Crowdfunding your early-stage business is an increasingly mainstream way to get the finance you need to grow. Despite the straightforward approach and simplicity of the model, crowdfunding does come with some risk. You need to have your wits about you and take legal advice early on to maximise the benefits of raising finance in this way.
Contact us today to find out how to prepare your business for a crowdfunding pitch and successfully manage the crowdfunding campaign through to completion.
Our team can assist you across all areas of investment and finance law, including:
Our team of expert corporate solicitors can help you decide whether crowdfunding is right for you and support you through the crowdfunding process. As part of our legal services for early-stage ventures, we can:
Be a sounding board to support your business plan, potential pitch and funding goals
Providing feedback to help you meet any regulatory or investor requirements. This can also include liaising with a corporate finance advisor if you have one.
Liaising with the crowdfunding platform and individual investors for example, issuing EIS certificates.
Help you prepare your company with the necessary due diligence for a crowdfunding campaign
Dealing with issues raised by the crowdfunding platform such as question marks around ownership of intellectual property, the status of employees and any existing contracts.
Give you legal advice on the contract you’ll be entering into between the platform, your business and investors
Making sure the deal is clear and unambiguous before you move forward with funding.
Help you understand how this fundraise my impact previous or future investment
For example, assessing whether there are any restrictions and what impact the investment will have on sharehold.
Advise on your intellectual property rights ensuring you have a clear roadmap and understanding of potential and current registrations.
This should be addressed before you start your campaign as you will want potential investors to understand the value in your IPR strategy.
Create or update your crowdfunding documents including Articles of Association and shareholders agreements
Resolve any outstanding issues between you and your business partners and existing shareholders/investors
These relationships will have to be disclosed in your pitch and any problems sorted out, pre-pitch. For example, having clearly identified roles for existing founders, shareholders agreements and the formalisation of any existing loans or service agreements.
Our expert crowdfunding lawyers understand what it takes to run a successful crowdfunding campaign, and will help you tailor your business so it’s an attractive proposition for investors
You may be new to raising funds via crowdfunding, but we’ve been there before. We’ll make sure your offering is legally watertight so you’re free to concentrate on the commercial angle. Here are some of the most common questions our crowdfunding clients ask us:
We specialise in helping start-ups raise finance to grow and scale. With our transparent pricing model, you can access expert City-grade legal advice from partner-level solicitors at a fraction of the cost of traditional law firms. We understand that during the early stages of growing your business you need to protect your interests as best you can, without impacting your cash flow. Our rates are designed to help with that.
We know it can be tempting to offer juicy rewards in return for funding. But you need to make sure you can deliver what you promise. Despite its informal nature, you’ll be entering into a contract with your investors, so you need to be cautious when developing your offering. We can craft your campaign so you’ll be legally watertight when you close the funding.
Whether it’s questions over IPR ownership, or uncertainty around the status of workers, these will have to be sorted out when you pitch for crowdfunding. We make sure these are ironed out pre-campaign so that you can focus on selling your idea and raising finance.
Don’t be caught off-guard by any tax issues relating to the funding raised. We’ll liaise with your tax advisors so you understand your tax position and advise how the finance should be dealt with.
While anyone can buy a company ‘off-the-shelf’, you’ll need to tailor your business so it’s in an appropriate format for investment. We’ll make sure you’re in good shape to receive investment and divide up your capital between the founders and any new investors. This could involve creating or updating a capitalisation table so you can see the impact of investment on shareholdings.
When we were in the process of raising funds for our business venture, we were fortunate enough to have the support of Harper James. Their advice and guidance were extremely beneficial to us, and we’ve been impressed by their responsive service.
TJ Herbert CEO and Founder, Itchy Fish
The team at Harper James have demonstrated time and again that they have a deep understanding of the issues facing entrepreneurial businesses and their funding.
Charles Smith Director, Interpac Limited
Choosing Harper James was one of the best choices we made as a start-up. The firm has provided invaluable advice and insight throughout the early stages of our business.
Leigh Purnell CEO, Petalite
As a University spin-out getting the right team of lawyers to support our emerging business was fundamental and the team are always available to provide us with the invaluable guidance and support we require.
David Hodgson CEO, Amalyst
It was delightful working with Stephen and Callum on the fundraise. As an ex-investment banker, I’ve worked with many law firms and the legal process can be quite painful. We wanted to make sure our investors were protected and there were no delays with the raise. The fundraise was executed smoothly and Stephen and Callum were both very helpful. Callum was extremely bright. They both pointed out lots of things that we had missed.
