From Scrappy Startup to Selling to Fortune 100:
How SPZ Legal Helped Voxel Scale with Confidence
Providing mission-driven legal counsel from day one, SPZ Legal helped Voxel navigate six years of rapid growth, multiple financing rounds, and complex corporate governance so the team could stay focused on keeping workers safe.
Company Overview: An AI Industrial Intelligence Platform Built on a Mission
Founded in March 2020, Voxel is an AI-powered industrial intelligence platform transforming how industrial companies protect their employees with computer vision. By tapping into existing closed-circuit TV infrastructure at distribution centers, warehouses, and other industrial facilities, Voxel's platform identifies high-risk behaviors in real time, delivering actionable safety insights to plant managers and safety directors without requiring costly new hardware. The mission is deeply personal: Voxel's founders had firsthand experience with the dangers of industrial work environments and wanted to create safer workplaces. That DNA runs through everything the company does. Today, Voxel counts Fortune 100 companies including major retailers like Dick's Sporting Goods and Home Depot, and logistics giants like FedEx, among its growing customer base.
Key Challenges: Building a Legally Sound Company at Startup Speed
When Voxel was incorporated in early 2020, the founding team faced the same daunting reality that confronts nearly every early-stage startup: how do you build a legally sound, investor-ready company from scratch while simultaneously building a product, hiring a team, and soliciting new business?
For a company with ambitions to serve enterprise customers and raise venture capital, getting the legal foundation right was not optional. It was existential. And as the company scaled rapidly, approaching 100 employees and achieving consistent revenue growth, those challenges only scaled with the company.
When Ted Koerth joined as Voxel’s first in-house lawyer, he stepped into a role that is both the most senior and most junior legal position at the company, a legal team of one. Every legal matter landed on his desk. Knowing that he could not become a deep expert in every area of law, he needed to rely on outside counsel that was able to keep pace with the company’s rapid growth while keeping costs reasonable.
The stakes were high across multiple dimensions:
- - Multiple financing events, from seed capital through bridge rounds, a Series B financing round, and a venture debt deal, each brought complex legal requirements and tight timelines.
- - Ongoing cap table management, equity grants, board changes, and management transitions required meticulous, continuous oversight.
- - As a lean legal operation scaling rapidly, Voxel needed outside counsel who could move fast, communicate clearly, and deliver real value without the bloated billing structures of large, traditional law firms.
The Solution: A True Legal Partner Since Day One
SPZ Legal has been with Voxel since the very beginning. Before the company had its first customer, its first employee, or its first dollar of outside capital. That longevity is not just a point of pride; it is a strategic advantage. SPZ's deep institutional knowledge of Voxel's history, structure, and goals has allowed the firm to serve not just as outside counsel, but as a true legal partner embedded in the company's growth story.
What set SPZ Legal apart was not just the breadth of services but the approach. Rather than treating each engagement as a discrete transaction, SPZ functioned as a proactive strategic advisor, anticipating legal needs before they became problems and offering business-minded counsel aligned with Voxel's mission and growth objectives.
SPZ’s team of startup attorneys pride themselves on being responsive to the needs of their clients and their ability to deliver quality work on tight timelines. For a legal team of one, that reliability is not a nice-to-have; it is essential. SPZ also proactively supported Voxel's in-house counsel on complex financing matters, empowering Ted to communicate confidently with leadership and the board, as needed.
Equally important is SPZ's lean, efficient model. During Voxel's Series B, Ted observed firsthand that SPZ fielded a smaller, more focused team than the large white-shoe firms on the other side of the table, and did so at more reasonable rates. In a world where every dollar matters for a growth-stage startup, that kind of value is a genuine competitive advantage.
Services Provided to Voxel Since Inception
Incorporation and Corporate Foundation
- - Successfully incorporated Voxel as a Delaware corporation in March 2020, establishing a robust legal foundation built to support venture investment and long-term scalability from day one.
Venture Capital Financing and Venture Debt
- - Navigated multiple rounds of fundraising, including a seed round, Series A, bridge rounds, Series B, and a venture debt transaction, each with its own unique investor dynamics, term sheet negotiations, and closing requirements.
- - Managed all aspects of each financing, including diligence, drafting legal documents, managing the closing process, and providing post-closing advice.
Cap Table Management and Equity Compensation
- - Provided ongoing oversight of Voxel's equity structure, managing employee stock grants, terminations, and cap table hygiene to ensure the company remained compliant and investor-ready at every stage.
Corporate Governance and Board Support
- - Actively supported the company through board changes, management transitions, and the full spectrum of routine but critical corporate governance matters that keep a scaling startup on solid legal footing.
In-House Counsel Enablement and Knowledge Transfer
- - Proactively supported Voxel's Head of Legal on complex financing and corporate matters, enabling confident communication with leadership and the board on sophisticated legal and business topics.
Outcome: Empowering Voxel's Growth with SPZ Legal's Support
From a scrappy startup in 2020 to a Fortune 100 customer roster and consecutive record revenue quarters, Voxel's growth has been remarkable, and SPZ Legal has been there for every step of the journey. The partnership has delivered both concrete results and the kind of quiet confidence that allows the leadership team to focus on what they do best: keeping industrial workers safe.
Key outcomes of the SPZ Legal partnership include:
- Successfully closed multiple financing rounds, from early seed capital through a Series A, bridge rounds, Series B, and a venture debt facility, providing the capital runway needed to build and scale the platform.
- Maintained a clean, investor-ready cap table through years of employee growth, equity grants, and management changes.
- Navigated complex board and management transitions without disruption to operations or investor relationships.
- Supported growth from a founding team to nearly 100 employees, serving Fortune 100 clients including major national retailers and logistics companies.
- Empowered in-house counsel to communicate complex legal and financing matters confidently to leadership and the board.
- Delivered exceptional value, consistently outperforming larger, more expensive firms while using a leaner, more focused team.
Achieved consecutive record revenue quarters, with strong momentum continuing into the current quarter.
Key Takeaways for Startup Founders
- Start with the right legal partner, not just any legal partner. The decisions made at incorporation, entity structure, equity allocation, governance documents, have long-lasting consequences. A firm that understands the startup ecosystem can set you up for success from day one.
- For lean legal teams, outside counsel is a force multiplier. When you are a legal department of one, you cannot be an expert in everything. The right outside partner fills those gaps, handles complex transactions, and makes you smarter in the process, enabling you to lead conversations with your board and management with confidence.
- Responsiveness and efficiency are non-negotiable. A legal partner who moves slowly or over-staffs engagements costs you more than money. It costs you momentum. Look for a firm that respects your time and your budget, especially when sitting across the table from larger, more expensive counterparties.
- The best legal partners grow with you. A firm that has been with you since day one brings irreplaceable institutional knowledge. As your company scales, that continuity becomes one of your most valuable strategic assets.
