What is equIP?
Starting and building a successful business takes a good idea, a lot of energy and determination plus the right opportunities and the right people.
As an early-stage business, legal advice may be pushed to the bottom of the priority list, not least due to the issue of cost. However, for a business to scale successfully, especially when investors are involved, having the right foundations is imperative.
We at CMS Switzerland would like to be part of your team. That is why we have developed equIP, a legal accelerator especially for start-ups based on innovative business ideas or technologies. We have years of experience advising local and international start-ups on all legal and tax matters. We can act as your personal sparring partner and are always prepared to go the extra mile with you.
To apply for our equIP programme, please fill in this form below.
Apply now
What do we offer?
As a full-service law firm, we offer first-class legal advice in every legal field at more than 75 locations worldwide. You can find out more about the areas which start-up advice covers here.
Your equIP membership lasts three years. For the duration of your membership, you benefit from the following:
Dedicated Team | - You will work with a dedicated CMS team that is enthusiastic about working with start-ups and that regards the relationship with your company as an investment in an idea it believes in.
- You will receive first-class legal advice in any of the legal areas that we cover. In addition, we offer legal health checks in various legal areas to help you place things on solid footing before approaching investors.
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Attractive Terms | - A free kick-off meeting allows both sides to get to know each other. We sit down with you to take a first look at the business model and discuss the appropriate next steps.
- For our further services, you receive a 25% discount on our standard hourly rates up to a total annual fee amount of CHF 25,000 (based on the discounted rates).
- For certain services, we offer fixed fees, including health checks with view to your commercial, corporate, data protection, employment, IP or regulatory setup, an in relation to your fundraising activities. Find out more about our fixed fee menu here:
Fixed Fee Menu
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Added Value | - In addition to our core services, we can introduce you to relevant industry players – whether be it like-minded entrepreneurs or investors, we know who you should be talking to.
- In the future, we are planning to organise exclusive equIP events where you can learn about legal "hot topics" relevant for start-ups, and meet fellow equIP members from Switzerland and abroad as well as other people from the venture capital sector.
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International equIP Network | - As a Swiss equIP member, you automatically get access to equIP benefits, including substantial discounts on their hourly rates, in all other participating CMS jurisdictions.
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Who can apply
We are accepting up to three new equIP members per year. Applications can be submitted by filling out the form below.
Apply now
Start-ups with the following profile have the best chance to successfully apply for equIP membership – you do not need to meet all these requirements and can still be eligible to apply if you cover a combination of those:
- Save in special circumstances (e.g. a successful management team with an impressive track‑record), we are not looking to support businesses at an early stage. We would expect each of our new members to have previously received seed funding (generally, this means an initial round of friends & family funding and a subsequent round of Angel-led funding).
- We would expect the new businesses on the programme to be demonstrating strong growth and be ready to do a Series A fundraising roughly in the next six to nine months. We define a Series A for these purposes as the first 'institutional' fundraise for the business, i.e. where a business is looking to raise finance from a Corporate Venture Team, a VC fund or an at-scale Family Office (or similar).
- Each new member should already be receiving revenue from a product or service that has been taken to market.
- Hiring staff shows commitment to and belief in a business. Most businesses we accept onto the programme should have in excess of 5-10 employees actively engaged in running the business.
- While applications are not limited to any particular sectors or industries, we are currently focused on supporting tech-enabled businesses.
Stay up to date!
Sign up for our equIP newsletter and keep up to date with all news concerning our equIP program – be it new participants, success stories of equIP members or graduates, or any other news. You can sign up here:
Subscribe to the Newsletter
How to get in touch and apply?
To apply for CMS equIP, please complete the form below and we will be in touch with you shortly.
Apply now
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