Fountain is a high-volume hiring platform empowering the world's leading brands to streamline and scale their recruiting function.
In this case study, we discuss how we’ve supported the Fountain team over a period of 8 years to grow from a seed-stage company to one having raised, as of February 2023, $225 million from some of the world’s leading venture capital funds.
“J&O has had a tremendous impact on Fountain since inception. They’ve always operated with high levels of integrity, putting Fountain’s needs first more than any other business partner I’ve encountered in my career. They’ve helped us navigate so many different challenges, and we’ve always come out ahead thanks to their counsel. We are incredibly grateful to the team for the amazing partnership and guidance over the years.”
- Luke McKinlay,
Director of Finance and Partnerships
J&O’S PATH TO SUPPORTING SCALE
As Fountain rapidly scaled from Series Seed to Series C, we adapted our range of services to meet its evolving needs.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
From 2015 to 2023, J&O acted as Fountain’s outside General Counsel by attending every meeting of Fountain’s Board of Directors, supporting the Board and executive team’s development of Fountain’s corporate governance strategy, and leveraging our domain expertise and industry knowledge.
SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES
We worked closely with Fountain’s team to develop custom forms that matched its business and then guided and trained Fountain’s teams to independently execute its day-to-day contracts on those forms. The J&O team is called in when we can add the most value–from navigating bespoke, complex negotiations to offering guidance on data privacy considerations. This helped to keep legal costs at a manageable level, while still making sure there was no disincentive for Fountain to reach out for more complex issues.
“J&O understands that, as a startup, our priorities are specialized. We’re focused on moving fast and getting new customers in the door. They find that essential balance between what’s legally ideal and what gets deals done.”
EQUITY AND DEBT FINANCINGS
We supported Fountain as its lead counsel for all of its preferred equity (Series Seed through Series C) and venture debt financings.
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
As a global HR company, Fountain needs to comply with numerous regulatory regimes. J&O has provided significant data compliance guidance and broader advisory services to Fountain’s R&D teams, helping them meet regulatory requirements and build the product for long-lasting success.
NAVIGATING CHANGE
We guided Fountain and its Board of Directors through a successful transition from its founding team to new leadership. As told by Fountain leadership, we enabled Fountain to be ready and equipped to scale immediately post-transition, as well as to protect the company’s assets and IP during the transition.
“J&O helped Fountain navigate the rougher waters and periods of change. They’d seen it all before, so they struck that balance between what was right for the founders, the investors, and also for the company as a whole.”
HIRING IN-HOUSE COUNSEL
In-house corporate / commercial counsel becomes an important role at a certain point for high-growth technology companies. J&O supported the Fountain team in making its first corporate counsel hire and saw Fountain through a smooth transition, providing support each step of the way.
SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF THE FOUNTAIN AND J&O PARTNERSHIP
J&O DELIVERS THE MASTER SERVICES AGREEMENT (MSA) PLAYBOOK
One of J&O’s early efforts at Fountain was developing and implementing their tailored MSA Playbook. With training provided by J&O, the sales team is now empowered to rapidly respond to prospective customer redlines utilizing the MSA Playbook, maintaining deal momentum, accelerating negotiation timeines, and cutting legal expenses.
J&O LEADS FOUNTAIN’S SERIES C AND SERIES C-1 GROWTH FINANCING ROUNDS
In September 2021, Fountain closed a Series C round of $85 million, and in April 2022, Fountain closed a Series C-1 round of $103 million. J&O and Fountain, together with its Board of Directors, worked together to ensure the financings progressed smoothly.
“The right legal counsel will truly understand the dynamics of fundraising. Be open with them. We frequently utilized J&O as a sounding board before going to investors in order to come to the best course of action.”
J&O AS AN EXTENSION OF THE FOUNTAIN TEAM
At J&O we see our clients’ success as intertwined with our own, and our goal is to operate as an extension of our clients’ teams. Fountain is one of our best examples of this. From seed stage through its growth rounds, the Fountain team kept us in the loop, enabling us to be proactive, instead of reactive, at each stage.
We’re grateful to have grown alongside Fountain over the last 8 years, and look forward to their continued success accelerating the digital transformation of talent acquisition.
“If you’re a startup or a high-growth company considering working with J&O as counsel, they are the right partner for you.”
