--- title: "About" id: "17623" type: "page" slug: "about" published_at: "2019-10-15T16:03:26+00:00" modified_at: "2026-07-05T23:12:50+00:00" url: "https://seedlegals.com/ie/about/" markdown_url: "https://seedlegals.com/ie/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 market standard for companies raising investment, incentivising their teams with share options, doing their SEIS/EIS, and managing their cap tables. With one in three UK early-stage funding rounds and EMI option schemes now on SeedLegals, we're proud that in just four years we've transformed the way companies start, grow and scale. - ## 35,000+ companies on SeedLegals - ## #1 for funding rounds, cap tables & share option schemes - ## €1B+ 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 6 months and SeedLegals launched 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. In less than 3 years, SeedLegals is now the largest closer of funding rounds in the UK. ## Our Leadership 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/) Michael McDowellCountry Manager - IrelandEntrepreneur and co-founder of Raise Ventures (the only private tech accelerator in Belfast), Michael manages our operations in Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. [https://uk.linkedin.com/in/michael-mcdowell-76a42216](https://uk.linkedin.com/in/michael-mcdowell-76a42216) 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) ## Proudly backed by ## Awards and accolades #### 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 #### Rising Stars Winner ##### 2019 #### Industry Game Changer ##### 2019 #### Best New Entrant to the Angel Ecosystem ##### 2018 #### Top 100 Disruptive Brands ##### 2017 #### Best Fintech Startup ##### 2017 ## SeedLegals HQ 2nd Floor, Lincoln House 296-302 High Holborn WC1V 7JH [[email protected]](/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7c14153c0f19191810191b1d100f521f1311) [Get Directions](https://goo.gl/maps/F8sngUCGUXNfFXD59) ## Latest news [Startup funding strategies for 2025With data, experience and insights gained from £2B+ raised on SeedLegals, we’ve curated these top three funding strategies for 2025. Kirsty MacSween](https://seedlegals.com/ie/resources/startup-funding-strategies/) [8 min readAdvance Subscription Agreements: Money now, shares laterAdvanced Subscription Agreements allow investors to ‘pre-pay’ for shares. ASAs can be a faster, more efficient and S/EIS... Kirsty MacSween](https://seedlegals.com/ie/resources/advanced-subscription-agreement/) [7 min readStartup pitch deck: free template with investor tipsCreate the perfect pitch deck with our free template, including tips from industry experts and step-by-step guidance. Kaylin Sullivan](https://seedlegals.com/ie/resources/pitch-deck-template-uk-startups/) [4 min readUse a SeedFAST to raise from Irish and UK Angel InvestorsYou need funding, and you need it fast. Advanced Subscription Agreements are instruments commonly used by start-ups to r... Michael McDowell](https://seedlegals.com/ie/resources/use-a-seedfast/) ## We’ve helped over 35,000 startups 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 [See open positions](/careers)