywhere. It’s been really important for us to take the time to find the right partners and ensure they truly understand us, our mission and the needs of our community. In return, we hope to help them build better businesses by enabling them to access the talent of the future.”
