Heading Legal at a Company That Makes Companies: A Q&A With Expa GC Michal Rosenn
Michal Rosenn recently moved to Expa from another company beloved by entrepreneurs, Kickstarter.
December 11, 2017 at 04:22 PM
8 minute read
Michal Rosenn. Photo credit: Annie Tritt.
What drew Michal Rosenn to Kickstarter five years ago is precisely what she found attractive about her new gig with Expa.
Rosenn was tapped last month to serve as Expa's first general counsel after leaving the top legal role at Brooklyn-based crowdfunding company Kickstarter.
Expa was founded by Uber co-founder Garrett Camp and is led by other former executives from major tech companies such as Google, Twitter and Foursquare. Expa counts Sir Richard Branson, Ram Shriram and Meg Whitman, among others, as investors.
“When I joined Kickstarter, I was drawn by a similarly creative environment that brings creative projects to life,” Rosenn said. “Expa is a network of entrepreneurs that creates companies. Its focus on creation really spoke to me,” she said of Expa, described on its website as “a global network of entrepreneurs helping each other build companies.”
Rosenn spoke with Corporate Counsel about her new role at Expa. The conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
Why did you decide to leave Kickstarter?
I'd been there for five years and thought it was a good time to make a career move. I'd been talking to Expa for a little while and was drawn by the creativity of the company.
What has your first month at Expa been like?
It's been an invigorating period of both familiarizing myself with what already exists and getting involved in thinking about what's to come. I've been getting to know the business and the portfolio companies we already have and thinking of ideas for areas we want to explore and execute on in the next few months and in the next year.
What does Expa do exactly?
Expa is a platform for founders to build their companies. There is building, advising and investing. On the build side, they're really starting at the basic stages. They've come up with an idea they want to pursue. Those are what we call our studio companies—Operator, Kit, Reserve. We support them through the full process of the company's life.
We also provide services a little further along. Our Expa Labs program is similar to an accelerator. It's for early-stage companies to come and work with our team and our partners and we advise them as they seek funding. Then we advise on the more traditional investment model too to help companies we believe can be transformative.
And what will you be doing as the lawyer?
The majority of my work is corporate work on Expa's side. I'll be helping to create structures to support these companies, and to guide them with legal issues and public policy issues they might have.
At Expa, like with any company, I'll be that bridge between the business and the legal needs—making sure the legal needs are responsive to the business and acting as the legal facilitator.
Will you be acting as an in-house lawyer of sorts for the companies you're helping to build?
Not exactly. Most, if not all, will have outside counsel pretty early on. I'll be a resource for those that are beginning to think about legal issues, but I won't be a replacement for outside counsel.
Will you continue to be as involved in public policy issues as you were at Kickstarter?
Yes, Expa has been very involved in public policy conversations, especially on the immigration front. All six partners are immigrants, so it's something that's near and dear to Expa's heart.
We're also working to preserve net neutrality rules. I'll be getting even more involved in public policy because we want to make Expa a real leader in the field in New York and San Francisco where we have offices. The Expa network is global, though, and we have companies all over the U.S. and the world. As we're thinking about public policy, we'll be taking their priorities into account and see what the needs are of our entire network.
Michal Rosenn. Photo credit: Annie Tritt.
What drew Michal Rosenn to Kickstarter five years ago is precisely what she found attractive about her new gig with Expa.
Rosenn was tapped last month to serve as Expa's first general counsel after leaving the top legal role at Brooklyn-based crowdfunding company Kickstarter.
Expa was founded by Uber co-founder Garrett Camp and is led by other former executives from major tech companies such as
“When I joined Kickstarter, I was drawn by a similarly creative environment that brings creative projects to life,” Rosenn said. “Expa is a network of entrepreneurs that creates companies. Its focus on creation really spoke to me,” she said of Expa, described on its website as “a global network of entrepreneurs helping each other build companies.”
Rosenn spoke with Corporate Counsel about her new role at Expa. The conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
Why did you decide to leave Kickstarter?
I'd been there for five years and thought it was a good time to make a career move. I'd been talking to Expa for a little while and was drawn by the creativity of the company.
What has your first month at Expa been like?
It's been an invigorating period of both familiarizing myself with what already exists and getting involved in thinking about what's to come. I've been getting to know the business and the portfolio companies we already have and thinking of ideas for areas we want to explore and execute on in the next few months and in the next year.
What does Expa do exactly?
Expa is a platform for founders to build their companies. There is building, advising and investing. On the build side, they're really starting at the basic stages. They've come up with an idea they want to pursue. Those are what we call our studio companies—Operator, Kit, Reserve. We support them through the full process of the company's life.
We also provide services a little further along. Our Expa Labs program is similar to an accelerator. It's for early-stage companies to come and work with our team and our partners and we advise them as they seek funding. Then we advise on the more traditional investment model too to help companies we believe can be transformative.
And what will you be doing as the lawyer?
The majority of my work is corporate work on Expa's side. I'll be helping to create structures to support these companies, and to guide them with legal issues and public policy issues they might have.
At Expa, like with any company, I'll be that bridge between the business and the legal needs—making sure the legal needs are responsive to the business and acting as the legal facilitator.
Will you be acting as an in-house lawyer of sorts for the companies you're helping to build?
Not exactly. Most, if not all, will have outside counsel pretty early on. I'll be a resource for those that are beginning to think about legal issues, but I won't be a replacement for outside counsel.
Will you continue to be as involved in public policy issues as you were at Kickstarter?
Yes, Expa has been very involved in public policy conversations, especially on the immigration front. All six partners are immigrants, so it's something that's near and dear to Expa's heart.
We're also working to preserve net neutrality rules. I'll be getting even more involved in public policy because we want to make Expa a real leader in the field in
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