This being my inaugural post, I'll swap the usual lengthy intro with my confirmation that I'm a lawyer that supports startup activities up here in Canada, and I'll be blogging about the stuff and connections that comprise my day-to-day activities mingling and servicing the GWN tech community, from Halifax to Vancouver (sorry, no NFLD or Tofino clients yet, but we're looking).
First things first then, I've seen some recent posts around what a founder/entrepreneur should be looking for in a lawyer, or really any service provider. I have my own basic premise: check out the car they drive. I myself happened into a sweet deal last year on a brother-in-law-used-vehicle (I know, it's entirely as cliche as it sounds), see the pic enclosed.
"Billy", as he's known affectionately by our three kids, has been great to me (no gun rack just yet, but under consideration). So knowing this, what does it say about me, and why would you want to engage a service provider that motors around in a ex-drywaller's white Ford pickup? Here's some thoughts:
1. Billy's terrible on gas, but the driver knows it. Billy fill-ups cost about $110 these days, and worse last summer. When a vehicle is this expensive, you've got to drive slower (no more than 110 km/hr), and know exactly where you're going.
2. Billy's got room for your logo on the door panel. In other words, it isn't all about the driver, it's all about the passenger (if any of you founders would like me to post their logo on Billy, I'm happy to do so pro bono).
3. Billy's got payload. Billy can store, haul, pull and dump. He can get a very wide range of jobs done easily and efficiently. I usually leave the keys in the ignition, so Billy's all yours if you need him (and everyone needs a truck at some point).
4. Billy's got a lot of kilometres on it. Billy's seen and been through a lot. He doesn't get particularly ruffled by rough weather, traffic or bad drivers. Basically, Billy just seems to carry on until we reach our destination safe and sound.
5. Billy's paid for. This is a pretty big deal. If the passenger can't cover gas money right away, the driver can probably cut him some slack. After all, it's the driver, not the passenger, that's along for the ride.
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