Skip to Main Content.

Venture

Practicing at the intersection of business innovation and law.

Our venture capital team represents emerging technology, tech-enabled and life science companies from concept to exit. We assist founders with formation, capital raising, building the team, and commercializing and protecting intellectual property assets. We invest time to understand each client’s business in order to provide better legal solutions tailored to the company’s stage, strategy and environment. We also remain committed to staying abreast of current trends and future industry developments.

Our team is consistently recognized for delivering excellent client service, being uber-responsive, digging deep and finding answers quickly—not just during periods of stability, but in times of uncertainty and disruption as well. By leveraging the insights gleaned from our experience across a wide range of industries, we help ensure our clients close financings on competitive terms with clear sight of the implications of raising capital for the company and its stakeholders along the entire journey.

Key Contacts

Vance V. VanDrake III
Vance V. VanDrake III

Partner

Cincinnati, OH

Zachary D. Bahorik
Zachary D. Bahorik

Partner

Cincinnati, OH

How We Help Clients

Emerging Company Representation

As trusted advisors, our venture capital attorneys act as liaisons between company leadership and FBT Gibbons’s broader team of attorneys focusing in distinct areas of the law. Through cross-disciplinary collaboration, we offer the full range of services integral to a successful business operation, with a focus on empowering innovative, high-growth companies. Our team has notable depth in the following areas:

  • Formation
  • Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation
  • Intellectual Property, Licensing and Joint Development
  • Privacy and Data Security
  • Due Diligence Preparation
  • Capitalization Table Management
  • Seed, Venture and Growth Capital Financings
  • Corporate Governance
  • Tax
  • Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Real Estate

In addition to our legal services, our programs allow us to extend discounts to firm clients for key services required for venture-backed companies, such as 409A valuations, equity management, and Directors & Officers and Errors & Omissions insurance.

Investor Deal Representation

Investing in seed to late stage companies is a high-risk journey. It helps to work with a team that knows the industry, applicable rules and what to look for. We have experience representing angel groups, venture capital and private equity funds. Our work representing investors on new investments includes an assessment of the capitalization structure, formation documents and ensuring the company’s intellectual property is protected. We are also experienced in a variety of divestiture transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, management buyouts and private equity sales. We strive to be trusted team members to our venture capital clients.

International Investor Representation

Through our International Services Team, we counsel foreign businesses on a wide range of issues as they enter into and grow in the U.S. Our venture capital attorneys help foreign institutional investors close equity and debt finance transactions involving U.S. based startups and emerging companies. We are cognizant that our international work crosses jurisdictional lines, languages, and cultural norms. Our Foreign Desks and membership to Multilaw, a global network of local counsel firms in over 150 markets worldwide, enable us to provide international clients with seamless, thoughtful representation in cross-border business transactions and other investment opportunities.

Related Insights

placeholder image
FBT Gibbons Represents BARCODE in Acquisition by Axum Capital Partners

September 24, 2026 | Press Releases

FBT Gibbons represented BARCODE, a U.S. performance hydration brand, in connection with Axum Capital...

Woman At Office Computer Analyzing Medical Bills And Financial Data Carefully.
Compliance Update: SEC Moves to Rescind Pay-to-Play Rule for Investment Advisers

September 24, 2026 | Publications

We previously issued a client alert on the importance of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s ...

A nighttime cityscape showcases illuminated buildings and a bridge over a river, highlighting an urban skyline.
StartupCincy Week 2026

October 5, 2026 | Sponsored Event

It’s Election Season: Investment Advisers Beware of the SEC Pay-to-Play Rule

August 20, 2026 | Publications

With highly contested midterm elections less than three months away, investment advisers must be awa...

FBT Gibbons Advises Cordoba in Growth Investment from VSS Capital Partners

August 15, 2026 | Press Releases

FBT Gibbons served as legal counsel to Cordoba, LLC in connection with a significant growth investme...

placeholder image
FBT Gibbons Chairman Robert Sartin Discusses California Growth Strategy with The Recorder

August 5, 2026 | In the News

The Recorder profiles FBT Gibbons’ California growth strategy, quoting Chairman Robert Sartin on t...

Black Tech Week

July 14, 2026 | Speaking Engagement

United States Supreme Court Building in Washington DC, USA at dusk.
Supreme Court Rejects Private Right of Action Under Section 47(b) of Investment Company Act

June 16, 2026 | Publications

FS Credit Opportunities Corp. v. Saba Capital Master Fund, Ltd., 608 U.S. ___ (June 11, 2026) On Jun...

placeholder image
FBT Gibbons Advises Trek One Capital on Acquisition of No Cow and Good Karma Foods

June 5, 2026 | Experience

FBT Gibbons served as legal counsel to Trek One Capital in connection with its acquisition of No Cow...

Regulatory Snapshot for Private Fund Managers

June 1, 2026 | Publications

The last few weeks were marked by some news from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) t...

Stay ahead of the law.

Subscribe to receive email updates and choose your topics.