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Thompson Hine LLP, a full-service business law firm with approximately 400 lawyers in 11 offices, was ranked number 1 in the category “Most innovative North American law firms: New working models” by The Financial Times and was 1 of 7 firms shortlisted for The American Lawyer’s inaugural Legal Services Innovation Award. The firm has been recognized by the National Law Journal as a Legal Technology Trailblazer and featured by Bloomberg for its innovative service delivery models, which drive accuracy and predictability. The firm’s commitment to innovation is embodied in Thompson Hine SmartPaTHTM – a smarter way to work – predictable, efficient and aligned with client goals. For more information, please visit ThompsonHine.com and ThompsonHine.com/SmartPaTH.

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Supporting Ohio's Next Generation of Founders

Thompson Hine was honored to sponsor the pitch practice session for the JumpStart Trailblazer Accelerator Software cohort, which was hosted earlier this month. Founders spent the day refining their pitches and receiving real-time feedback from a panel of experienced investors, the kind of hands-on coaching that turns a good idea into an investable business. Sean Ganley and Daniel Criswell attended on behalf of Thompson Hine. We're also proud to serve as a presenting sponsor of the upcoming Ohio VC Fest, taking place September 29–30, continuing our commitment to supporting founders and investors across Ohio's growing innovation ecosystem.

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Why Entity Structure Matters in Startup Fundraising

An article featured in <em>Crain's Chicago Business</em> and written by Thompson Hine partner Aisling O’Laoire makes a great observation: the entity you choose at formation can shape everything from your fundraising timeline to your tax bill. Aisling explains why Delaware C-corps remain the gold standard for venture-backed companies and what founders risk by not structuring properly early on. <a href="https://www.chicagobusiness.com/crains-content-studio/thought-leader-report/ccb-startup-entity-structure-venture-capital-fundraising/">Continue reading</a>.

The Treasury’s Long Arm: What SSBCI Participants Need to Know About Audit Exposure

The State Small Business Credit Initiative’s compliance regime was built with some serious teeth. Now that many programs are more than halfway through their deployment period, the Treasury Department’s Office of the Inspector General is increasingly pursuing compliance violations and highlighting the need for participants to continue maintaining meticulous records and documentation. <a href="https://www.thompsonhine.com/insights/the-treasurys-long-arm-what-ssbci-participants-need-to-know-about-audit-exposure/">Continue reading</a>.

THOMPSON HINE’S PRESENCE AT ATLANTA TECH WEEK

Thompson Hine took an active role in this year's Atlanta Tech Week, participating in programming that spanned health tech procurement, innovation, and investment across the region's growing tech ecosystem.

Healthy Human Economy® Innovation Exchange

Thompson Hine sponsored the third annual Healthy Human Economy Innovation Exchange, which convened a curated group of health innovation investors, founders, and health system executives for a focused discussion on the complexities of health care procurement. Lindsay Karas Stencel participated in the featured panel, "Procurement Unlocked," examining how health tech companies can effectively sell into hospital systems and health plans, including where deals most often stall and what founders and buyers need to understand from legal, regulatory, and operational perspectives. The session took a practical, practitioner-led approach to compliance hurdles, contracting dynamics, and transaction structuring, while also offering opportunities to engage with stakeholders across the health care innovation ecosystem.

Lindsay Karas Stencel recently led a Fundraising 101 workshop for founders in CBE's Launch Incubator For Traction (LIFT) program. AUC LIFT is a 16-week, competency-based accelerator designed to give early-stage, tech-based startups intensive coaching and curriculum to improve their performance and readiness to secure investment. The program supports Atlanta's broader push to become a top-tier tech hub for entrepreneurship, offering pathways for founders based both in Atlanta and nationally. The presentation walked founders through the fundamentals of raising capital, giving participants practical, actionable guidance as they prepare to pursue investment and scale their companies. Thompson Hine is proud to support Atlanta's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem and organizations like AUC LIFT that are working to expand access to capital and mentorship for founders.

Thompson Hine also hosted a breakfast program with Engage VC at their offices, offering founders and investors an additional, more intimate setting to connect and continue conversations sparked throughout the week.

Building the Right Foundation: IP Protection and Talent Strategies for Startups

Thompson Hine partner Lindsay Karas Stencel and senior managing associate Clint King hosted a focused conversation on two of the most important challenges every startup faces: protecting its innovations and building a team for long-term success. Speakers discussed strategies for protecting intellectual property, including patent and trademark fundamentals and the regulatory considerations that affect early-stage and growth companies. They also explored best practices for attracting and retaining top talent, designing competitive compensation and equity programs, and fostering long-term employee engagement to support continued company growth.

Pre-seed fundraising isn't about "fair" thresholds, it's driven by investor demand, not objective business value. The post argues that valuation caps on SAFEs vary wildly (e.g., $5M to $30M for similar raise amounts) not because some founders have better traction, but because caps reflect how excited specific investors are about specific founders. High-demand founders (e.g., those from top AI labs) can raise big on little more than an idea, while lower-demand founders need strong metrics, revenue, live product, customer traction, just to get funded at all. The same logic extends to network, pedigree, and technical background.

Bottom line: there's no universal ARR or traction benchmark for raising $1M — it's entirely contextual to the founder, the business, and how VCs perceive competitive dynamics around that deal.

QuickLaunch: Experienced Guidance for Startups and Investors

Our QuickLaunch program is tailored to entrepreneurs, startups and investors, providing guidance on growth and funding cycles and offering cost-effective counsel on day-to-day legal matters from formation to funding to exits. Our seasoned team helps navigate the confusing waters of growth, funding, expansion and those tricky legal issues that can arise, often at fixed or budgeted pricing by using our firmwide proprietary SmartPaTH Plus™ tool. To learn more about our tailored, value-enhancing solutions, please visit our <a href="https://www.thquicklaunch.com/">site</a>.

New Ventures Update – August 2026

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