Attorney Kyle James Westaway's Legal Cases

Venture capital

Good Nature Agro: Raising a Series A in a global pandemic

Aug 01, 2020

OUTCOME: $2.1 Investment lead to 15,000 African farmers supported.

Company: Good Nature Agro helps small-scale African farmers reach the middle class by growing high-value produce and connecting them with premium markets. Challenge: Good Nature Agro asked us to h ... elp them raise their Series A. The timing made this project particularly challenging. We were working with a consortium of international investors just as the COVID-19 pandemic was shutting down economies across the globe and making investors jittery. Solution: We worked with investors to structure a $2.1 multi-tranche Series A investment that allowed them to reduce risk while ensuring that Good Nature Agro would have adequate capital to scale up during a downturn. Impact: As a direct result of the Series A, in 2020, Good Nature Agro supported 15,000 African farmers with the materials, contracts and financial planning needed to thrive. This impact will only grow in the years to come.

Corporate and incorporation

Eaton Workshop: The world’s first activist hotel

Jul 15, 2020

OUTCOME: The first publicly-traded Public Benefit Corporation in the Hospitality Industry.

Company: Eaton Workshop is a hotel. But it’s much more than a hotel. Diverging from the typical industry model that prioritizes profit without regard for people and planet, Eaton Workshop sees hospita ... lity as a conduit to catalyzing broader social transformation by building physical and digital spaces for kindred spirits to collaborate, commune, and create change. Challenge: Eaton is a subsidiary of a publicly traded hotel group. They approached us with a question: Can we convert our company to a public benefit corporation? Solution: First, we had to educate the parent company about what a public benefit corporation is and why this structure would be good for the brand. Then we had to navigate the levels of corporate decision-makers and attorneys to gain approval for the conversion – no small feat at a publicly traded company. Lastly, we drafted the documents and executed the conversion. Impact: Eaton Workshop is the first subsidiary of a publicly traded company in the hospitality industry to operate as a public benefit corporation.

Corporate and incorporation

General Assembly: Unlocking potential through a scholarship fund

Aug 20, 2016

OUTCOME: Increased opportunity and living standard for graduates.

Company: General Assembly is education for the future of work. Since 2011, they have transformed tens of thousands of careers through pioneering, experiential education in today’s most in-demand skill ... s including: web development, data, design, business, and more. Challenge: When General Assembly approached us, they were already a market leader. But, due to the premium cost of the programs, many brilliant people with less resources were not able to access the education they needed to unlock their potential. They wanted to explore new legal structures that would allow them to leverage philanthropic capital to provide scholarships to those students. Solution: Through our Impact Structure Memo process, we (1) assessed the desired impact and current constraints; (2) presented possible legal structures – including the pros / cons of each option; and (3) finally, we made a recommendation to create a separate non-profit entity that designed to receive philanthropic capital for scholarships. Impact: As a result, General Assembly continues to raise philanthropic capital which has funded thousands of students. These students have graduated from General Assembly and entered the workforce, significantly increasing their earnings and transforming their careers.

Kyle James Westaway's Legal Cases (3)

Good Nature Agro: Raising a Series A in a global pandemic

Eaton Workshop: The world’s first activist hotel

General Assembly: Unlocking potential through a scholarship fund