I’ve been there. Getting ready to jump off a cliff, oblivious to the actual height. It was May 2002, and my co-founder at Sonos had just suggested we start a new company. Little did I know of what lay ahead, nor how much I would love that journey.

The first step in managing risk is identifying its presence, and there’s no better place to start than the practice of law.  My first four professional years were spent learning corporate law at two of the top law firms in the country – Akin, Gump and Wilson Sonsini.  WSGR in particular, from 1996-98, was a remarkable introduction to high growth, with companies exploding with the birth of the Internet. 

Most lawyers prefer to simply identify risk for the client, eschewing the ultimate decision around acceptance or avoidance. I recognized early on that I was much more inclined to be a decision-maker, and thus went in-house in 1998 as a general counsel. I received a ‘fire hose’ introduction to software licensing, and then helped take Software.com public in 1999. My final year as a pure GC, in 2000, focused on M&A, where I developed a healthy skepticism for its value as I witnessed firsthand the immense challenges of integrating different entities and cultures.

At this stage of my career, most of my work focused on complex transactions, and I felt the need to expand my understanding of deals by moving ‘down the stack’ from contract drafting/negotiation to deal assessment/formation.  When Software.com merged with Phone.com to form Openwave in 2000, I jumped from the law to business development, focused on complex partnerships with the likes of IBM, Oracle and Sun Microsystems. As it turns out, I would never go back to a pure legal role. 

As my time at Openwave reached its end, John MacFarlane (founder of Software.com) asked if I would like to start a new company. This was the birth of Sonos, in May 2002. Continuing my operational development, I told John I wanted to learn the CFO role, and he agreed, throwing in HR, IT, Facilities and Legal for good measure. The early years of Sonos were a phenomenal learning experience for me, and my first opportunity to put my early legal training to use in the realm of ‘responsible growth.’ Upon reflection, there were so many decisions we made in the startup phase that reverberated for years to come, notably for me in the equity, finance and HR realms. And while we made our share of good calls, as usual the mistakes have provided the most powerful opportunities for learning. When Sonos completed its IPO in August 2018, the absence of any drama during due diligence confirmed that we had successfully navigated our path of responsible growth.

All of my nearly 25 years in business have given me a unique ability to help companies accelerate growth with an experienced eye for risk. This has nothing to do with the type and amount of insurance to carry. It is the myriad day-to-day decisions made at the intersection of finance, HR and legal operations. What is an acceptable structure for a preferred stock investment? How much equity properly incentivizes employees? Do I really care about a governing law provision in a license agreement? High growth companies face these types of questions every day, and must quickly choose a path. Speed is your friend, delay your enemy. Maximizing revenues must be the top priority.