Services Provided:
- Day-to-day legal and corporate advice
- Financing and capital raises
- Copyrights and trademarks
- Contract management and negotiations
- Corporate and business structuring advice
Result
Co-Founder Jeff Kurtzman worked with George Nemphos on a previous legal matter, and when it came time to start his next venture, he turned immediately to Nemphos Braue.
Kurtzman along with Co-Founder Luke Silverman brought the concept for Bark Social to Nemphos Braue Co-Founders (and fellow dog-owners) George Nemphos and Tim Braue very early on in the process. Being involved at the ground floor and engaged pre-ideation allowed Nemphos Braue to help establish a legal framework around their dream and business goals, and provide a platform from which to build and grow.
Bark Social is a private, monitored off-leash dog park with a beer and coffee bar, food for humans and their four-legged friends, a kids’ play area and free wifi. Open rain or shine, dogs can roam and socialize under the supervision of “bark rangers,” employees who monitor the dogs.
From just an idea to the grand opening of their first location in Bethesda, Md., in 2020, and more locations planned for 2022 and beyond, Nemphos Braue has been a strategic business partner to Kurtzman and Silverman, addressing entity formation, capital raises, employee and partner contracts, trademark filings, and other day-to-day corporate and business law matters. “Across the board, everything that I’ve thrown at them, they’ve been able to handle. There’s always someone in the firm that’s an absolute expert in what we need help with,” said Kurtzman.
It was important to Kurtzman and Silverman to hire someone who knows the pitfalls of starting and owning a business, and working with lawyers who are also entrepreneurs was key. “[George] gives a darn about his clients and the businesses that they are going to create and hopefully scale,” said Silverman.
Having connections to lobbyists also proved critical for Bark Social. A couple days before their first location’s grand opening, there was a challenge in getting a necessary county permit, and the Bark Social team engaged with Nemphos Braue’s government relations affiliate Old Line Government Affairs. Within a few days, through high-level connections in county and state government, Old Line was able to resolve the process so that Bark Social could open on time.
Wildly successful and busy planning their next location, Kurtzman and Silverman still stay in close contact with George and the Nemphos Braue team, talking nearly every week and discussing upcoming plans.
“George is a bulldog. He knows startups and is founder-friendly,” said Kurtzman. “He’s the best out there. I wouldn’t hire anyone else for a startup-related venture.”
More about Nemphos Braue’s work with Bark Social:
Technical.ly article