DLA Piper is pleased to announce that the firm is collaborating with StartOut, the nation’s largest nonprofit organization supporting LGBTQ entrepreneurs, and the firm will now host the organization’s startup accelerator – The StartOut Growth Lab – in its San Francisco location.
The StartOut Growth Lab has worked with 25 companies in five six-month cohorts since its founding in 2017. The Growth Lab provides LGBTQ founders with support for their emerging businesses through a program custom tailored to the participating entrepreneurs’ goals, including advice and mentoring from DLA Piper attorneys and other professionals, as well as education, access to capital sources and networking opportunities.
“As a co-founder of the Growth Lab with Andres Wydler, I couldn’t be more honored that StartOut is joining me and my team at DLA Piper to take the Growth Lab to a new plateau,” said Thomas Gaynor, a Corporate partner who recently joined DLA Piper’s San Francisco office with a team of colleagues in four DLA Piper offices around the US. He has also been a longtime member of StartOut’s board of advisors. “The firm’s global platform and extensive network of business and legal resources will be an enormous benefit to LGBTQ entrepreneurs who are working to solve real problems and make contributions in creative ways. I’m proud that DLA Piper will play an important part in giving members of this entrepreneur community a better chance for success in the market.”
“As the Growth Lab enters the next phase of its evolution, we are delighted to find a new home at DLA Piper,” said Andres Wydler, executive director of StartOut. “The firm’s commitment to amplifying opportunities for diverse entrepreneurs will be a tremendous advantage to our next cohort of founders. We look forward to our growing partnership with this top firm, and to the terrific value this new platform will offer our members.”
About DLA Piper (www.dlapiper.com)
DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers located in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, positioning us to help clients with their legal needs around the world. In certain jurisdictions, this information may be considered attorney advertising.
About StartOut (www.startout.org)
Founded in 2009, StartOut is the largest national 501 (c)(3) organization to support LGBTQ entrepreneurs, with 15,000 members nationwide. Its mission is to increase the number, diversity, and impact of LGBTQ entrepreneurs, and to amplify their stories to drive the economic empowerment of the community.
