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Daniel I. DeWolf

Member / Chair, Technology Practice | Co-chair, Venture Capital & Emerging Companies Practice

[email protected]

+1.212.692.6223

+1.415.432.6003

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Daniel is a leading authority on growth companies and venture capital law — and has worked on pioneering online capital-raising methods. He is immersed in the national and international ecosystem of emerging companies and investors focused on startups. He has also been a member of NYU Law School’s faculty since 2003, where he teaches venture capital law. Earlier, he co-founded and served as managing director of an early-stage venture capital firm based in New York City.

Daniel is Chair of Mintz's Technology Practice Group and Co-chair of the firm’s Venture Capital & Emerging Companies Practice Group. Daniel also serves as Chair of Mintz’s Corporate & Securities Practice in New York, further reflecting his leadership across the firm’s transactional practices. In addition to his active legal practice, he is an adjunct professor of law at the NYU Law School. Daniel is Editor of MintzEdge, an online resource for entrepreneurs that includes useful tools and information for starting and growing a company.

Before joining Mintz, Daniel was head of venture capital funds and a managing director of SoundView Technology Group, Inc. (formerly Wit Capital), a technology-focused investment bank. Prior to joining SoundView, he was head of the corporate and new media and e-law practice groups at one of the leading New York firms representing early stage and technology companies.

Daniel has more than 35 years of corporate transactional experience, both as a lawyer and as a businessman, and has been an advisor to many emerging and developmental stage companies. He is a board member of several technology companies and was a co-founder and managing director of Dawntreader Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm.

Additionally, Daniel is an author of a leading treatise on venture capital called Venture Capital: Forms and Analysis (Law Journal Press, 2007).

Daniel is a leading authority on growth companies and venture capital law — and has worked on pioneering online capital-raising methods. He is immersed in the national and international ecosystem of emerging companies and investors focused on startups. He has also been a member of NYU Law School’s faculty since 2003, where he teaches venture capital law. Earlier, he co-founded and served as managing director of an early-stage venture capital firm based in New York City.

Experience

viewpoints

MintzTech Connect Innovator Profile: Templum Inc.

November 26, 2018 | Article | By Daniel DeWolf, Samuel Asher Effron

Templum Inc., is a leading innovative financial technology company focused on the development of new market infrastructure for the digital asset sector. Templum Markets LLC, their captive broker-dealer and alternative trading system, offers issuers a platform for the initial sale of their digital assets and provides both issuers and investors a centralized platform for secondary trading.
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MintzTech Connect Industry News - November 2018

November 26, 2018 | Article | By Daniel DeWolf, Samuel Asher Effron

This issue of TechConnect covers liability considerations for directors of Delaware public benefit corporations and profiles FinTech company Templum.
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Digital Tokens: Rethinking the Term “Cryptocurrency”

November 8, 2018 | Article | By Daniel DeWolf, Rachel Gholston, Marine Bouaziz

This article explains why the “cryptocurrency” label can be misleading, and suggests we use “virtual currencies,” “security tokens,” and “utility tokens” instead.
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MintzTech Connect Industry News - September 2018

September 11, 2018 | Article | By Daniel DeWolf, Samuel Asher Effron

While many of the issues involved in various transactions are similar, every single transaction that we get involved in is nuanced and different in some way from other similar transactions. Pattern matching is important, but each successful enterprise is successful in a unique way. Building an enterprise requires a balancing of the economic interests of the various parties. The founders may want to control their destiny or be captains of industry, in addition to making outsized returns. Investors will be laser focused on those returns but may also be interested in promoting activities that involve sustainability or technical breakthroughs. Employees will be hoping for financial rewards but may also want to be involved in cutting-edge technologies and a flexible workplace. Finally, the board of directors needs to monitor the enterprise and provide relevant advisory insights. Getting this right is so much more than processing a form; it requires deep domain knowledge of the industry sector and a good sense of the people involved. It is similar to why the best doctors examine a patient before prescribing medication. Knowing the context of the situation truly matters and one size never fits all.

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MintzTech Connect Innovator Profile: Rocketbook

September 11, 2018 | Article | By Daniel DeWolf, Samuel Asher Effron

Inspired by his own experience forgetting the correct notebook for an important meeting, Rocketbook co-founder Joe Lemay set out to find a modern solution for note taking in 2014. After testing out electronic pens and smart tablets, which were ultimately disappointing, Lemay teamed up with Jake Epstein to develop a new product, a reusable cloud-connected paper notebook called Rocketbook.

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MintzTech Connect Innovator Profile: The Zeus Network

September 11, 2018 | Article | By Daniel DeWolf, Samuel Asher Effron

Platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter have created celebrities with huge loyal followings – in some cases, millions or even tens of millions of followers – who have never appeared in a Hollywood movie or TV show. These influencers instead generate content – videos, photos, tweets, and the like – on the social media networks, and that content is shaping popular culture among younger consumers and attracting significant advertising dollars.

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The Form is Always Wrong

August 27, 2018 | Article | By Daniel DeWolf, Samuel Asher Effron

Mintz attorneys are often asked as to why we don’t simply provide “forms” on our website that can be downloaded and used. Our simple answer is: THE FORM IS ALWAYS WRONG!
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MintzTech Connect Industry News - July 2018

August 11, 2018 | Article | By Daniel DeWolf, Samuel Asher Effron

In this issue we focus on a number of basics for building growth enterprises. We lead off with a terrific podcast on the importance of assembling a strong board of directors. We follow with an article on a new securities law that permits the aggregation of up to 250 investors in a single investment vehicle so long as the entity has no more than $10 million in capital contributions. This new law will be particularly useful to online platforms that aggregate angel and seed investors to invest in start-ups. We then discuss the importance of stock options and creating a culture of ownership, another basic in creating a valuable company. We conclude this issue with two innovator profiles: BioLabs@NYULangone, a new shared wet lab space located in New York’s SoHo neighborhood, and RainFocus, which provides a software platform for delivering insights and marketing messages at large-scale conferences and events.

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New Beneficial Owner Threshold Eases VC Fundraising

July 11, 2018 | Article | By Talia S. Primor, Rachel Gholston, Daniel DeWolf

Small venture capital funds and special purpose vehicles, which otherwise qualify as “venture capital funds,” can now raise money from up to 250 beneficial owners and remain within the 3(c)(1) exemption of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Investment Company Act”).
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Why Does a Company Issue Stock Options?

July 11, 2018 | Article | By Daniel DeWolf

One of the critical keys to a successful venture is aligning the interests of the employees and management with the interests of the shareholders/investors. After all, perhaps the greatest asset of a company is its people. Without a competent and motivated workforce, a venture is unlikely to succeed no matter how great an idea or business concept is involved.
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News & Press

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Events & Speaking

Moderator
Moderator
Mar
19
2020

Investing in Energy Transformation [Event to be rescheduled]

Briefing on Power, Technology and Security Strategies

Mintz, 666 Third Ave, New York, NY

Seminar Reference Image
Speaker
Jul
30
2019

TechGC Roundtable

San Francisco, CA

Moderator
Jun
19
2019

Private Tech Investing Success Stories for Family Offices

Mintz, Chrysler Center, 666 Third Avenue, New York

Speaker
Apr
10
2019

TechGC Roundtable

New York, NY

Speaker
Apr
3
2019

The First Most Important Decision for the Entrepreneur: How to Choose the Right Corporate Entity for Your Startup

BioLabs@NYULangone

BioLabs@NYULangone, 180 Varick St., 6th Floor, New York, NY

Speaker
Speaker
Speaker
Mar
15
2018

Legal Clinic

NYC MediaLabs

Co-chair
Oct
27
2017
Speaker
Mar
17
2017

Corporate Formation Workshop

NYC Media Lab

New York, NY

Moderator
Nov
3
2016

The Changing World of Raising Capital

MintzEdge and Columbia Technology Ventures

New York, NY

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Daniel is a leading authority on growth companies and venture capital law — and has worked on pioneering online capital-raising methods. He is immersed in the national and international ecosystem of emerging companies and investors focused on startups. He has also been a member of NYU Law School’s faculty since 2003, where he teaches venture capital law. Earlier, he co-founded and served as managing director of an early-stage venture capital firm based in New York City.

Recognition & Awards

  • Legal 500 United States: Recommended for Venture Capital and Emerging Companies (2015 – 2017; 2021 – 2022, 2024)

  • Legal 500 United States: Ranked as Leading Partner for Venture Capital and Emerging Companies (2025) 

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Daniel is a leading authority on growth companies and venture capital law — and has worked on pioneering online capital-raising methods. He is immersed in the national and international ecosystem of emerging companies and investors focused on startups. He has also been a member of NYU Law School’s faculty since 2003, where he teaches venture capital law. Earlier, he co-founded and served as managing director of an early-stage venture capital firm based in New York City.

Involvement

  • Adjunct Professor at NYU School of Law
  • Guest Lecturer, High-Growth Corporate Transactions, Cornell Law School at Cornell Tech
  • Judge, Harvard Business School Business Plan Contest
  • Member, Advisory Council to the Public Policy Committee of the Angel Capital Association
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Daniel I. DeWolf

Member / Chair, Technology Practice | Co-chair, Venture Capital & Emerging Companies Practice

San Francisco New York