--- title: "About" id: "338" type: "page" slug: "about" published_at: "2019-10-15T16:03:26+00:00" modified_at: "2026-09-22T12:59:37+00:00" url: "https://seedlegals.com/about/" markdown_url: "https://seedlegals.com/about.md" excerpt: "https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabella-ghassemi-smith-006326164/ Advisor and ex-founder; Jonathan was previously at AOL, McAfee and France Telecom." --- # About us SeedLegals is the UK market standard for companies raising investment, incentivising teams with share options, applying for SEIS/EIS, and managing their cap table. With 1 in 3 early-stage funding rounds closed on SeedLegals, and more cap tables and EMI option schemes set up and managed on SeedLegals than on any other platform in the UK, we're proud that we've transformed the way companies start, grow and scale. - ## 60,000+ companies on SeedLegals - ## UK #1 for funding rounds, cap tables & share option schemes - ## £2B raised on SeedLegals ## Our story SeedLegals was founded by serial entrepreneur Anthony Rose and serial angel investor Laurent Laffy who met at a party in Rome. They'd both had enough of paying insane amounts of money to lawyers for the same legal documents at every funding round, and funding rounds taking months to negotiate and close. They decided to change it. Fast forward six months and SeedLegals launched in 2016 as the world’s first platform that lets founders and investors easily create, negotiate and sign all the legal agreements they need to do a funding round. We close more funding rounds in the UK than anyone else. We operate in the UK, US, Ireland & France and employ 160 brilliant people. ## Executive Team Anthony RoseFounder & CEOSerial entrepreneur and ‘The man behind BBC iPlayer’; Anthony has founded and sold multiple startups. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/anrose/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/anrose/) [https://twitter.com/anthonyrose](https://twitter.com/anthonyrose) Laurent LaffyFounder & Executive ChairmanSerial angel investor and VC; Laurent's portfolio of 40+ startups includes Lastminute, Secret Escapes and Graze. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/llaffy/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/llaffy/) Alyson ReadChief Commercial OfficerExperienced sales leader with 6+ years in building and scaling sales teams. Passionate about creating high performing teams with strong culture. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/aly-read/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/aly-read/) ### Management Team Vanessa KirbyDirector of Product OperationsSeasoned leader of international UX & service design teams; passionate advocate of insight-driven UCD. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/vkirby](https://www.linkedin.com/in/vkirby) Matthew TerryDirector of Strategic OperationsWith his background in law and legal education, Matt is exactly the man startups need to sort out (and explain) their legals. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-terry-846242103/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-terry-846242103/) Marc LowmanHead of FinanceExperienced finance leader and Chartered Accountant with blue chip and startup experience. Marc qualified with EY before spending seven years at Thomson Reuters in his last role as Director of Finance. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marclowman/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/marclowman/) Michelle KeelinHead of HRExperienced HR Generalist, with over 20 years experience and a passion for putting the Human back in HR. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-keelin-mcipd-1296211b3/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-keelin-mcipd-1296211b3/) Michael McDowellHead of Investor SalesEntrepreneur and co-founder of Raise Ventures, the only private tech accelerator in Belfast. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-mcdowell-76a42216/?originalSubdomain=uk](https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-mcdowell-76a42216/?originalSubdomain=uk) Alda DaciCustomer Experience Manager (Funding)Alda is a law graduate with experience at UNHCR's Legal Protection team and private accounting practice where she completed the F1-F4 Fundamental ACCA qualification exams, now using her combined expertise to support founders in successful fundraising. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alda-daci-168867225/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alda-daci-168867225/) Tom LightbodyCustomer Experience Manager (Growth)Bringing law, tech and data together, Law and Economics graduate Tom manages our Growth team. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tjl/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/tjl/) ## Proudly backed by ## Awards and accolades #### Ecosystem Champion ##### 2026 #### Legal/Regulatory Adviser - Highly Commended ##### 2026 #### Best Legal/Regulatory Adviser ##### 2025 #### Ecosystem Champion ##### 2025 #### Best Legal Team for Early Stage Deals Finalist ##### 2024 #### Best EIS/SEIS Advocate ##### 2024 #### Best EIS/SEIS Legal or Regulatory Advisor Finalist ##### 2024 #### Best EIS/SEIS Legal or Regulatory Advisor ##### 2022 #### Spirit of EIS Winner ##### 2022 #### Best Legal Team for Early Stage Deals Finalist ##### 2022 #### Best Legal Team for Early Stage Deals ##### 2019 #### Growth Startup of the Year ##### 2019 #### Industry Game Changer ##### 2019 #### Rising Stars Winner ##### 2019 #### Best New Entrant to the Angel Ecosystem ##### 2018 #### Top 100 Disruptive Brands ##### 2017 #### Best Fintech Startup ##### 2017 ## SeedLegals HQ 100 Bunhill Row London EC1Y 8ND [[email protected]](/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#41292801322424252d2426202d326f222e2c) [Get Directions](https://goo.gl/maps/F8sngUCGUXNfFXD59) ## Latest news [What’s hot? The planet with or without Habla’s eco-friendly kilns? Peter Habla, founder of Habla Kilns, replaces traditional kilns with a fresh, sustainable alternative – the Zig Zag Kiln. Erin Deasy](https://seedlegals.com/resources/habla-kilns-interview/) [5 min read Why you can't validate your startup idea, and what to do instead Most founders think they have validated their startup idea. Here is why the evidence usually fails, and the three questi... Charles Hope](https://seedlegals.com/resources/validate-your-startup-idea/) [2 min read You’re techy, not finance-y – my finance team can help with that my finance team Client Manager Matt Tucker walks through the finance fixes that SeedLegals customers can use with this n... Erin Deasy](https://seedlegals.com/resources/partner-interviews-my-finance-team/) [2 min read Does hiring feel more like a side hustle than a core function? Kumo HR offers a fix The panic of getting people onboarded, while managing tax compliance, equity, reviews and holiday calendars across multi... Erin Deasy](https://seedlegals.com/resources/partner-interviews-kumo-hr/) ## We’ve helped over 60,000 companies From food to FinTech and beyond, join thousands of startups who use SeedLegals to start, raise and grow faster. - - - - - - [More customer stories](/customers/) - The reality is you’re on a journey; fundraising is so much about the narrative. SeedLegals allows you to tell the right story at the right time with the right legal documents for different types of investors. ##### Louise Doherty Founder & CEO, Yoller - SeedLegals held our hand through complex investor negotiations and even picked up on some errors produced by our previous lawyers which were a well-known City law firm! ##### Alex Templeton Founder & CEO, Qured - One of the great things about SeedLegals is that it is designed to be appropriate for the round and the stage of the business. They keep it simple. It feels like they really understand that. ##### Alex Rainey Co-founder & CEO, Pluto - How do I get all the businesses I invest in to use SeedLegals? ##### Alexander Wyndham Angel Investor , The Family - It's easy to forget about the legal side of things but SeedLegals make things really easy to understand. The team at SeedLegals are truly amazing. ##### Darren Tenkorang Founder, TRIM-IT - There’s an opportunity to reach a specialist advisor via chat, phone and email to check in on anything. The SeedLegals team were extremely responsive – really amazing. ##### Emilie Vanpoperinghe Co-Founder, OddBox - - - - - - ## Join the SeedLegals team Don't work in just any startup. Work in the company powering all startups. [See our open positions](https://seedlegals.com/careers/)