Hana Salussolia Chief Operating Officer, Medisonal
Harper James swiftly solves problems with a minimum of fuss. I strongly recommend them and they are a pleasure to work with.
Jean de Fougerolles CEO, Ascension Ventures
The team provide great support throughout the funding process, providing straightforward and clear guidance on the issues to be addressed at each stage. The team was always at hand to make sure that that we understood what needed to be done to reach a successful outcome.
Chris Evans CEO, Kobus Services
We were very impressed by the efficiency of the service we received. Having strong legal service support in place is vital for any business entering into a funding round.
Alexis Rog Co-founder, Sikoia
When I first spoke to Harper James, I was coming at things as an aspiring start-up with very little money in my pocket. But Jas and the team were able to help me to decide what the priorities were in the legal services I needed and made sure they were put in place. Their support in the funding rounds we’ve gone through has been invaluable. I’d definitely recommend Harper James.
Abhishek Nakhate Founder, Zoom Abroad
We rely on Harper James to provide us with support across a full range of service areas, from commercial contracts and employment issues to fundraisings and investments. The team at Harper James are always available to provide us with cost effective, pragmatic and commercially focused advice.
Nick Holzherr CEO, Whisk.com
Knowing you have that level of legal support enables any new business to be able to move forward with more confidence. With Harper James we have that - and more.
Julian Cook CEO and Co-Founder, Howamigoing
We’d like to thank Harper James for all of their support throughout the investment deal process. As well as providing vital legal advice, Adam and the team at Harper James gave us guidance on the next steps of our growth, and we look forward to working with the team on a variety of projects in the future.
Scott Clifford Founder, Oneskee
Jas did an excellent job in pulling together what was a complex deal, not least because it involved co-ordinating parties in America, the UK and at the British Business Bank. But her perseverance and willingness to get the job done for us shone through and we were very impressed by the standard of service we received.
Peter Gerwe Investor, Storyfirst
What attracted me to Harper James was the pricing model they have in place. It means we get access to top legal professionals at prices we can afford. In our most recent funding round, the support we received was vital.
Mikhil Raja CEO, SonicJobs
Wherever you are in your start-up fundraising campaign, we’ve got a member of our specialist team who’s been there before. We can offer expert advice, hands-on support, and access to our network of contacts. Our team of corporate solicitors has extensive experience and we’ve provided legal advice in numerous, high-profile transactions. Find out more about the team here:
Founder & CEO
Toby is the Founder & CEO of Harper James, as well as a corporate & commercial solicitor. He specialises in venture capital and the tech sector.
Director of Legal Strategy and Operations & Head of Corporate
Adam is Director of Legal Strategy and Operations & Head of Corporate, responsible for the legal services aspects of Harper James.
Partner - Corporate
Matthew is a highly experienced corporate partner at Harper James. With expertise in all aspects of corporate law and finance, Matthew's tenacity and eye for detail helps get client deals and agreements across the line with the minimum of fuss.
Partner - Corporate
Jas is a corporate partner at Harper James Solicitors, advising on corporate governance, mergers & acquisitions, venture capital & investments.
Senior Solicitor - Corporate
Shubhu specialises in early-stage fund raisings, shareholder arrangements and M&A. Prior to joining Harper James she worked at Mills & Reeve and before that at Addleshaw Goddard and Slaughter and May.
Senior Solicitor - Corporate
Callum is a senior corporate solicitor at Harper James, specialising in mergers and acquisitions and investments, as well as other corporate/commercial matters.
Pricing and service plans
Our three transparent service plans are designed to give you the widest possible access to high-quality legal advice, whatever the size and nature of your business:
Flexible access to senior solicitors at highly competitive rates
An alternative to our subscription plans, offering access to full service legal expertise on a project-by-project basis.
Purpose built legal support for start-ups and smaller businesses
Monthly subscription plan for £259 per month, with £174 monthly credit and access to all legal services at 50% discount on our Standard Rates.
Comprehensive legal partnership for established businesses
Fully account managed and scalable annual subscription plan with support from a curated team of partners and senior solicitors, with up to 33% discount on our Standard Rates.
Learn more about our service plans
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Events and webinars
25 November 2025
Thoughts and opinions
13 September 2021
Thoughts and opinions
26 May 2021