Tag Archives: Jed Weiner

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P.R. in the Digital Age

From serving CEOs and entrepreneurs to law firms and multinational financial companies, the mission of managing our clients’ reputational risk and shaping how the world sees them and their brands, remains our constant focus.

Keeping this in mind, I want to highlight the members of our Advisory Board. They are leaders and innovators who offer a breadth of expertise from the top levels of their fields. 

Scott B. Alswang is a security expert with two decades of experience serving for the United States Secret Service, providing protection services for every U.S. president from Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush. He is Chief Sales Officer at Titan Health & Security Technologies, Inc.
 
Don Aviv is a security expert and licensed investigator with extensive experience in crisis mitigation, risk management and complex investigations. He is President of the corporate intelligence agency Interfor International, a global investigation, corporate intelligence and security consulting firm serving the legal, corporate and financial communities.

David Niccolini is the COO of Evidencity, a platform for records retrieval and local insight in over 160 countries around the world. Prior to joining Evidencity, Mr. Niccolini co-founded TorchStone in 2010.

Rena Paul is the co-founder of Alcalaw LLP, a women-founded law firm that represents companies, schools and individuals in crisis, particularly those involving sexual misconduct and other sensitive matters. A former federal and state prosecutor, Rena has 15 years of private and public sector experience in investigations, litigation and appellate work.

Christine Rafin, Esq. specializes in Internet, communications and media law. She is General Counsel – Media for a360 Media, LLC in New York where she advises the company on defamation, privacy, intellectual property and publicity issues for a wide range of brands, including podcasts, tv specials, online publications and magazines.

Jed Weiner is Head of Corporate Practice at Mei & Mark LLP. He advises emerging and seasoned companies and investors in corporate finance transactions, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, board matters, corporate governance, corporate compliance and other issues. He is the founder of grIP Venture Studio.

Their expertise helps us understand how to face the current challenges of a 24/7 information-driven age.

 
 
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Reputation Capital for Start-Ups - Jed Weiner advice

Some start-ups succeed – spectacularly. But most fail. With that in mind, we turned to an expert for insight into the importance of reputation for start-ups.

Jed Weiner, Esq., Head of Corporate at the Washington, D.C. law firm Mei & Mark LLP, advises emerging and seasoned companies and investors in corporate financings, mergers and acquisitions, and other strategic transactions. He serves as outside general counsel for startups and private equity portfolio companies. 

What types of start-ups have you advised?

We are “industry agnostic” — we work with clients in manufacturing, biotech, healthcare, tech, waste management and many other industries.

What role does reputation capital play in the success of start-ups?

Succeeding as a start-up is all about reputation and your story. You have to persuade people why you are the right person to invest in. Emotions are a critical aspect of early stage investing. Trust is a key aspect of it.

Ask angel investors what is important, and they’ll say it is the management team, not the product. Often, they are investing in the founder. They invest in you because they believe in you.

When you are selling a business to investors, you are selling an idea. And you are selling a brand: you. If you don’t have a good reputation — which is critical to your story — it is hard to make it. You are also selling an idea to your current and prospective employees. A good reputation is important to them.

If you have a bad reputation or reputation issues, and you have to repair it while launching, your message maybe lost in the noise or you will be spread thin.

Can you talk about what keeps talented founders from launching?

The fear of failing keeps people from starting companies because they are afraid failing will damage their reputations. Many founders in the U.S. have failures under their belt. Failing is common here but it is not a barrier. In Europe, there may be more stigma attached to failing in a business venture. So, many Europeans are more at ease launching a start up here.

How do you advise clients to amplify their reputations?

One important way is to establish an advisory board. Advisory boards do not have fiduciary responsibilities and you can compensate them with equity grants rather than cash compensation. That is a very good way to communicate endorsements from credible sources.

Cultivating referrals from people who have good reputations is also key. A referral requires trust, because the referral source is backing you up.

Communicating prior success in whatever else you did helps.

Launching a pilot program for your product is a good way to build a reputation for it and to gain feedback and support for it.

Joining an accelerator and participating in awards programs appropriate for your industry lends visibility to your achievements and vision. Both build connections and trust.

When you launch a start-up, you have 10 minutes to pitch. Any reputation issue creates noise. It distracts. You want all noise out of that opportunity.

Jed Weiner, Esq.

Jed Weiner, Esq. is Head of Corporate at Washington, D.C. law firm Mei & Mark LLP. He spent eight years at Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Simpson Thacher. In addition, he worked in-house for an automotive startup and private equity portfolio company.  Jed’s practice currently focuses on private placements, M&A transactions, commercial transactions, cross-border operations, and distribution channels. He is a graduate of NYU School of Law.  He also received an MPhil from St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford, and served as an intelligence officer (LCDR) in the U.S. Navy.

This is part of our continuing series of interviews with experts whose work relates to online reputation management.