From crowdfunding to cryptocurrency, social impact investing, benefit corporations, and access to capital for female and minority entrepreneurs, the second season of the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic’s Startup LAWnchpad podcast* explores a wide array of complex issues faced by startups as they obtain financing.
Bernice Grant
This season’s theme can be best described as “From Seed Capital to Social Impact,” according to Bernice Grant, senior director of the Entrepreneurial Law Program and founding director of the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic.
“Our podcast is a way for us to expand the reach of our clinic beyond the clients that we represent every semester. It can be listened to by any entrepreneur, wherever they are in the world. In fact, 20 percent of our listeners are located outside of the United States,” Grant said. “What makes our podcast unique is that we focus on the legal aspects of entrepreneurship. Most entrepreneurship podcasts focus only on the business side, but we focus on the important and often overlooked legal aspects of starting a business.”
Students in the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic are involved in all aspects of content creation for the podcast, including in-depth research, hosting episodes, and interviewing experts and Fordham Law alumni.
One episode that highlights a well-known company is Episode 2, which features Chris Mitchell ’00, general counsel of the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. “During that episode, we focus on the fact that Kickstarter is what’s known as a public benefit corporation—a company that has decided to put public benefit into their corporate charter because it is an important part of their business mission,” Grant said. “It connects to the social impact portion of this season’s theme.”
Listen to Season Two via the Startup LAWnchpad homepage, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.
*Startup LAWnchpad is made possible by the generous support of the NASDAQ Educational Foundation and Fordham’s Entrepreneurial Law Advisory Council.
