Don't Fall Behind This Fall: Why Now Is the Time to Bring on a Fractional General Counsel
As the summer winds down, founders and leadership teams are gearing up for what’s traditionally the most productive season of the year. September is just around the corner, and with it comes renewed focus, faster deal cycles, and the pressure to hit year-end goals. If you're a SaaS startup heading into the fall stretch without a strong legal strategy, now is the time to fix that.
What’s a Fractional GC and Why Should You Care?
A Fractional General Counsel (GC) is a senior legal executive who works with your company on a part-time or flexible basis. Unlike outside counsel who often focuses on isolated issues, a Fractional GC acts as your embedded legal partner, who understands your business inside and out, and helps you scale responsibly while moving fast.
For early-stage SaaS companies, especially at the Series Seed stage, the value is clear:
Cost-Efficiency: You get executive-level legal guidance without the full-time salary, equity, or overhead of a permanent hire.
Speed & Strategy: A seasoned GC helps you close deals faster by negotiating MSAs, streamlining NDAs, and creating playbooks that scale with your business.
Risk Mitigation: Whether you're handling customer data, rolling out a new product feature, or expanding internationally, your GC helps you spot and address risks before they become expensive problems.
Investor Confidence: Sophisticated investors expect operational maturity, including legal hygiene. A GC who’s been through multiple funding rounds and exits knows exactly what to clean up before diligence starts.
SaaS Startups Have Unique Legal Needs
SaaS companies move quickly. But moving fast without a legal foundation can backfire. Early mistakes are expensive. Not just in legal fees, but in lost deals, valuation hits, or PR fallout. From negotiating enterprise MSAs and navigating data privacy regulations (think SOC 2, GDPR, and CCPA) to addressing IP protection and customer liability, legal missteps today can become a landmine a year from now.
As someone who’s built legal functions from scratch at scaling SaaS companies like ActionIQ by Uniphore and Bizzabo , I’ve seen firsthand how the right legal infrastructure can accelerate growth.
Fall Is Coming. Don't Wait Until It’s Too Late
Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), summer is almost over. The pitch decks are being dusted off, inboxes are reactivating, and your customers, investors, and board members are about to be very engaged. Now is the time to get your legal house in order.
Startups that wait until the pressure’s on, like right before a major customer deal or funding round, end up paying more, moving slower, and taking unnecessary risks. But those that plan ahead can move into fall with confidence, ready to scale without legal chaos.
Bottom Line
If you're a SaaS startup with real sales momentum and growth ambitions, legal can’t be an afterthought. A Fractional GC gives you the firepower of an experienced legal executive, scaled to your stage and budget.
You’ll move faster, close more deals, and avoid costly mistakes.
Let’s Talk
At KuehnTechLaw, I work with early-stage and scaling tech companies to provide practical, business-oriented legal advice—without the cost or complexity of a full-time hire.
Fall is when business gets serious. Make sure your legal foundation is ready.
