You have an idea. You form a company. Now you want to raise money from investors (or even friends and family), maybe through the sale of ownership, borrowing money, or a loan that could convert into ownership in the future. Seems straightforward, right?

Well, all of those interests and rights that you are considering are almost certainly going to be classfied as “securities” under applicable law.  Selling securities, in fact, is a complex process that requires careful navigation and thoughtful representation to not only protect your position from an ownership and contractual standpoint, but to ensure you’re abiding by both federal and state laws, and regulations issued in connection with the same by enforcement arms such the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

When it comes to selling securities, you have essentially three options:

Roger Goodell. Adam Silver. Rob Manfred. You’ve likely seen them on TV, wearing well-tailored suits and reading meticulously-written speeches. One day they’re responding to a PR crisis involving a high-profile athlete, another delivering Draft Day selections. That’s the life of a League Commissioner – at least how the public generally sees it.

But, as a League Commissioner myself, I know first-hand quite a bit of work goes on beyond what airs on TV.

A successful League Commissioner must wear many hats: business person, speaker, politician, lawyer, and public figure, to name a few. They’re required to listen and respond to the demands of players, coaches, fans, and team owners.

Above all though, a League Commissioner must provide value to teams and their owners, while ensuring a consistent and positive fan experience across the league.

With that in mind, I’m here to shed light on what makes for a great Commissioner. Below are three things League Commissioners could, and should be doing, to help foster league success:

      Butler University recently ran its first cohort through a business program for lawyers called Lawyer to Leader and I was fortunate enough to be one of the participants.  If you desire to become a leader in your law firm or organization, I highly recommend you apply for the next class at Butler.  This program was especially fitting for me as our firm has grown from 5 people in 1 location to ~25 people in 3 locations in the 4 years we've been in existence.  I've personally gone from 95% legal work for clients to less than 25% legal work for clients and now most of my time is devoted to strategy, communication and team development.  The years of being part of many business decisions with clients and having a significant interest and activity in outside interests in real estate services and venture capital have been very helpful but time dedicated to concentrate on developing leadership skills has been extremely valuable for my own growth and I plan for the numerous lessons to impact our law firm. 

 I love baseball - the sport (the athleticism required, the explosiveness, the coordination), the game (the strategy, knowledge of the game and its intricacies), and of course the competition.  Baseball season is officially under way.  Pitchers and catchers have reported for MLB spring training, last Friday was opening day of college baseball and winter practices have started for youth baseball.   

For several years now, I've been coaching youth baseball and one of my favorite things about coaching is watching a young boy transform over a season of baseball - turning from that scared boy timidly stepping into that scary batter’s box, all alone to the confident plate pounding little man child ready to knock it out of the park. The thoughts running through his head

This week, we continue our analysis and recommendations on Indiana’s $1B investment in innovation through industry initiatives. To read through each part of our series to date, start here. The Indiana Economic Development Council’s 4^th area of focus states: